RESEARCH ON CHINA’S ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY TO PRESENT-DAY ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

Posted: January 5th, 2023

RESEARCH ON CHINA’S ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY TO PRESENT-DAY ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

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Research on China’s Environmental History to Present-Day Environmental Concerns

Introduction

Present China experiences considerable environmental issues that can be traced to the history of the country. Earlier administrators allowed large scale logging and deforestation with the objective of building the economy using the widely available natural resources (forests). Earlier leaders permitted entry into virgin forests where people cut down large tracts of forest cover for logging and other purposes. Even though earlier leaders enacted policies to regulate adverse logging practices, the trend continues and now has adverse effects on the Chinese environment. The rate of pollution continues to escalate because of increased production of goods, and deforestation and logging continue to be a matter of concern in China and Tibet. The Chinese can overcome the current environmental issues by learning from its past failures and acquiring valuable tips from countries that have made significant strides in protecting their forest cover.

Historical Perspective

Logging and deforestation had started in China as early as AD 1141. Menzies describes how Huang Tong, the leader of the Jin Dynasty, appointed Zhang Zhongyan who was in charge of the transportation of timber for construction purposes to the city of Kaifeng.[1] The team in charge of logging accessed the inaccessible mountain places, which had been accessed and harvested using the same techniques in the earlier years. The large timber located in the Qin Feng Mountains were difficult to access because of the terrain was so precipitous and ragged, which made it hard to access the raw material, but despite the hurdle, Zhongyan became innovative and built a bridge, which allowed vehicles to be transport the timber so easily as if it were on a flat ground.[2] In addition, the team employed some form of sophisticated technology to move the timber, and the river also played key functions in facilitating the movement of logs. However, it was sometimes necessary to build slipways and trestles that extended miles long to facilitate the bringing of the logs to water.[3] Menzies proceed to mention that the history of using forests in China depicts several cases of logging in places who distance from the mainland or the market and the rugged topography discouraged much exploitation of the resources apart from when the demand for timber was exceptionally high. Even though the logging happened in intervals with the motive of discouraging land exploitation and deforestation, it was evident the regulations were not effective enough because Menzies describes how in many cases, harvesting practices were followed by permanent change to agriculture and settlement. The historical perspective shows how logging and deforestation started in China many centuries ago, and failing to take proper measures may have laid the foundation for the current environmental issues facing the country.

The high demand for timber in China in the early twentieth century played a key roles in facilitating deforestation, but the government tried to develop some regulations to regulate the act, knowing the value of timber in restoring the Chinese economy. Miller writes that the Chinese recorded significant growth during the early parts of the 20^th century as its new administrators tried to form the Republic of China following the ousting of the Qing dynasty in 1912.[4] With many areas of focus and continuous division, the young nation strove to achieve a feeling of national union. Chinese leaders tried in many ways to enhance the national spirit and the material well-being of the Asian nation. Leaders acknowledged that trees offered one response to both of these requirements. The new Chinese government was quick to admit that all of the material required to develop a robust modern economy during the republican era (1911-1937) needed an uninterrupted supply of wood, for building railroad ties, railroad cars, poles for telephone and electric lines, advanced mills and dams, naval ships, bridges, steamboats, and paper for mass media, new maps, and books. Trees served as the primary component for getting most of the raw materials for the Chinese vision in the early 20^th century for building a new China.[5] The new administration acknowledged that to attain any of these goals, it needed a consistent and predictable supply of timber. Besides, the leaders know that it was imperative to develop a national forest policy put together with afforestation guidelines. President Yuan Shikai formed the National Forest Law in 1914, a couple of years after the formation of the Republic of China. The death of Shikai in 1916 put China under the leadership of a warlord who divided and ruled the country for more than ten years until Chiang Kai-shek assumed power and established a new centralized government in 1928 under the National Party.[6] Kai-shek’s new administration improved Shikai’s forestation policies with greater urge and focus.

Impact of Past Failures on Current Environmental Conditions

The evaluation of the historical aspects reveals that the current environmental tribulations in China trace their origin from the past when the government encouraged massive deforestation with the objective of developing the economy. The major developing nation in the globe, China has attained significant economic advancement, averaging a yearly gross domestic product growth rate of at least 10% over the past twenty years. But the advancement comes at the cost depreciating quality of the environment. Caramel and Thibault writes that in contemporary cities in China, outdoor air pollution is the major environmental concern for public health.[7] The origin of air pollution in the country has slowly transformed from traditional coal combustion to a blend of motor vehicle combustion and motor-vehicle productions. The yearly average concentrations of harmful components such as nitrogen dioxides, sulfur dioxide, and other inhalable particles that are dangerous to human beings have escalated over the years. Many researches have shown the severe effects outdoor air pollution in the country, revealing the severe health implications of air pollution, including escalating rates of premature mortality, hospitalization, and respiratory problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) found that open-air pollution was primary cause for hundreds of thousands of untimely deaths each year, and scholars in China offer similar findings. In rural China, biomass fuels and coal are still rampantly utilized, and contribute significantly to indoor pollution. Concrete proof for grave health effects for solid fuels is apparent, and affected persons can develop severe respiratory complications and cancers.[8] WHO approximates that solidified sources of fuels utilized in Chinese homes contributes towards more than 410,000 early deaths per year.

All the listed environmental complications in modern China can be attributed to the less restrictive policies against deforestation in the past. Deforestation has increased the amount of raw materials to manufacturing plants, which consequently results in increased production of elements that have severe health effects. Increased production of vehicles and other automobiles due to ease of access to fossil fuel has amplified the emission of harmful gaseous components that contribute towards the current

Deforestation in Modern China

Deforestation remains to be a major challenge in China. Presently about 14% of China is under forest cover, particularly in the southern, northern, and mountainous central parts of China. Several tropical rain forests exist in China, especially in Yunnan Province in the southern part of the country. Unlawful logging and burning forest eat approximately 5,200 square kilometers of unexploited forest cover each year. The rate of deforestation is serious in the central and northern parts of China where forest cover has been lowered in the last twenty years. The mountainous regions in Southwest China have encountered massive deforestation, hunting, logging, and gathering of animals and plants for traditional medicinal purposes.[9] The situation is worsening in Shaanxi, Qinghai, and Sichuan where evident overgrazing and cutting have transformed large tracts of forests in arid and semi-arid terrains. Massive logging along the Yangtze River basin as well as other major rivers have caused major mudslides, devastating landslides, and floods that have claimed the lives of thousands of people, swept away buildings and roads and causing other damages worth billions. Miller blames the overall drop in rainfall in many parts of China to deforestation, and experts warn that the situation may worsen if relevant stakeholders fail to take more effective mitigating measures.[10] The last remaining large tracts of forest cover in Manchuria, northeast China, are not spared either. Even these are being brought down at an alarming rate and processed into finished products such as ping pong paddles, toothpicks, and chopsticks. The environment ministry in China consumes at least 1.2 million cubic meters of timber annually, which is quite alarming and threatening at the same time. The furniture sector in China continues to consume large volumes of timber, and contributes significantly to alarming deforestation rates in nearby countries such as Indonesia and Russia.

The less restrictive policies against deforestation in the earlier Chinese society may have paved way for unregulated clearing of forest cover in Tibet, which is officially under the rule of the Chinese government. The Chinese people invaded and engaged in serious logging in the areas of Tibet, particularly in the 1980s and 90s.[11] A Tibetan who wanted to remain anonymous released the documentary called Cutting Down Tibet, which he kept a secret for long before of its explicit content revealing large scale logging in the interior parts of Tibet and large truck filled with large tree trunks some which extend up to 11 feet in diameter. Deforestation has transformed the once clear streams into muddy brown resources that are not much useful to local residents. An escalating number of livestock and the growing demand for fuel is stripping the region of its vegetation, and specialists think that run-off water from affected mountain slopes contribute towards relentless flooding of the Yangtze River. Authorities have since adopted a number of measures to slow deforestation in Tibet.[12] Chinese administrators have banned logging in highly targeted areas such as Gonjo, Markam, and Omda in part to regulate soil erosion from filling and contaminating water in the Three Gorges Dam reservoir. However, the Chinese should change their perception regarding deforestation and logging considering that the practice has significant historical connection, and focus on developing regulations that encourage reforestation.

Addressing Deforestation in China

China knows the adverse environmental effects associated with deforestation and logging, and the present government, like its predecessors, strives to develop policies that prevent further destruction. Legislators in China revised the Forest Law to outlaw the buying, processing, and transporting of unlawful logs.[13] The Law prohibits logging natural forest cover, and has set aside about $11 billion for reforestation initiatives and plans to use $1 billion annually over a period of thirty years to broaden protected lands.[14] The government should learn from past failures and introduce more effective measures that would curb deforestation. It is also important to identify countries that have made significant attempts to safeguard their forests and imitate some of their practices.

Conclusion

China must develop more effective legislations and become more watchful of its forests to protect its environment from adverse effects such as deforestation and logging. Historical analysis of logging and deforestation in China shows that such practices started many years ago, and the failure to enact more robust restrictive measures have built a culture where people heavily rely on timber for their local and commercial purposes. The failure to take more effective measures in the past appears to have a haunting effect today. The rate of pollution has increased significantly and this can be attributed to increased manufacturing activities that emit harmful inhalable components in the atmosphere. The rate of deforestation and logging continues in particular places in China and Tibet despite the existence of regulations that outlaw illegal logging. The Chinese can emulate countries that perform well in protecting forest cover and learn from past blunders and the country moves to safeguard its environment.

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[1] Nicholas K. Menzies, Forest and Land Management in Imperial China (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994), 111.

[2]. Menzies, Forest and Land Management in Imperial China, 111.

[3] Ibid, 112.

[4] Ian M. Miller, Fir and Empire: The Transformation of Forests in Early Modern China (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2020), 24.

[5] Ibid, 24.

[6] Ibid, 24.

[7] Laurence Caramel and Harold Thibault, “China at the Center of ‘Illegal Timber’ Trade” The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/dec/11/china-illegal-logging-deforestation

[8] John Gittings, “Battling China’s Deforestation” The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/mar/20/worlddispatch.china

[9] Ian M. Miller, “Forestry and the Politics of Sustainability in Early China,” Environmental History 22 (2017), 597.

[10] Ibid, 560.

[11] Ian M. Miller, “The Distant Roots of Beijing’s Palaces” Arcadia http://www.environmentandsociety.org/arcadia/distant-roots-beijings-palaces/

[12] Ibid

[13] Robert B. Marks, “Commercialization without Capitalism: Processes of Environmental Change in South China, 1550-1850,” Environmental History 1:1 (1996), 62.

[14] Ibid, 63.