China expected to meet forest target
March 20, 2014 Category Environment, Greenhouse gas emissions
China is on track to meet its 2020 target for expanding the nation’s forests to cover 23% of its landmass to combat climate change and soil erosion, the State Forestry Administration said. But some observers are critical of the massive reforestation, saying China is focusing on plantation forestry and ignoring the restoration of natural forests, which are still being lost. Since 2008, China has planted 13 million hectares of new forests, roughly the size of Montenegro, taking total forest coverage to 208 million hectares – or just over 21% of its landmass. “We have completed 60% of our task to meet the target for forest coverage and aim at 23% by 2020,” said Zhao Shucong, Director of the Administration. China launched its reforestation program in 1998, after devastating flooding of the Yangtze river was blamed on the loss of trees which had acted as flood barriers. By regrowing forests quickly, authorities hope to conserve 581 billion cubic meters of water each year, while storing 8.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent that otherwise would be released into the atmosphere. Xu Jianchu, Professor at the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), however said that most of the new forested land was low-quality, and pointed out that while new trees are planted rapidly, data shows that forest loss in many areas of China is increasing. Local authorities often choose to plant non-native species such as fruit trees and rubber in order to maximize economic benefits, instead of opting for trees naturally suited to local areas. In arid and semi-arid regions, this has often worsened soil erosion and water scarcity instead of solving it, adding to food production problems, the Shanghai Daily reports.
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