China's Forest

"The King, who cannot take good care of the mountain, forest, lake and meadow, will not be able to rule the nation." -- Guan Zhong, Prime Minister of Qi State, Spring-Autumn Era International concerns about greenhouse gases and threats to biodiversity, as well as regional concerns about water supply, erosion control, watersheds, and local economic well-being make the study of forest policy more important than ever before. Understanding the factors that affect the forest environment in China, the country with the world's largest population and one of its most dynamic economies, is a critical step toward improving the long-term welfare of the global community. This is the first book to comprehensively evaluate the effects of forest policy as it has followed or extended from agricultural, trade, and other reforms that began in 1978. Among the issues it addresses are the pressures exerted by the growing economy on the forest environment, the environmental effects of extractive activities, the property rights arrangements that have fostered the most sustainable management practices, and the contribution that forestry can make as an agent of development. China's Forest Policy pays particular attention to China's successful use of economic incentives. As a laboratory for policy reforms, the geographic breadth of China, the diversity of its forest environments, and its extensive record of policy experimentation provides a rich supply of contrasting examples and statistically meaningful results. The analysis of these results offers important lessons for future policy reform in China -- and in almost every other nation in the world.

William Hyde's career in forest economics and policy spans 30 years Brian Belcher is a Senior Scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research Jintao Xu is Deputy Director of the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Vince Benziger is currently a consultant in Champaign, Illinois Xuhe Chen is Deputy Director General, International Network for Bamboo and Rattan, and Professor, Chinese Academy of Forestry David Edmunds currently works with Red Nation Consulting Maoyi Fu is Professor and Principal Scientist, Research Institute of Subtropical, Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Fuyang, Zhejiang, China Jikun Huang is Director, Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Shashi Kant is Associate Professor, University of Toronto Jari Kuuluvainen is Professor, University of Helsinki Natasha Landell-Mills is Senior Research Associate, International Institute of Economic Development Dachang Liu is Academic Director, Mekong Institute, Khon Kaen University, Thailand, and Associate Professor, Southwest Forestry College, Kunming, China Jinlong Liu is Associate Professor, Chinese Academy of Forestry Scott Rozelle is Professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Davis Manuel Ruiz Perez is Associate Professor, Autonomous University of Madrid, and Senior Research Associate, Center for International Forestry Research Jeffrey A. Sayer is curently Senior Associate, World Wide Fund for Nature -- China and Professor of International Nature Conservation, University of Utrecht Changjin Sun is Director, Research Center for Ecological and Environmental Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Jussi Uusivuori is Academy Researcher, University of Helsinki Xiaosheng Yang is Associate Professor, Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Fuyang Runsheng Yin is Associate Professor, Michigan State University Daowei Zhang is Professor, Auburn University Jiurong Zhang is Professor and Vice-President, Chinese Academy of Forestry Yaoqi Zhang was is currently Assistant Professor, Auburn University