China has implemented some of the world’s most ambitious policies to protect and restore forests, yet these programs still miss the mark, according to a team of researchers led by Princeton University.
China has implemented some of the world’s most ambitious policies to protect and restore forests, yet these programs still miss the mark, according to a team of researchers led by Princeton University.
Using satellite imagery and household interviews, the team looked at how government policies affected land use in southwestern China between 2000 and 2015.
Overall tree cover grew by 32 percent, but the increase mostly came from people turning former croplands into tree plantations with monocultures — forests with only one type of tree — which is of little value to wildlife. Likewise, native forests actually decreased by 6 percent because people continued to clear native forests to make way for tree plantations.
Those interviewed said they paid attention to government policies; if a certain type of tree was promoted, they tended to plant that type. Some households simply copied the actions of others in their communities, though this was a small percentage.
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Image via Princeton University.
