Deforestation

Deforestation in China

Deforestation has been a big problem in China to this day. Throughout its long history, China has gone through several cycles, from mild recovery to severe deforestation. When the Communists took over China in 1949, they introduced many new policies and programs to bring about economic and political changes; however, shifts in policies have led to program shifts in every field of China’s economy, including deforestation. Deforestation exercises a significant influence on the ecosystem, stimulating natural disasters, introducing negative environmental and climatic changes, and threatening biodiversity. Floods are among the most common consequences of deforestation. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), deforestation caused floods to occur every decade, and once every six years between 1921 and 1949, but once every two years in the 1980s. The situation has dramatically worsened since 1994, with the Yangtze flooding every year. Growing silting of rivers and lakes from the deforested lands in the Yangtze basin and encroachment on river beds by Chinese farmers resulted in record levels of floods in the summer of 1998. The building of The Three Gorges Dam is said to stop flooding greatly. As early as the 1950s deforestation in China attracted attention, but it was not until the 1960s that it assumed alarming proportions. The Land Reform of 1950 authorized state ownership of large forests and other types of land.

The Cultural Revolution, which turned China upside down, also unfavorably affected its forests. The Ministry of Forestry, like most Chinese institutions and organizations almost ceased to exist during the Cultural Revolution. Decades of neglect resulted in excessive deforestation, impacti...

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...is decreasing. In Tibet is has fallen from 9-5 percent, between the years 1950-1985; Yunnan 55-30 percent, 1950-1975; and in Sichuan, 30-65 percent, 1950-1998.

Despite all the afforestation measures, heavy deforestation continues to plague China due to mismanagement, unclear policies, bureaucratic corruption, and ineffectiveness. Although recently, China has afforested a total area of 1.4 million hectares over the past two years, with another 13 million hectares of land reclaimed from desertification. The achievements come from a large afforestation project covering northern, northeastern and northwestern China. The project aims to form a shelter forest covering ten provinces, municipalities and self-governing regions. Finally, China plans to invest another 400 million Yuan, or more than 48 million US dollars in afforestation in these areas this year.