China’s Forests
A topic I have covered before, this Erenlai clip covers a lot of ground on the history of China’s forestry practices, the problems the deforestation of China has created, and a few solutions.
Opening up with a lot of statistics on China’s wood usage/ forestry coverage, and its three periods of major deforestation that left only 1% of virgin forest cover remaining.
The clip then moves into its second segment which covers the role of the forest within the ecosystem - I am sure we can all agree that it is a very important component… providing habitat for animals, its role inthe water cycle, sucking up CO2, and so on.. al IMPORTANT
Then onto the role of deforestation…loss of biodiversity, erosion and flooding patterns, climate change… all BAD THINGS. PRoven by China’s growing desertification problems, it annual floods, eroding farm quality, and so on.. BAD
To combat these situations, China has implemented logging bans, worked hard to reforest areas that were once deserts, and work with farmers/ herders to educate them on their roles as well.
Where this issue grows particularly thorny is that China’s wood industry cannot wait for domestic forests to rebuild, and as a result China has over the last 10 years seen a massive increase in their timber imports. In the matter of several years, China’s home and office furniture, building materials, and pulp industries have gone from small markets to very large ones, and to do so China’s producers are bringing in a lot of wood to do so. Some of which is from protected areas and involving protected species.
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