Page 28 - THE SOUTH CHINA BUSINESS JOURNAL
P. 28
MMUNITY NEWS
Greening
of the People's Republic:
China's Investment
in Conservation
By the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI)
Analyzing China’s ecological conservation increased forest, grassland, and wetlands coverage.
policies is important for understanding how it Soil retention rose by 13%, flood mitigation by
is managing decades of ecological damage caused 13%, sandstorm prevention by 6%, and water
by rapid economic development. Half of China's retention by 4%. Conversely, habitat provision for
land is under some form of conservation, but biodiversity, as measured by the total habitat area
only scattered case studies exist to ascertain their of endemic, endangered, and nationally protected
effectiveness. Using a new model that assigns value species per county, decreased by 3%.
to "ecosystem services," defined as benefits that
the natural environment and healthy ecosystems • Gains varied significantly by region.
supply to people, this study assesses for the first
time the impact of China's conservation policies on Certain regions designated as important for
ecological preservation and human livelihoods. securing ecosystem services experienced striking
improvements, while other areas experienced
• The data. Using a unique and expansive decreases across evaluated measures.
To illustrate this point, though they made up only
dataset gathered between 2000–2010 that 37% of China’s area, priority conservation
includes more than 20,000 satellite images and areas realized 83% of the total gains in carbon
over 100,000 field surveys, along with other key sequestration, 78% in soil retention, 59% in
ecological health measures, the analysis measures sandstorm prevention, 80% in water retention, and
the impact of China's conservation policies on encompassed 56% of its natural habitats.
a range of ecosystem services including food In particular, three priority areas that had been
production, carbon sequestration, soil retention, degraded because of unsustainable human activity
sandstorm prevention, water retention, flood have realized marked improvements as a result of
mitigation, and habitat provision for biodiversity. conservation policies. Sanjiangyuan is the "water
tower" of Asia, containing the headwaters of the
• Major gains in ecosystem services. The Yellow, Yangtze, and Mekong Rivers. The Loess
Plateau is the most sensitive area to soil erosion
analysis finds that significant improvements have in the world. The Taihang Mountains are the
occurred across almost all evaluated measures, ecological shelter for northern China, including
largely due to intensive ecosystem restoration. Beijing, Tianjin, and the North China Plain.
China’s food production, quantified by the amount
of calories a unit of land can produce, increased by
39%. Carbon sequestration increased by 23% due to
25 AMCHAM SOUTH CHINA
Greening
of the People's Republic:
China's Investment
in Conservation
By the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI)
Analyzing China’s ecological conservation increased forest, grassland, and wetlands coverage.
policies is important for understanding how it Soil retention rose by 13%, flood mitigation by
is managing decades of ecological damage caused 13%, sandstorm prevention by 6%, and water
by rapid economic development. Half of China's retention by 4%. Conversely, habitat provision for
land is under some form of conservation, but biodiversity, as measured by the total habitat area
only scattered case studies exist to ascertain their of endemic, endangered, and nationally protected
effectiveness. Using a new model that assigns value species per county, decreased by 3%.
to "ecosystem services," defined as benefits that
the natural environment and healthy ecosystems • Gains varied significantly by region.
supply to people, this study assesses for the first
time the impact of China's conservation policies on Certain regions designated as important for
ecological preservation and human livelihoods. securing ecosystem services experienced striking
improvements, while other areas experienced
• The data. Using a unique and expansive decreases across evaluated measures.
To illustrate this point, though they made up only
dataset gathered between 2000–2010 that 37% of China’s area, priority conservation
includes more than 20,000 satellite images and areas realized 83% of the total gains in carbon
over 100,000 field surveys, along with other key sequestration, 78% in soil retention, 59% in
ecological health measures, the analysis measures sandstorm prevention, 80% in water retention, and
the impact of China's conservation policies on encompassed 56% of its natural habitats.
a range of ecosystem services including food In particular, three priority areas that had been
production, carbon sequestration, soil retention, degraded because of unsustainable human activity
sandstorm prevention, water retention, flood have realized marked improvements as a result of
mitigation, and habitat provision for biodiversity. conservation policies. Sanjiangyuan is the "water
tower" of Asia, containing the headwaters of the
• Major gains in ecosystem services. The Yellow, Yangtze, and Mekong Rivers. The Loess
Plateau is the most sensitive area to soil erosion
analysis finds that significant improvements have in the world. The Taihang Mountains are the
occurred across almost all evaluated measures, ecological shelter for northern China, including
largely due to intensive ecosystem restoration. Beijing, Tianjin, and the North China Plain.
China’s food production, quantified by the amount
of calories a unit of land can produce, increased by
39%. Carbon sequestration increased by 23% due to
25 AMCHAM SOUTH CHINA
