China's Forests Under Economic Reform: Timber Supplies, Environmental Protection, and Rural Resource Access

Abstract

China's national forest statistics describe increases in total forest cover during the 1980s but mask the diversity of responses to economic reform and some characteristics of the forests and, forest uses. The provincial‐level statistics reported here confirm the regional studies and anecdotal reports about widespread fellings of forest in the non‐state managed areas but demonstrate that high rates of harvest occurred in the state‐managed forests, too. These disaggregated statistics reveal the importance of direct investment projects, as opposed to pure reform measures, to provide environmental services and to increase, forest cover overall. In addition, these statistics provide evidence of an increase in the use of forest land for cash forests and fuelwood forests, as opposed to timber forests, by rural forest managers trying to meet their local resource and income needs.