Recovering from over-cutting in China: an examination of the natural forest protection project

Abstract

In the last century, China chose a planned economic system and formulated a strategy for the development of heavy industry. The chosen strategy for heavy industry has given forestry a half-century task, both to provide capital for industrial development, and to provide a sustainable supply of timber for this industrial development, and to provide a sustainable supply of timber for this industrial development. Long-term over-cutting has exhausted the forest resources in much of China. Conflicts between economic, ecological and social objectives were acute. After 50 years of over-cutting, the economic, ecological and social objectives were not being satisfied. To solve these problems, China implemented the Natural Forest Protection Project (NFPP). NFPP focuses on the work of state-owned forests previously used for timber production.