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Forestry development and forest policy in China
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Journal of Forest Economics 10 (2005) 159–160 www.elsevier.de/jfe
EDITORIAL
Forestry development and forest policy in China China is deficient in forest resources. Largely due to human activities, many forests, especially the natural forests, have been destroyed. In some places this has led to serious soil erosion, floods and sand storms. In order to reverse this trend, six key forestry development programmes have been initiated since the beginning of 1980s. These include the following: protection and cultivation of forest resources, desertification control, conversion of cropland to forests, conservation of wildlife, and fast-growing and high-yield timber forests. The implementation of these forestry programmes has resulted in dramatic improvements of the forest resources. The National Forest Resource Inventory of 1994–1998 shows China’s forested area to cover 158.9 million ha or 16.6% of the total land area, and the stocking volume is about 12.5 billion m3. Although China’s forestry development is fast, forestry still faces severe problems which hinder development. The problems are the following: (1) Environmental problems: The environment is deteriorating. At present, 90% of grassland is degraded. The area of soil erosion is 367 million ha, which accounts for 38% of our land area. (2) Supply shortages: Forest protection carried out under the aegis of the 1998 Natural Forest Protection Programme has reduced timber harvest from 1997 by 30% to 44 million m3 in 2002, which only met 36% of domestic demand. Lumber production has been cut even more over this period from 20 to 8.5 million m3. (3) Forest resource problems: One of the problems is the low quality and low stocking level of the forests. The average volume per ha is only 78 m3 which is much lower than the world average of 114 m3/ha. Another problem is the uneven age distribution of the forests. More than 70% of the forests are immature. Yet, 60% of the timber output comes from these forests. (4) Seedling problem: The major problem facing plantations is the low quality of seedlings with an attendant low survival rate. In 2000, only 25% of the seedlings were produced from high quality seeds. The seedling bases can only supply 35% of the total amount of seedlings needed annually. (5) The forest enterprise problem: Most forest industry enterprises are small, which makes it difficult to invest in efficient technology. The average sizes of pulp and 1104-6899/$ - see front matter r 2004 Published by Elsevier GmbH. doi:10.1016/j.jfe.2004.11.001
ARTICLE IN PRESS 160
Editorial / Journal of Forest Economics 10 (2005) 159–160
paper mills and particleboard and fibreboard enterprises are 2.3%, 13% and 35% of global averages. In order to handle these problems, four major forest policy programmes have been started: (1) The greening of China: Improvement of the environment is one of the basic goals of the Chinese forest policy. The central government is challenging the entire population to contribute to the afforestation campaign. Ever since the launch of the compulsory tree-planting campaign, professional institutions, relevant sectors of society and local organisations have, in various forms, taken an active part in this programme. Clear lines of responsibilities have been demarcated, costs and benefits shared and a target date for its realisation established. Beyond that, tentative steps to privatisation are contemplated. (2) Forest ecology and industry systems: Past experience has dictated the development of an improved forest ecosystem and a more sophisticated industrial base. Given the national requirements, these two systems are expected to be completed by the middle of this century, with priority given to the first. In order to reach this first objective the six key forest programmes mentioned before are being implemented. The second objective, concerning forest industry, should lead to the establishment of modern, competitive forest enterprises. A series of reforms have been carried out which allow and encourage foreign enterprises to invest in joint ventures with local industries. (3) Harvest control: In order to protect the existing forest resources successfully, the government started in 1987 to set allowable cut quotas on the premise that annual harvest should be less than annual increment. Since then, logging permits are required and timber harvest is carried out within the approved quotas. (4) The forest ecological benefit subsidy fund: In 2001, the central government established a fund based on a policy of subsidies to benefit ecological systems. Its objective is to further improve the stand quality of ecological subsystems and the encouragement of biodiversity. The tasks at hand are many, varied and challenging. My personal opinion is that the government and the Chinese people have every intention of carrying out these policies, and that the possibilities of success are great. Junchang Liu School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Liu)
Journal of Forest Economics 10 (2005) 159–160 www.elsevier.de/jfe
EDITORIAL
Forestry development and forest policy in China China is deficient in forest resources. Largely due to human activities, many forests, especially the natural forests, have been destroyed. In some places this has led to serious soil erosion, floods and sand storms. In order to reverse this trend, six key forestry development programmes have been initiated since the beginning of 1980s. These include the following: protection and cultivation of forest resources, desertification control, conversion of cropland to forests, conservation of wildlife, and fast-growing and high-yield timber forests. The implementation of these forestry programmes has resulted in dramatic improvements of the forest resources. The National Forest Resource Inventory of 1994–1998 shows China’s forested area to cover 158.9 million ha or 16.6% of the total land area, and the stocking volume is about 12.5 billion m3. Although China’s forestry development is fast, forestry still faces severe problems which hinder development. The problems are the following: (1) Environmental problems: The environment is deteriorating. At present, 90% of grassland is degraded. The area of soil erosion is 367 million ha, which accounts for 38% of our land area. (2) Supply shortages: Forest protection carried out under the aegis of the 1998 Natural Forest Protection Programme has reduced timber harvest from 1997 by 30% to 44 million m3 in 2002, which only met 36% of domestic demand. Lumber production has been cut even more over this period from 20 to 8.5 million m3. (3) Forest resource problems: One of the problems is the low quality and low stocking level of the forests. The average volume per ha is only 78 m3 which is much lower than the world average of 114 m3/ha. Another problem is the uneven age distribution of the forests. More than 70% of the forests are immature. Yet, 60% of the timber output comes from these forests. (4) Seedling problem: The major problem facing plantations is the low quality of seedlings with an attendant low survival rate. In 2000, only 25% of the seedlings were produced from high quality seeds. The seedling bases can only supply 35% of the total amount of seedlings needed annually. (5) The forest enterprise problem: Most forest industry enterprises are small, which makes it difficult to invest in efficient technology. The average sizes of pulp and 1104-6899/$ - see front matter r 2004 Published by Elsevier GmbH. doi:10.1016/j.jfe.2004.11.001
ARTICLE IN PRESS 160
Editorial / Journal of Forest Economics 10 (2005) 159–160
paper mills and particleboard and fibreboard enterprises are 2.3%, 13% and 35% of global averages. In order to handle these problems, four major forest policy programmes have been started: (1) The greening of China: Improvement of the environment is one of the basic goals of the Chinese forest policy. The central government is challenging the entire population to contribute to the afforestation campaign. Ever since the launch of the compulsory tree-planting campaign, professional institutions, relevant sectors of society and local organisations have, in various forms, taken an active part in this programme. Clear lines of responsibilities have been demarcated, costs and benefits shared and a target date for its realisation established. Beyond that, tentative steps to privatisation are contemplated. (2) Forest ecology and industry systems: Past experience has dictated the development of an improved forest ecosystem and a more sophisticated industrial base. Given the national requirements, these two systems are expected to be completed by the middle of this century, with priority given to the first. In order to reach this first objective the six key forest programmes mentioned before are being implemented. The second objective, concerning forest industry, should lead to the establishment of modern, competitive forest enterprises. A series of reforms have been carried out which allow and encourage foreign enterprises to invest in joint ventures with local industries. (3) Harvest control: In order to protect the existing forest resources successfully, the government started in 1987 to set allowable cut quotas on the premise that annual harvest should be less than annual increment. Since then, logging permits are required and timber harvest is carried out within the approved quotas. (4) The forest ecological benefit subsidy fund: In 2001, the central government established a fund based on a policy of subsidies to benefit ecological systems. Its objective is to further improve the stand quality of ecological subsystems and the encouragement of biodiversity. The tasks at hand are many, varied and challenging. My personal opinion is that the government and the Chinese people have every intention of carrying out these policies, and that the possibilities of success are great. Junchang Liu School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Liu)