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CHINA
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China Forest Figures
Forest Cover
Total forest area: 197,290,000 ha
% of land area: 21.2%
Primary forest cover: 11,632,000 ha
% of land area: 1.2%
% total forest area: 5.9%
Deforestation Rates, 2000-2005
Annual change in forest cover: 4,057,800 ha
Annual deforestation rate: 2.2%
Change in defor. rate since '90s: 81.4%
Total forest loss since 1990: 40,149,000 ha
Total forest loss since 1990:25.5%
Primary or "Old-growth" forests
Annual loss of primary forests: n/a
Annual deforestation rate: n/a
Change in deforestation rate since '90s: n/a
Primary forest loss since 1990: n/a
Primary forest loss since 1990:0.0%
Forest Classification
Public: 100%
Private: n/a
Other: n/a
Use
Production: 58%
Protection: 31.3%
Conservation: 2.7%
Social services: 1.2%
Multiple purpose: 6.8%
None or unknown: n/a
Forest Area Breakdown
Total area: 197,290,000 ha
Primary: 11,632,000 ha
Modified natural: 114,332,000 ha
Semi-natural: 39,957,000 ha
Production plantation: 28,530,000 ha
Production plantation: 2,839,000 ha
Plantations
Plantations, 2005: 31,369,000 ha
% of total forest cover: 15.9%
Annual change rate (00-05): 1,489,000,000 ha
Carbon storage
Above-ground biomass: 9,271 M t
Below-ground biomass: 2,920 M t
Area annually affected by
Fire: 51,000 ha
Insects: 6,191,000 ha
Diseases: 883,000 ha
Number of tree species in IUCN red list
Number of native tree species: 2,500
Critically endangered: 34
Endangered: 45
Vulnerable: 96
Wood removal 2005
Industrial roundwood: 88,808,000 m3 o.b.
Wood fuel: 46,628,000 m3 o.b.
Value of forest products, 2005
Industrial roundwood: $4,946,290,000
Wood fuel: n/a
Non-wood forest products (NWFPs): n/a
Total Value: $4,946,290,000
More forest statistics for China
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In the last decade of reform, China has made impressive headway in protecting and improving its environment. Massive reforestation projects, including the planting of 10 billion trees during the 1980s, have resulted in 38.3 million hectares of man-made forest. Improvements in energy sources for the poor has resulted in a decline in collection of fuelwood from forests.
China has two major regions of natural tropical forest: Hainan Island and Xishuangbanna in the Yunnan Province. The Hainan Province is home to China's only tropical rainforest, which contains 25 percent of China's mammal diversity and 33 percent of the country's bird diversity. The rainforest has been plagued by poaching (rampant throughout the country) and collection of fuelwood in the past, though today tougher restrictions, along with reforestation projects, offer a glimmer of hope for these diverse forests. The bulk of China's tropical timber comes from plantations in Yunnan and on Hainan Island.
Today most of China's influence on tropical forests comes on the consumption side. Chinese firms are active in legal and illegal logging operations around the globe, as well as being major sponsors of large agriculture projects (Indonesia and the Amazon), road and infrastructure construction (South America), and oil and mining development (South America, Asia, Africa). Below are some recent news articles on China's growing environmental impact beyond its borders:
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Will earthquake slow dam-building spree in China?
(5/14/2008) Monday's 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan province left more than 15,000 dead, 26,000 missing, and 64,000 injured, according to state media. The quake also "seriously damaged" two hydroelectric stations in Maoxian county, leading authorities to warn that the dams could burst. More than 2,000 troops were sent to work on the Zipingku Dam, a dam said to be in "great danger" of collapse upriver from Dujiangyan, the city at the quake's epicenter.
China to push for overseas acquisition of farmland to improve food security
(5/13/2008) Worries over food security may drive China to seek agricultural lands abroad, according to a report from the Financial Times. Under a proposal by the Ministry of Agriculture, Chinese companies will be encouraged to acquire farmland overseas. The initiative would make foreign land acquisition by Chinese agricultural firms a central government policy.
China aims for 100 gigawatts of wind power by 2020
(4/29/2008) China aims to expand its wind power generating capacity to 100,000 megawatts by 2020, more than doubling the current world's installed capacity, according to the Shanghai Daily and The Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital blog.
New expedition seeks evidence for survival of the 'extinct' Baiji
(4/16/2008) The EDGE program, apart of the London Zoological Society, has sent an expedition to the Yangtze River to survey local fishermen for any evidence that the Baiji may still survive.
Wal-Mart pushes for greener maufacturing in China
(4/7/2008) Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, will hold a meeting of around 1,000 of its Chinese suppliers in an effort to reduce its environmental impact, said Lee Scott, Wal-Mart's CEO, in an interview with the Financial Times.
Poll: Chinese more concerned about the environment than Americans
(4/7/2008) A poll released today found that 10.2 percent of the Chinese population lists environmental concerns as the nation's number one issue. It is the fourth highest concern among the Chinese after health care, employment, and the income-gap. According to the poll, the Chinese view the environment as higher than corruption, social security, housing prices, and the cost of education.
Invasive species cost China $14B per year
(4/1/2008) Rapid economic growth and giant infrastructure projects have allowed invasive species to spread throughout China and inflict more than $14.5 billion of damage to the nation's economy annually, according to a study published in Bioscience. The research warns that the Beijing Olympics may worsen the toll.
China's emissions growth 2-4 times greater than expected
(3/11/2008) China's carbon dioxide emissions are growing far faster than anticipated according to according to a new analysis by economists at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, San Diego. The study, published in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, estimates China will see an 11 percent annual growth rate in CO2 emissions between 2004 and 2010, two to four times the 2.5 to 5 percent growth rate estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Can snow leopards be saved?
(3/6/2008) Conservationists and officials from twelve Asian countries are meeting in Beijing next week to discuss the fate of the endangered snow leopard. Less than 7,000 snow leopard remain in the wild.
China's tropical rainforests decline 67% in 30 years
(3/3/2008) Tropical rainforest cover in southern Yunnan decreased 67 percent in the past 30 years, mostly due to the establishment of rubber plantations, according to a new assessment of tropical forests in southwestern China.
China's wood industry fueled by illegal log imports from rainforest countries
(2/29/2008) While China has improved management of its forestry sector, expanding forest plantation cover and banning harvesting of natural forests, China's recent growth as wood-products exporter is built on timber imports much of which are illegal argues a researcher from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in a letter to Science.
Mini-pterodactyl discovered in China
(2/11/2008) Scientists have discovered a previously unknown species of pterodactyl in northeastern China.
10% of China's forests destroyed in recent storms
(2/11/2008) Winter snow storms in China have destroyed 10 percent of the country's forest resources according to Chinese state media.
Carbon tax would make China greener and reduce warming risks
(2/7/2008) Driven by booming economic growth and rapid urbanization, China's carbon dioxide emissions are surging. At the same time, forecasts suggest climate change will have an immense impact on the country, with rising sea levels projected to swamp key industrial areas and diminished rainfall reducing agricultural output. Given this outlook, a new policy paper published in Science argues that China will need to embark on a cleaner path to growth, one that is less dependent on coal. The authors say that international assistance in the form of carbon funds could help persuade Chinese leadership to move towards more environmentally-friendly energy technologies.
China bans plastic bags
(1/13/2008) In effort to stem plastic pollution, China has banned stores from using flimsy plastic bags and is mandating an additional charge if customers opt for a more durable plastic bag. Joining countries such as Ireland, Taiwan, and parts of South Africa, this new measure is aimed at encouraging the use of cloth bags and other reusable containers. Bangladesh has banned plastic shopping bags completely since 2002 when they were found to block drainage systems and cause flooding during monsoon rains. Australia is contemplating the move, as are cities such as London and Boston.
Extremely high levels of mercury and arsenic found in Chinese lake
(1/10/2008) A team of researchers, led by biologists at Dartmouth, has found potentially dangerous levels of mercury and arsenic in Lake Baiyangdian, the largest lake in the North China Plain and a source of both food and drinking water for the people who live around it.
Can China Go Green?
(1/3/2008) China's booming economic growth over the past generation has come at the expense of the environment, putting its economic health at risk, argues a policy piece published in the journal Science.
Lack of A-bomb signatures suggest 50 years of shrinking Tibetan glaciers
(12/30/2007) Ice cores drilled last year from the summit of a Himalayan ice field lack the distinctive radioactive signals that mark virtually every other ice core retrieved worldwide. That missing radioactivity, originating as fallout from atmospheric nuclear tests during the 1950s and 1960s, routinely provides researchers with a benchmark against which they can gauge how much new ice has accumulated on a glacier or ice field.
China relaxing its control over the forestry sector
(12/6/2007) China's reforms in its forestry sector have slowed deforestation, improved environmental quality, and enhanced the competitiveness of Chinese wood products despite pressure from growing internal demand for wood products and a profitable export market, according to an assessment published in Science. The authors say the trend towards public sector management of forests is likely to grow.
China begins blocking river for second largest dam
(11/12/2007) China began damming the Jinsha River for its biggest hydroelectric project after the Three Gorges Project, reports Chinese state media.
Suggested reading - Books
Unless otherwise specified, this article was written by Rhett A. Butler [Bibliographic citation for this page]
Other resources
Contact me if you have suggestions on other rainforest-related environmental sites and resources for this country.
CIA World Factbook
CIA-World Factbook Profile
FAO-Forestry Profile
Last updated: 4 Feb 2006 |
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