We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Effectiveness of China's National Forest Protection Program and nature reserves.
- Authors
Ren, Guopeng; Young, Stephen S.; Wang, Lin; Wang, Wei; Long, Yongcheng; Wu, Ruidong; Li, Junsheng; Zhu, Jianguo; Yu, Douglas W.
- Abstract
There is profound interest in knowing the degree to which China's institutions are capable of protecting its natural forests and biodiversity in the face of economic and political change. China's 2 most important forest-protection policies are its National Forest Protection Program (NFPP) and its national-level nature reserves (NNRs). The NFPP was implemented in 2000 in response to deforestation-caused flooding. We undertook the first national, quantitative assessment of the NFPP and NNRs to examine whether the NFPP achieved its deforestation-reduction target and whether the NNRs deter deforestation altogether. We used MODIS data to estimate forest cover and loss across mainland China (2000-2010). We also assembled the first-ever polygon dataset for China's forested NNRs ( n = 237, 74,030 km2 in 2000) and used both conventional and covariate-matching approaches to compare deforestation rates inside and outside NNRs (2000-2010). In 2000, 1.765 million km2 or 18.7% of mainland China was forested (12.3% with canopy cover of ≥70%)) or woodland (6.4% with canopy cover <70% and tree plus shrub cover ≥40%). By 2010, 480,203 km2 of forest and woodland had been lost, an annual deforestation rate of 2.7%. Forest-only loss was 127,473 km2 (1.05% annually). In the NFPP provinces, the forest-only loss rate was 0.62%, which was 3.3 times lower than in the non-NFPP provinces. Moreover, the Landsat data suggest that these loss rates are overestimates due to large MODIS pixel size. Thus, China appears to have achieved, and even exceeded, its target of reducing deforestation to 1.1% annually in the NFPP provinces. About two-thirds of China's NNRs were effective in protecting forest cover (prevented loss 4073 km2 unmatched approach; 3148 km2 matched approach), and within-NNR deforestation rates were higher in provinces with higher overall deforestation. Our results indicate that China's existing institutions can protect domestic forest cover.
- Subjects
CHINA; FOREST protection; NATURE reserves; POLITICAL change; ECONOMIC change; DEFORESTATION; FLOODS
- Publication
Conservation Biology, 2015, Vol 29, Issue 5, p1368
- ISSN
0888-8892
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/cobi.12561