Research on China's forest restoration earns national coverage

April 4, 2011

The "Effects of conservation policy on China's forest recovery"—a study conducted by CGCEO's Bill McConnell and the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability—discovered the effectiveness of the Natural Forest Conservation Program (NFCP) on a national scale and its contribution to changes in net primary productivity.

Since its publication in March 2016, numerous blogs, tweets, and reviews have shared the findings, making this study an international success in public media.

About the study

For decades, forest loss has been a global issue, causing drastic effects on landscapes, climate, and humans as well. While valued for timber and potential agricultural land, forests also provide sustainable "ecosystem services" such as soil and water conservation, climate regulation, and carbon storage.

In light of these benefits, countries worldwide have strategized to create a new trend—"forest transition". Policies, programs, and incentives aim to rebound the remaining forestland in effort to revitalized the valuable ecosystem services and incorporate them into the landscape.

China, the most populous nation on Earth, stretches over vast forestlands, which by sheer magnitude, have tremendous global influence. These forests have been recovering over the past three decades, according to the nation's statistics. During this same period, China had also witness rapid economic growth and multiple environmental programs, one of which is the largest forest conservation and restoration program in the world—the Natural Forest Conservation Program (NFCP).

Through this program and the nation's many inititives to conserve and regain lost forestland, China's president pledged to increase forest cover by 40 million hectares by 2020 (by the 2005 level). However, the actual benefits of this program have only been evaluated in a few localized areas and not on a national scale. Findings from this study, which investigated the nationwide impacts of the NFCP on net primary productivity, show that there has been a significant increase of forest cover, around 1.6%, in China's territory.

Results from this investigation have seen tremendous success in the public media, making it an internationally renowned study.

In the media

We are grateful for Sue Nichols at the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability for providing the many news articles listed below:

  • Asian Scientist - China’s Bittersweet Success At Halting Forest Loss
  • Chatham House Illegal Logging Portal - China’s forest recovery shows hope for mitigating global climate change
  • Mondiaal Nieuws (The Netherlands) - Bossen in China herstellen zeer goed
  • Kopalnia Wiedzy (Poland) - Chiński program odnowy lasów działa
  • National Geographic, Indonesia -Program Pemulihan Hutan di China Berhasil
  • Inside Climate News - China's Success Regrowing Its Forests Has a Flip Side: Deforestation Elsewhere
  • CCTV - Professor Jianguo Liu on China Forest Recovery
  • Daily Star (Albany) - China Forest increased Portugal land amount in 15 years
  • SciDev - China’s bitter-sweet success at halting forest loss
  • Christian Science Monitor - China's forest conservation program shows proof of success
  • Maine News - China makes amazing recovery in tree cover in some regions
  • Eurasia Review - China’s Forest Recovery Shows Hope For Mitigating Global Climate Change
  • China Daily - China's forests recovering after years of conservation efforts
  • NSF - China's forest recovery shows hope for mitigating global climate change
  • Shanghai Daily - China's forests recovering after years of conservation efforts
  • Thomson Reuters - China's forests recovering at the expense of other nations, study says
  • Daily Mail (UK) - China's forests recovering at the expense of other nations
  • Yahoo News: China's forests recovering at the expense of other nations, study says
  • Take Part - Did China Just Create a Model For Recovery of the World's Forests?