scholarly journals The Effectiveness of China’s National Forest Protection Program and National-level Nature Reserves, 2000 to 2010

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guopeng Ren ◽  
Stephen S. Young ◽  
Lin Wang ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Yongcheng Long ◽  
...  

There is profound interest in knowing the degree to which China’s institutions are capable of protecting its natural forests and biodiversity in the face of economic and political change. China’s two most important forest protection policies are its National Forest Protection Program (NFPP) and its National-level Nature Reserves (NNRs). The NFPP was implemented in 17 provinces starting in the year 2000 in response to deforestation-caused flooding. We used MODIS data (MOD13Q1) to estimate forest cover and forest loss across mainland China, and we report that 1.765 million km2or 18.7% of mainland China was covered in forest (12.3%, canopy cover > 70%) and woodland (6.4%, 40% ≤ canopy cover < 70%) in 2000. By 2010, a total of 480,203 km2of forest+woodland was lost, amounting to an annual deforestation rate of 2.7%. The forest-only loss was 127,473 km2, or 1.05% annually. The three most rapidly deforested provinces were outside NFPP jurisdiction, in the southeast. Within the NFPP provinces, the annual forest+woodland loss rate was 2.26%, and the forest-only rate was 0.62%. Because these loss rates are likely overestimates, China appears to have achieved, and even exceeded, its NFPP target of reducing deforestation to 1.1% annually in the target provinces. We also assemble the first-ever polygon dataset for China’s forested NNRs (n=237), which covered 74,030 km2in 2000. Conventional unmatched and covariate-matching analyses both find that about two-thirds of China’s NNRs exhibit effectiveness in protecting forest cover and that within-NNR deforestation rates are higher in provinces that have higher overall deforestation.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghislain Vieilledent ◽  
Clovis Grinand ◽  
Fety A. Rakotomalala ◽  
Rija Ranaivosoa ◽  
Jean-Roger Rakotoarijaona ◽  
...  

AbstractThe island of Madagascar has a unique biodiversity, mainly located in the tropical forests of the island. This biodiversity is highly threatened by anthropogenic deforestation. Existing historical forest maps at national level are scattered and have substantial gaps which prevent an exhaustive assessment of long-term deforestation trends in Madagascar. In this study, we combined historical national forest cover maps (covering the period 1953-2000) with a recent global annual tree cover loss dataset (2001-2014) to look at six decades of deforestation and forest fragmentation in Madagascar (from 1953 to 2014). We produced new forest cover maps at 30 m resolution for the year 1990 and annually from 2000 to 2014 over the full territory of Madagascar. We estimated that Madagascar has lost 44% of its natural forest cover over the period 1953-2014 (including 37% over the period 1973-2014). Natural forests cover 8.9 Mha in 2014 (15% of the national territory) and include 4.4 Mha (50%) of moist forests, 2.6 Mha (29%) of dry forests, 1.7 Mha of spiny forests (19%) and 177,000 ha (2%) of mangroves. Since 2005, the annual deforestation rate has progressively increased in Madagascar to reach 99,000 ha/yr during 2010-2014 (corresponding to a rate of 1.1%/yr). Around half of the forest (46%) is now located at less than 100 m from the forest edge. Our approach could be replicated to other developing countries with tropical forest. Accurate forest cover change maps can be used to assess the effectiveness of past and current conservation programs and implement new strategies for the future. In particular, forest maps and estimates can be used in the REDD+ framework which aims at “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation” and for optimizing the current protected area network.


2015 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 7659-7665
Author(s):  
Álvaro Javier Duque Montoya ◽  
Edersson Cabrera Montenegro ◽  
Álvaro Idarraga Piedrahíta

We assessed the expected historical and current species richness of shrubs and trees in the Department of Antioquia, northwest region of Colombia. We used the Fisher's alpha value associated with the pooled dataset of identified species in 16 1-ha plots that were used to extrapolate the scaled species richness of the Antioquia Province under three different scenarios: 1) the entire region before deforestation began, assuming an original forest cover of around 92% of the entire province (excluding paramos, rivers, and lakes). 2) The forest cover in 2010. 3) The expected forest cover in 2100 assuming the observed deforestation rate between 2000 and 2010 as a constant. We found that, despite relatively low local and global losses of species, global extinctions in terms of number of species could be dramatically high due to the high endemism and deforestation rates.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1143
Author(s):  
Serge C. Rafanoharana ◽  
Fatany Ollier D. Andrianambinina ◽  
Henintsoa Andry Rasamuel ◽  
Mamy A. Rakotoarijaona ◽  
Jörg U. Ganzhorn ◽  
...  

Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone for conservation biodiversity. Madagascar, as a hotspot for biodiversity, has a network of 114 terrestrial protected areas covering the main forest types occurring on the island. Deforestation continues unabated despite the network covering 11% of the island. Here we present a case study approach reporting on four PAs from the humid forests, dry western forests, and southwestern dry and spiny forests and thickets. To describe deforestation in and around the case sites, we have considered a time window of 30 years for analysis, focusing on six years with reliable data: 1990, 2000, 2010, 2015 (the year of latest PA network update), and 2017. We have considered forest versus other land covers within the PAs in “buffers” at a distance of 500 m, 2.5 km, 5 km, and 10 km from the border of the PA. These buffers were set from the border towards the center of the PA (inside the PAs) and from the border outside the PAs. The smallest PAs, Kasijy (IUCN IV), and Behara Tranomaro (no IUCN category), showed the least forest loss. Tsaratanana (IUCN I) had the highest deforestation rates within the last two years of analysis, with deforestation concentrated in the core area. Ranobe PK-32 (no IUCN category), originally with the largest forest extent, has lost most of its forest cover and showed the highest annual deforestation rate (3.5%) between 2015 and 2017. All four cases prove to be very challenging to manage. Future conservation activities require tailored interventions to account for site-specific current and potential future threats, as detailed in this contribution.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Thomas ◽  
Priscilla Baltezar ◽  
David Lagomasino ◽  
Atticus Stovall ◽  
Zaheer Iqbal ◽  
...  

AbstractTrees outside forests (TOF) are an underrepresented resource in forest poor nations. As a result of their frequent omission from national forest resource assessments and a lack of readily available very-high-resolution remotely sensed imagery, TOF status and characterization has until now, been unknown. Here, we assess the capacity of openly available 10 m ESA Sentinel constellation satellite imagery for mapping TOF extent at the national level in Bangladesh. In addition, we estimate canopy height for TOF using a TanDEM-X DEM. We map 2,233,578 ha of TOF in Bangladesh with a mean canopy height of 7.3 m. We map 31 and 53% more TOF than existing estimates of TOF and forest, respectively. We find TOF in Bangladesh is nationally fragmented as a consequence of agricultural activity, yet is capable of maintaining connectedness between remaining stands. Now, TOF accounting is feasible at the national scale using readily available datasets, enabling the mainstream inclusion of TOF in national forest resource assessments for other countries.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 1368-1377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guopeng Ren ◽  
Stephen S. Young ◽  
Lin Wang ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Yongcheng Long ◽  
...  

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 426
Author(s):  
David Skole ◽  
Jay Samek ◽  
Cheikh Mbow ◽  
Michael Chirwa ◽  
Dan Ndalowa ◽  
...  

Spatial time-series measurements of forest degradation rates are important for estimating national greenhouse gas emissions but have been challenging for open forests and woodlands. This lack of quantitative data on forest degradation rates, location and biomass is an important constraint to developing national REDD+ policy. In Malawi, and in most countries in Africa, most assessments of forest cover change for carbon emissions monitoring tend to report only deforestation in the public forest estate managed by the government, even when important forest degradation also occurs in agricultural areas, such as customary forests and other tree-based systems. This study has resulted in: (a) a new robust forest map for Malawi, (b) spatial and quantitative measurements of both forest degradation and deforestation, and (c) a demonstration of the approach through the introduction of a tool that maps across the broad landscape of forests and trees outside of forests. The results can be used to support REDD+ National Forest Monitoring Systems. This analysis produces new estimates of landscape-wide deforestation rates between 2000–2009 (22,410 ha yr−1) and 2009–2015 (38,937 ha yr−1). We further produce new estimates of the rate of forest degradation between 2000–2009 (42,961 ha yr−1) and 2009–2015 (71,878 ha yr−1). The contribution of these new tools and estimates to capacities for calculating carbon emissions are important, increasing prospects for full REDD+ readiness across semi-arid Africa.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1383
Author(s):  
Pham Thu Thuy ◽  
Le Thi Thanh Thuy ◽  
Tuyet Hoa Nie Kdam ◽  
Pham Van Truong ◽  
Tran Phuong Hanh Nie Kdam ◽  
...  

Vietnam’s Payment for Forest Ecosystem Services (PFES) scheme has the goal of protecting remaining natural forests by providing financial support to people involved in forest protection. However, studying the case of Dak Lak province in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam shows that even after eight years of PFES implementation, achieving this goal remains a challenge. Although PFES does provide a stable income source and higher payments than state forest protection programs, enables the mobilization of more personnel resources for patrolling forest and relieves a great burden on the state budget in terms of investment in forest protection and development, forest cover in Dak Lak province is still decreasing, mainly due to conversion for other land uses, especially commercial agricultural and industrial crops. These drivers are rooted in national socio-economic planning aimed at boosting economic growth and in local people’s need to sustain their livelihoods. In addition, our paper shows that illegal logging is still widespread in Dak Lak. Weak law enforcement in areas of forest managed by state forest authorities and state companies also contributes to deforestation. However, these drivers are neither fully recognized nor addressed, and instead, the blame for deforestation is laid on local communities. PFES alone cannot protect forests in Dak Lak province. It needs to be backed up by political commitment to address underlying drivers of deforestation, improved social programs to help local people diversify their income sources and clarity over land use.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-107
Author(s):  
resi diniyanti ◽  
alin halimatussadiah

One of the main objectives of the establishment of a conservation area is to preserve the ecosystem and biodiversity. Even in many countries around the world, including Indonesia, the establishment of conservation areas has become the government's alternative strategy for protecting and maintaining biodiversity resources. The government allocates budget for conservation areas, but in some locations degradation and deforestation still persist. It is therefore important to evaluate the commitment of the government to the protection of biodiversity, one of which is the rate of deforestation. This study aims to examine whether government spending has impact to control deforestation in conservation areas in Indonesia. Utilizing a dynamic panel model with a Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) estimation, this study uses the forest cover data in 43 national parks that lies in 114 districts/cities during 2013-2017. The results show that the government spending for forest protection activities and forest ranger has an effect on controlling the deforestation rate in conservation area. However, there is no evidence showing correlation between the spending for community empowerment to deforestation control. This indicates that the government should consider budget allocation to make deforestation control more effective.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (49) ◽  
pp. 24492-24499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anand Roopsind ◽  
Brent Sohngen ◽  
Jodi Brandt

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) is a climate change mitigation policy in which rich countries provide payments to developing countries for protecting their forests. In 2009, the countries of Norway and Guyana entered into one of the first bilateral REDD+ programs, with Norway offering to pay US$250 million to Guyana if annual deforestation rates remained below 0.056% from 2010 to 2015. To quantify the impact of this national REDD+ program, we construct a counterfactual times-series trajectory of annual tree cover loss using synthetic matching. This analytical approach allows us to quantify tree cover loss that would have occurred in the absence of the Norway-Guyana REDD+ program. We found that the Norway-Guyana REDD+ program reduced tree cover loss by 35% during the implementation period (2010 to 2015), equivalent to 12.8 million tons of avoided CO2 emissions. Our analysis indicates that national REDD+ payments attenuated the effect of increases in gold prices, an internationally traded commodity that is the primary deforestation driver in Guyana. Overall, we found strong evidence that the program met the additionality criteria of REDD+. However, we found that tree cover loss increased after the payments ended, and therefore, our results suggest that without continued payments, forest protection is not guaranteed. On the issue of leakage, which is complex and difficult to quantify, a multinational REDD+ program for a region could address leakage that results from differences in forest policies between neighboring countries.


2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
WILLIAM D. SUNDERLIN ◽  
SVEN WUNDER

Previous studies of deforestation have focused on agriculture, population and migration, timber exploitation, macroeconomic policies and geographic factors to explain the variability of deforestation rates among countries. This study tests the hypothesis that countries with a high proportion of petroleum or non-petroleum mineral exports in total exports experience a relatively low deforestation rate because of macroeconomic ‘Dutch disease’ effects. Bivariate and multivariate analyses provide preliminary support for the hypothesis, although they give little insight on how precisely mineral exports might exert their influence on forest cover. One reason for the limited utility of these methodologies is that they do not adequately explain the various effects of mineral windfalls that go beyond the Dutch disease's ‘core model’. Future research must attempt to understand these effects, which include: levels of funding for agriculture, roads, and directed settlement; agricultural protectionism; levels of rural poverty, urbanization, and consumer demand; the site-level effects of mineral extraction; and the variability of state autonomy.


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