After our discussion about legislation surrounding the Adirondacks and recently reading the
APA Act, I was interested in learning more about different environmental
agencies in countries around the World. The first country I was curious about
was China, as it is a country that is known to be a heavy polluter. China, in
collaboration with the United States, is
responsible for emitting nearly half the planet's carbon dioxide emissions. After researching, I came across the
website for The Ministry of Environmental Protection for the People’s Republic
of China. In the midst of browsing the
Laws and Policies for the Ministry of Environmental Protection, I found a Law
called “Forestry Law of the People’s Republic of China” that was enacted in
1985. Although most of the text is written in legal terms (although I am not even
sure how much of it is translated word for word), I found this Article most
interesting:
Article 4
Forests are
classified into the following five categories:
(1) Shelter forests: forests, woods and clusters of bushes with protection as the main aim including water source conservation forests, water and soil conservation forests, shelter forests against wind and for fixing sand, farmland and cattle farm shelter forests, embankment protection forests and highway/railway protection forests;
(2) Timber forests: forests and woods with timber production as the main aim including bamboo groves with production of bamboo materials as the main aim;
(3) Economic forests: woods with the production of fruits, edible oils, drinks, flavorings, industrial raw materials and medicinal materials as the main aim;
(4) Fuel forests: woods with the production of fuel as the main aim; and
(5) Special-purpose forests: forests and woods with national defence, environmental protection and scientific experiments as the main aim including national defence forests, experimental forests, mother tree forests, environmental protection forests, ornamental forests, woods at ancient and historical sites and revolutionary memorial places and forests in nature reserves.
(1) Shelter forests: forests, woods and clusters of bushes with protection as the main aim including water source conservation forests, water and soil conservation forests, shelter forests against wind and for fixing sand, farmland and cattle farm shelter forests, embankment protection forests and highway/railway protection forests;
(2) Timber forests: forests and woods with timber production as the main aim including bamboo groves with production of bamboo materials as the main aim;
(3) Economic forests: woods with the production of fruits, edible oils, drinks, flavorings, industrial raw materials and medicinal materials as the main aim;
(4) Fuel forests: woods with the production of fuel as the main aim; and
(5) Special-purpose forests: forests and woods with national defence, environmental protection and scientific experiments as the main aim including national defence forests, experimental forests, mother tree forests, environmental protection forests, ornamental forests, woods at ancient and historical sites and revolutionary memorial places and forests in nature reserves.
I found this extremely interesting because this Article resembles our
discussion about how the land in Adirondack Park is classified for particular uses. This article parallels how the classified land in the Adirondacks can only be used for its definitive purposes described in the APA act. It is interesting in China's Forestry Act that there is no forest that is set aside for recreational purposes. Each of the five categories for forests has a particular goal, none of which is recreation. Most of the forests are set aside solely for economic gain.
This is so interesting! How powerful, or prone to change is this legislation? China is fascinating, because within the last 35 years it has undergone massive industrial growth, rivaling the US as a hegemonic power, and exerting powerful economic influence on the rest of the world. So, even though China is an expansive country and these forests have clearly been set aside for economic purposes, will these forests really last? Or is China going to prove to us that forest protection and tremendous economic development can coincide?
ReplyDeleteCool post! I'm sure many countries have allotted different classifications for various portions of their forests.What is so interesting is that China has a predominately economical use for its forests... I wonder how other countries would compare.
ReplyDelete