GEOG 240 Topic 9 - Forestry in Asia Pacific Francis Yee Camosun College

Forest Resource and Deforestation I. Forest Resource and Changes II. Causes of Deforestation III. Consequences of Deforestation IV. Recent Forest Policies

I. Forest Resource and Change A. Forest Resource B. Forest Coverage Changes in Forested Areas C. Forests in China and SE Asia

A. Forested Area in Asia: a total of 4.7 million sq. km. of forested area or 12% of the world’ forest (6% in E Asia & 5% in SE Asia); China & Indonesia have the largest forest areas.

B. Forest coverage: lower than world average (31%) in E Asia (22%) but higher in SE Asia (49%); varied from less than 10% in Mongolia to >2/3 in Brunei, Japan and Laos

C. Changes in Forested Areas: high rate of deforestation in SE Asia while rapid reforestation in E Asia

Reforestation & Deforestation: which countries experienced the highest rates of deforestation and why?

C. China’s Forests  Small forested area (2.1 million sq. km. or 22% of land);  low per capita forested area (0.1 ha)  Location: NE China, Sichuan, Yunnan, and southern China  Deforestation: significant reduction since 1950s; nearly 10% loss in 1980s; -30% in Sichuan, Yunnan, Hainan  Afforestation: accelerated in 1990s; +25,000 sq. km. (+1.4%) annually during Afforestation in Yunnan, China (Photo by F. Yee 2005)

D. SE Asia Forestry  Higher forest coverage (49%)  Per capita forest land ranged from 0.1 ha in Philippines to 2.4 ha. in Laos  Major Location: Kalimantan, Sumatra, Irian Jaya in Indonesia; Sabah and Sarawak in E Malaysia, and N. Thailand  Deforestation: reduced from almost 100% to <50% in the last century; 17,000 sq. km. was lost annually (12,000 sq. km in Indonesia); 2/3 of wood used as fuelwood Deforestation in Burma (photo by F. Yee 2005)

II. Causes of Deforestation A. Industrialization and Globalization B. Population Growth C. Income Growth and Consumption D. Mismanagement E. War

A. Industrialization & Globalization 1. Forestry income: 3/4 from secondary wood processing 2. Production: Roundwood production (for construction) dropped but wood processing & paper production increased 3. Trade: Asia became the largest net importer (US$ 15 billions) of forest products in the world; SE Asia is a net exporter but E Asia is a net importer 4. Import tariffs for forest products were reduced and exports of manufactured products increased

B. Population Growth and agricultural Expansion 1. Population growth: declined but large absolute increase (+18 million per year during ) 2. Agricultural land: expanded to increase food production for an expanding population 3. Fuelwood: High demands for domestic cooking and heating (64% of wood harvested in SE Asia) Extension of agricultural land to forested areas in Sichuan (photo by F. Yee 2007)

C. Economic Growth in Asia: doubled that of the world average in most year  Consumption: Rising income increased demands for forest products, such as new houses, furniture, paper products, as consumption increases New Apartments just completed for Sale in Chengdu, Sichuan (photo by F. Yee 2007, China)

D. Mismanagement 1. Forest fires: increased due to drought & poor logging practices, eg forest fire in Indonesia in Illegal logging: occurred extensively in SE Asia; 73% of log production in Indonesia was illegal; weak central control over forest depletion 3. Diseases and pests: >10 million ha of forest affected annually by pests and >9 million ha affected by diseases

E. War  During the independence and civil wars, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos suffered from large scale destruction of its forests by millions of explosives, land mines, and use of chemical defoliants (e.g. Agent Orange)  Timber sales were also used to finance civil wars by conflicting factions in Cambodia during the 1970s-1990s

III. Consequences of Deforestation Large scale logging contributed to A. Soil Erosion and Flooding B. Droughts & Desertification C. Loss of Biodiversity

A. Soil Erosion and Flooding  Deforested land are exposed to direct sunlight, rain, and wind and accelerate the rate of soil erosion and mud slides  Soil erosion increase silt deposit in rivers cause silting problems and flooding e.g. Yangtze River

Flooding in Yangtze River, China (1998)  >3,600 people killed, the 2nd worst flood in 130 years.  14 million people left homeless, cause over US$20 billion in damages.  A logging ban was imposed after the flood to protect natural forests in 18 provinces covering 12 million sq. km

Flooding in Thailand  1988 Flooding Major mudslides in 14 provinces in southern Thailand due to monsoon rain 200 people died and 1 million affected property damages estimated at US$120 million Logging of natural forests were banned by the Thai government in 1989  2011 Flooding 3 months of monsoon rain in the north 500 people killed Bangkok factories & business seriously affected Details of the flood  

B. Droughts & Desertification  reduce water retention capacity of the deforested area can increase drought conditions and desertification e.g. Western China and Mongolia  Desertification in China affected 267 million ha. of land (or 28% of land area)  Sand and dust storms also increased from an average of 8 in the 1960s to 23 in the 1990s; In Mongolia deterioration of rangeland and cropland due to deforestation Dunhuang (Ming sha sand dune (Photo by F. Chow 2002)

C. Loss of Biodiversity in Asia: deforestation led to increasing loss of plant and animal species  3,000 native tree species in Philippines Vs 180 in Canada  Critically Endangered tree species: 122 in Indonesia

D. Recent Forestry Policy A. Logging Bans B. Conservation and Protection C. Afforestation D. Legislation and Policy Deforestation increased in Burma as a result of logging bans in China and Thailand (Photo by F. Yee, 2005)

A. Logging Bans  Logging Bans: China, Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam adopted policies to ban and restrict logging activities  results are mixed. Useful tool in forest conservation Negative impacts: loss of jobs, disruptive effects in neighboring countries through legal and illegal trade, timber smuggling, and market distortions.  Ineffective in reducing large scale flooding  Deforestation increased in Burma (Photo by F. Yee, 2005)

B. Conservation of Forest Land - rapidly increased in Asia but status of vegetation unclear and management not very effective

C. Afforestation  Over 4% per year in East Asia  Purpose: Environmental Protection Afforestation of degraded areas for soil conservation Establishment of windbreaks and shelterbelts to protect agriculture areas, stabilization of sand dunes Urban and peri-urban planting to improve amenity values

D. Legislation, Policies, and Regional Institutions  Legal framework: adopt a sound legislative and policy foundation to implement sustainable forest management, e.g. Vietnam  Policies: Participatory forestry and decentralization of forest management responsibilities were initiated, e.g. Cambodia  Policy Implementation: due to budget shortages, weak institutional capacity and governance  Role of NGOs- establish networks to raise awareness, disseminate research and provide advice on forest conservation  Regional institutions: to promote regional cooperation (e.g. Asia-Pacific Assn. Of Forestry Research Institutions)