Forest Policy Study
In August 1998, following a summer of devastating floods, the Chinese government announced immediate logging bans in natural forest in 17 provinces and accelerated its formulation of a nationwide Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP). State-owned logging companies have been shut down permanently or moved toward adoption of sustainable forest management. This shift in policy is complemented by the recent Grain-to-Green policy, which aims to restore hillside agricultural lands into forest by giving grain subsidies to local communities in exchange for planting trees.
Complete implementation of the NFPP could end logging in up to 75 million acres and institute sustainable forest management in another 156 million acres nationwideƒ{an exciting possibility for nature conservation. At the same time, up to 1 million logging company workers are now seeking other employment and county and provincial governments have lost a major source of revenue.
Objective
To improve forestry policy for the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of forests in China, especially in the Southwest by:
- Surveying and analyzing current restoration policy and practice
- Developing criteria for ecologically and socially appropriate forest restoration
- Making proposals for appropriate policies and guidelines for good practice
- Identifying and implementing successful restoration models
Current Status
- China's Grain for Green Policy and its Impacts: This project aims to support the implementation of the national policy of Converting Steep Cultivated Land to Forest (Grain for Green) in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River and the Upper and Middle Reaches of the Yellow River. WWF has conducted case studies and established integrated planning and management information systems in three counties in this area.
The project combined tools such as Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) with face-to-face social research tools such as Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). The project found that the longer-term sustainability of the programme and its ability to prevent erosion and restore forests were uncertain. This project also helped local governments to devise more effective ways to implement and monitor the Grain for Green programme. This has resulted in the clear mapping of distribution, ownership and productivity of affected lands; direct involvement of farmers in programme design; and participatory methods of development of clear ecological, economic and social objectives.
The results of this research have been provided to county, provincial and central government agencies, and to the Forest and Grasslands Task Force of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development. Some policy recommendations were taken into consideration by these agencies for longer-term planning.
- Timber Trade and Protection of Forestry Resources: This project examines the impact of China's recent domestic policy reforms in the forest sector (including the logging ban) and changes in trade policy (mainly those led by WTO and APEC). In 2001, WWF commissioned work to explore the net 'ecological footprint,' both in and outside China, of China's demand for wood and fiber. In the second phase of this project, gaps in research will be filled, and the data collected will be analyzed and transformed into a published report summarizing China's forest laws and policies, the market for wood in China, China's ecological foorprint, trade policy (impacts of WTO and APEC), and recommendations.
- Impacts of China's Logging Ban Study: With the continuation of the implementation of the Natural Forestry Protection Programme (NFPP) in China, WWF conducted a survey of the supply and demand structure of China's timber market, timber output distribution, timber market prices, timber production cost, timber import structure, and source countries. The report, completed in 2001, reviews the policies of timber trade and taxation in China; analyzes the influence of NFPP to the timber market; analyzes the influence of China's entry into WTO on China's forests; predicts the supply and demand of the timber market in China; and proposes policy suggestions to the Chinese government.
Partners
State Forestry Administration; Sichuan Forestry Bureau; Shaanxi Forestry Bureau; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Chinese Academy of Forestry; Forestry Economics and Development Research Center, State Forestry Administration
Donors
WWF Netherlands
WWF International
UK Embassy Beijing
TRAFFIC/Rufford
WWF/World Bank Alliance
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