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Measuring the socioeconomic impacts of China's Natural Forest Protection Program

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 November 2006

YUEQIN SHEN ,
XIANCHUN LIAO  and
RUNSHENG YIN
YUEQIN SHEN
Affiliation:
School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang Forestry University, Lin'an, China 311300. Email: shenyueqin-zj@163.com
XIANCHUN LIAO
Affiliation:
Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824. Email: liaoxian@msu.edu
RUNSHENG YIN
Affiliation:
Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824. Email: yinr@msu.edu
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Abstract

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China has been implementing one of the world's largest ecological rehabilitation projects, the Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP), to improve its fragile and precarious environmental conditions. This paper measures the socioeconomic impacts of the NFPP using input–output (I–O) models. We find that the NFPP will expand the annual output of the forest sectors by 5.8 billion Yuan and the whole economy by 8.9 billion Yuan by 2010. Employment will increase by 0.84 million in the forest sectors and by 0.93 million in the whole economy. Associated with the enormous expansion of forest protection and management are huge contributions to mitigating water runoff, soil erosion, flooding, and biodiversity loss. The investments and adjustments are thus worthwhile, if the program is properly implemented. The challenges are to transform loggers into tree planters and forest managers and to ensure that the financial and institutional commitments by the local and national governments will be materialized.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 11 , Issue 6 , December 2006 , pp. 769 - 788
Copyright
2006 Cambridge University Press

Footnotes

The authors appreciate comments made by two anonymous reviewers and the Editors, as well as those by Gary Bull, Bill Hyde, Zhou Li, Can Liu, Gary Man, Xiufang Sun, Jennifer Turner, Andy White, Qing Xiang, Jintao Xu, and Lei Zhang. They are also grateful to Yaxiong Zhang from China's National Center of Economic Information, who provided the input–output tables. This research project received financial support from the US National Science Foundation, Forest Trends, and USDA Forest Service Office of International Programs.