Chinas Forest History

1
Chinas Forest History
2
In the Beginning

• Hunting rights
• Peasants
• Farmers
• Until
• The Chinese government stepped in!!!

3
Chinas Government Debacle

• Republic of China after the Qing Dynasty
• Struggle direct influence on environment
• Once Republic was established quick to notice
  necessities
• Side effect of necessities so long trees

4
Chinas Government Debacle continued

• National Forest Law of 1914
• New! Nationalist government bye bye forest law
  until 1984
• New government attempts at reviving forestation
  efforts

5
Yunnan Province

• Before Chinas government stepped in Yunnan was
  bush and grasslands
• Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution both
  examples
• No restriction or protection political
  confusion forests uprooted

6
1980s in China

• National Forest Law revisited and government
  attempted to save forests
• These landscapes were in abundance
• Too bad for timber production
• As a result plantation landscapes reserved for
  farmers commercial purposes

7
Bibliography
Heilig, Gerhard K. "China Timeline." China
Profile. 2007. Viewed on 3 Apr. 2007
lthttp//www.china-profile.com/history/hist_list_1.
htmgt.Zhang, Peichang. Chinas Forest Policy for
the 21st Century. Science AAS 23 June 2003.
Viewed on 3 Apr. 2007.
8
Whats Happening Now?

• The Natural Forest Protection Program
• and
• The Sloping Land Conversion Program

9
The Chinese Governments Presentation
http//english.gov.cn/2006-02/08/content_182514.ht
m
10
Recent History

• 1997 - Drought resulted in Yellow River drying
  up for 267 days
• 1998 -Yangtze River floods killing 3,000 people
• 12 Billion Dollars of damage results
• These crises are seen as resulting from massive
  erosion and deforestation

11
Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP)

• Program to reduce/ban logging
• Also sponsors afforestation
• Program plans to forest 8 million hectares -
  between 2 and 3 million have been planted so far.
• Government pays for local government losses from
  logging revenue

12
NFPP Progress

• NFPP has led to 20 million ha reduction in
  production (out of 56 million)
• 2 - 3 million ha have been planted variance in
  data
• But paper products imports increased by 35 by
  2002.

13
Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP)

• Conservation of land on slopes at or above 25º
• Poverty Reduction Measures
• Monetary compensation
• Grain Equivalent compensation
• Seed supplies and training

14
Effects of SLCP

• Pilot phase 1998 - 2002, then full
  implementation
• Goal 14.67 million ha converted by 2010, of
  which 4.4 million are above 25º
• As of 2004 7.2 million converted
• 15 million farmers participating

15
Chart of Areas Converted
16
Problems of Implementation

• Subsidy payments problems of equity
• Efficiency conversion of some high-yield land,
  not converting some sloping low-yield land
• Commitment and expertise of regional governments

17
Trends in the Future
http//www.kylereed.com/Pictures/China/YunnanBeaut
y/BeautifulViewInYunnanChina.jpg
18
Governmental Influences

• Multilevel political system
• Good environmental laws, poor environmental
  performance
• Key officials as administrators and entrepreneurs
• Implementing the SLCP to make money
• Ignoring what the program is meant to do

19
Corruption

• An indicator of a lack of accountability on the
  part of local government officials to both their
  rural citizens and to central government
  departments
• Difficult to detect
• Officials adapt to concealing evidence to meet
  quotas

20
Corruption Contd

• In one study, evidence found that reduction and
  even cancellation of grain and cash subsidies for
  SLCP taking place
• No record of where the money was going
• Authenticity questioned
• Over reporting values to meet quotas

21
Obstacles

• Poor program budgeting
• Local governments bear the burden of program
  coordination and compensation
• Central government allocates funds for SLCP
  implementation
• Insufficient
• No benefits in the short term for farmers
• Do not always receive earnings

22
In Comparison

• National Forest Protection Program
• Contributed more than the SLCP
• Protects forests in areas with vulnerable
  ecosystems
• Complicated, but establishes economic growth
• New employment opportunities created

23
In Comparison Contd

• SLCP does not establish commercial forest on a
  large scale, like the NFPP
• NFPP
• Departments at various levels of the government
  and communities have responsibilities to
  implementation process
• Organized and funding monitored

24
Achievements

• Since the SLCPs start in 2000, 7.2 million
  hectares have been converted as of 2004
• Indicates almost half the programs goal met in 4
  years
• Most of the expansion in the past 2 years

25
Problems

• These numbers reveal weaknesses in design and
  implementation
• Program is too complex, long term, and entangled
  in competing economic interests to be effective

26
Misrepresentation and Survival

• Forests arent just trees anymore
• Ecological forests
• Economical forests
• Lack of diversity
• Possibility of disease wiping out everything
• Low survival rate of forests planted under the
  SLCP

27
Changes to be Made

• Plant a variety of trees and orchards
• Follow up on afforested areas
• Community involvement

28
Wrap-up

• Not all changes can be made by 2010 when the
  program terminates
• Corruption, funding, payment of subsidies, and
  diversity too difficult to change in the next 3
  years
• Much of the work will be undone in the future