Forest Issues in China
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WORKING GROUP ON ENVIRONMENT IN U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS MEETING SUMMARIES Forest Issues in China 3 June 1998 Ecologically, China’s forests are extremely diverse, tonomous Region of Tibet. These forest areas are all con- ranging from tropical moist forest to boreal taiga on per- sidered highly threatened by agriculture, fuel wood col- mafrost. China’s natural forest ecosystems span a wider lection, and logging by small-scale private timber com- array of environmental conditions than any other coun- panies. try on earth. Moreover, China is one of the world’s most On one hand, the degradation of forestry resources biologically diverse countries and ranks fifth in the world in China parallels trends in other developing countries. in total forest area (See Table 1). Despite this high rank- For example, the loss of natural forests stems from a large ing, China has had some of the most extensive historic use of fuel wood and agricultural encroachment into for- forest losses in the world and is a relatively forest-poor ests. China’s forest sector, however, differs from some country with only fourteen percent forest coverage. Over- trends in developing countries in that the Chinese gov- all, China has the highest or second highest rate (after ernment has organized mobilization campaigns of pub- Indonesia or India) of threatened species for each major lic and private resources for forestry and has promoted a group—e.g., mammals, birds, plants, amphibians, rep- high proportion of forestry cover in plantations (See Table tiles, and snakes. China’s most important biodiversity 2). These policy actions have led to a reversal of overall hotspots are found in the forests of southern and central forest loss in China, but, as will be discussed below, trends China. The most intact natural forest areas are concen- in consumption and production indicate that these past trated in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and in the Au- trends in afforestation will not continue. Table 1. Comparative Forest Coverage Facts Percentage Percentage Natural Annual Percentage Plantation of World of Forested Forest Change Rate of Annual (%) in Natural (Million Increase in Forest Land in Each (Million Fforest Ha.) Plantations Area Country Ha.) (1990-1995) (1990-1995) Russia 22.1 45 763a n.a. n.a. n.a. Brazil 15.9 65 546 -0.6b 4.9 7 Canada 7.1 27 244a +0.1b n.a. n.a. USA 6.2 26 212a +0.3 n.a. n.a. China 3.9 14 99.5 -0.5 31 5 Indonesia 3.2 55 103 -1 6.1 8 Congo 3.1 48 109 -0.7 .04 10 Dem. Rep. aIndicates total forested area. bIndicates annual change in total forest. Source: FAO. State of World’s Forests 1997. Rome: United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. 1997. CHINA ENVIRONMENT SERIES · ISSUE 3 51 Table 2. Comparison of Forest Ecosystem and Protected Forest Areas Forests as Percentage Intact Percentage of Non-Tropical Percentage of Natural Forest Forest Area Protected Original Forest Ecosystem Remaining (Tropical Forests) Russia 69 29 2 (0a) Brazil 66 42 7 (6.9) Canada 91 57 7 (0a) USA 60 6.3 10 (6.7) China 22 1.8 4 (13) Indonesia 65 29 21 (21) Congo Dem. 61 16 0a (7) Rep. Source: World Resources Institute, UNEP, UNDP, and World Bank. World Resources 1998-99: A Guide to the Global Environment. New York: Oxford University Press. 1998. aNo such forests exist in this country. FORESTRY PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION IN CHINA most likely going to lead to a sharp increase in demand for high quality paper from wood pulp. The economic reforms introduced in 1978 have Some estimates indicate that by 2010 China will con- moved China towards a market economy and opened sume as much wood fiber as the United States, although the country to foreign investment. Following these re- at much lower per capita levels. Paper and paperboard forms, China has enjoyed one of the highest economic consumption have grown at twelve percent annually for growth rates in the world with an average 8.9 percent the past forty years. China will have to import approxi- annual GDP growth between 1983-1993. Throughout mately one quarter of its wood to meet this growth in the reform era, international trade has become a major paper consumption and industrial wood demand. Nev- feature shaping China’s forest sector. By 1995, China was ertheless, China’s per capita consumption is and will re- the tenth largest importer of forest products and is cur- main a small fraction of that of the OECD countries. rently a net importer for nearly all categories of forest For example, per capita consumption of paper in China products. However, China’s overall influence on interna- in 1995 was about fifteen kilograms, which is approxi- tional forest product markets is still very modest. China’s mately five percent of per capita consumption in the role is largely limited to a buyer in international markets. United States (285 kilograms). Per capita consumption Currently, China imports less than two percent of its wood of paper and wood-based panels in China is expected to requirements, but as demand grows China will increas- increase by as much as seventy-five kilograms by 2010. It ingly become dependent on imports for all categories of is the potential growth in industrial wood demand be- industrial wood products, particularly if the Chinese gov- yond 2010 that holds significant implications for inter- ernment drops import quotas on wood, pulp, and ply- national timber markets. wood if it is admitted to the World Trade Organization. Although China is now the world’s third largest pa- per producer after the United States and Japan, local pro- KEY FOREST-RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN CHINA duction has been unable to keep up with demand. There- fore, paper and pulp board imports increased by 255 per- Natural forest habitat loss in China is approximately cent between 1981 and 1992. These imports come prin- four to eight percent per year. Moreover, as Table 2 indi- cipally from the United States, Canada, and Japan. A cates, there is little protected forest area in China. The majority of Chinese paper comes from non-wood fiber growing problem of deforestation is causing some nota- sources (eighty-five percent in 1992), however, higher in- bly serious environmental problems. For example, defor- comes and recent changes in government trade policy are estation is creating growing problems of soil erosion that 52 CHINA ENVIRONMENT SERIES · ISSUE 3 degrades water quality and increases water siltation prob- central Ministry for Forestry and the provincial forestry lems. Dams in China have a 1.5 percent sedimentation departments are increasingly effective technical agencies rate per year, which is due in great part to the lack of that have successfully implemented large-scale, compli- forest cover. High rates of species endangerment is also a cated afforestation programs. The Chinese government directly linked to forest loss. expects to increase the forest cover from 13.6 percent to Like many developing economies, fuel wood and 15.3 percent of total land area by 2000. The current charcoal dominate wood use—China ranks first in the Chinese government development program for forestry world just ahead of Brazil in this kind of wood consump- is supported by a relatively sound policy framework— tion. The trends in fuel wood and charcoal use will have including more secure land tenure, market-based resource a major impact on how much of these products China pricing for about ninety-five percent of all timber, and will need to import to meet future demands. Aggressive increased an emphasis on private sector activity. Much of plans to increase electricity generation from coal will likely the previously communal forests have been given to house- lead to a decline in the use of fuel wood, but with signifi- holds with a fifty-year lease for land-use rights. Policies cant adverse impacts on air pollution and greenhouse gas to encourage the substitution of metal and concrete for emissions. scarce wood resources combined with the official goals of planting an additional sixty million hectares of forest over the next twenty years may succeed in increasing the GOVERNMENT FORESTRY AND BIODIVERSITY POLICIES number of plantations, but would most likely be unable to keep up with consumption growth. The Chinese government is taking a number of steps On a biophysical basis, there is considerable capac- to expand supply and manage the demand of forest prod- ity to increase forest area in China. However, given that ucts, including extensive investment in a wide variety of China already has one of the lowest agricultural land base afforestation programs and the promulgation of new regu- per capita of any country, it is questionable whether ex- lations encouraging conservation and substitution. The pansion of forest areas accomplished during the past forty PRC has a long history of tree-planting and is the world years can be sustained. Moreover, the overall positive leader in investment in afforestation. trends in forest cover in tree plantations mask the con- During the Mao era (1949-1976), short-term tree- tinuing loss and degradation of rich natural forest eco- planting campaigns “by the masses” was the dominant systems. Tree plantations cannot replace the biodiversity forestry policy strategy. Such campaigns led to a large and ecosystem processes and functions of the natural for- number of trees planted, but most died due to lack of ests. The rapid increase in demand for wood products care and maintenance. In a similar vein, the post-Mao has led to a decline in standing stock (timber volume) as regime established the Obligatory Tree Planting Program mature trees are intensively harvested.