China sets 2030 ecological target, forest cover targeted at 25.8 percent

Illustration> (Pexels).

China has set new targets to improve environmental quality by 2030. One of them is to increase forest coverage to 25.8 percent and the level of land and water conservation to more than 74 percent.

China Daily, quoted Tuesday, August 11, said the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment together with five other government ministries and agencies issued an ecological protection plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, 2026-2030, on Monday.

Forest cover is the percentage of the area covered by forest areas.

In the plan, China also targets the Ecological Quality Index to reach 86.5 by 2030.

In 2025, the index is still at the level of 60.3. The data is listed in the China Ecological and Environmental Conditions Report 2025 previously published by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

China Daily also noted that the national forest coverage in 2025 reached 25.09 percent, while the land and water conservation rate was at 73.09 percent.

The Ecological Quality Index is used to measure the condition of natural ecosystems and assess the overall quality of the environment. The value uses a scale of 0 to 100.

The index is calculated from four main indicator groups, namely ecological patterns, ecological functions, biodiversity, and environmental pressures.

Through the five-year plan, the Chinese government also targets that the ecological space will continue to be improved and the rate of biodiversity decline can be effectively suppressed by 2030.

The government also targets that the availability of quality organic products will increase and national ecological security will be maintained.