China’s forests are regenerating from decades of logging, creating thus a deforestation issue for other nations which export wood to the country with the biggest population in the world, according to a new study made by researchers at Michigan State University in the United States.
Nearly 1.2% of China’s land recovered its lost trees between 2000 and 2010 and China decided to stop cutting their own trees for wood products for exports. Instead, it became one the most important timber importers.
"It is encouraging that China's forests have been recovering in the midst of its daunting environmental challenges," Jianguo Liu, a professor of sustainability and the study's co-author, stated.
Still, even if China recovers its forests, it also forces deforestation overseas, a thing that could produce global warming, as there would be no trees left to absorb the carbon dioxide gas out of the atmosphere. As the researchers stated after compiling data from NASA and other official information, there is a government programme which bans logging in some areas and controls the illegal timber harvesting, which works.
There are countries such as Madagascar, Vietnam or Indonesia that cut their trees to fulfill the Chinese demand, thus hurting the environment.
Liu added that "the exporting countries are suffering from deforestation. A large proportion of the wood products imported to China have been used to make furniture for developed countries such as the USA and those in Europe.”
Further studies are needed to be done in order to see how changing the patterns of deforestation could affect the land rights of communities who live in the damaged forests.
[gravityform id="1" title="true" description="true"]
[gravityform id="2" title="true" description="true"]