Page 1 - Greening of the PRC's Investment in Conservation
P. 1
tributed by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China
Updated December 1, 2021
Measuring the Analyzing China’s ecological conservation policies is important for
impact of China’s understanding how it is managing decades of ecological damage caused
conservation policies by rapid economic development. Half of China’s land is under some form
of conservation, but only scattered case studies exist to ascertain their
on ecological effectiveness. Using a new model that assigns value to “ecosystem services,”
preservation and defined as benefits that the natural environment and healthy ecosystems
human livelihoods supply to people, this study assesses for the first time the impact of China’s
conservation policies on ecological preservation and human livelihoods.
The data. Using a unique and expansive dataset gathered between
2000–2010 that includes more than 20,000 satellite images and over 100,000
field surveys, along with other key ecological health measures, the
analysis measures the impact of China’s conservation policies on a range
of ecosystem services including food production, carbon sequestration,
soil retention, sandstorm prevention, water retention, flood mitigation,
and habitat provision for biodiversity.
Major gains in ecosystem services. The analysis finds that significant
improvements have occurred across almost all evaluated measures, largely
due to intensive ecosystem restoration. 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 increased forest, grassland,
and wetlands coverage. Soil retention rose by 13%, flood mitigation by 13%,
sandstorm prevention by 6%, and water retention by
4%. Conversely, habitat provision for biodiversity, as measured by the total
habitat area of endemic, endangered, and nationally protected species per
county, decreased by 3%.
Updated December 1, 2021
Measuring the Analyzing China’s ecological conservation policies is important for
impact of China’s understanding how it is managing decades of ecological damage caused
conservation policies by rapid economic development. Half of China’s land is under some form
of conservation, but only scattered case studies exist to ascertain their
on ecological effectiveness. Using a new model that assigns value to “ecosystem services,”
preservation and defined as benefits that the natural environment and healthy ecosystems
human livelihoods supply to people, this study assesses for the first time the impact of China’s
conservation policies on ecological preservation and human livelihoods.
The data. Using a unique and expansive dataset gathered between
2000–2010 that includes more than 20,000 satellite images and over 100,000
field surveys, along with other key ecological health measures, the
analysis measures the impact of China’s conservation policies on a range
of ecosystem services including food production, carbon sequestration,
soil retention, sandstorm prevention, water retention, flood mitigation,
and habitat provision for biodiversity.
Major gains in ecosystem services. The analysis finds that significant
improvements have occurred across almost all evaluated measures, largely
due to intensive ecosystem restoration. 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 increased forest, grassland,
and wetlands coverage. Soil retention rose by 13%, flood mitigation by 13%,
sandstorm prevention by 6%, and water retention by
4%. Conversely, habitat provision for biodiversity, as measured by the total
habitat area of endemic, endangered, and nationally protected species per
county, decreased by 3%.
