Forestland-cover changes in China’s tropical area: Historicalpatterns, implications, and policy options—a case study fromXishuangbanna

作   者：Xin Shuyu, Jiang Chunqian, Zhang Dahong, Zhang Meiyan, Qin Qing Wang Shuo
期刊名称：JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
影响因子：0.625
卷 期 号：
页     码：
关键词：Forestland requisition; land-cover change; rubber plantations; tropical deforestation; Xishuangbanna
论文摘要：
To effectively conserve tropical forested areas, it is useful to study
and understand historical land-cover changes and local people’s
attitudes toward the current land-uses. Using forest inventory data,
and data collected from a survey of 145 households, we explored the
forestland-cover changes, within the past 50 yr, in Xishuangbanna,
China, and assessed the local residents’ perceptions toward the
existing forestland management schemes. Our analysis showed that
although forestland coverage has increased during the time-period
studied, the increase can be mostly attributed to the expansion of
rubber plantations. Forest degradation continues to be an issue in
the area studied. The government’s attempts to mitigate the effects
of rubber monocultures, by promoting environment-friendly plantations,
have been proven challenging, which was mainly due to locals’
unfavorable view of the plan. Also, because of the recent decreasing
prices of dry rubber, many locals have lost their interest in managing
the forest plots they own, hindering further the successful implementation
of the plan. Considering these challenges, and the strong
negative effects of rubber monocultures on biodiversity, we argue
that the current incentives should be further strengthened to promote
more efficiently the government’s “Environment-Friendly
Ecological Rubber Plantations” plan, and the joint management of
the locals’ forest plots