Evolution of ENCFC in China: Comparison
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Please note this is a comparison between Version 4 by Catherine Yang and Version 3 by Chang Xu.

Since the implementation of Ecological Noncommercial Forest Certification (ENCFC) in China, it has achieved certain ecological, social and economic results. In this study, we reviewed domestic and foreign literature to study the development of ENCFC in China, which is led and implemented by the Chinese government.

  • ecological non-commercial forest
  • forest certification
  • forest ecological compensation
  • China

1. Germination Stage

This stage is characterized by forestry that focuses on providing wood to meet social and economic development needs, but with a corresponding classification in the form of classified forestry management. In 1956, China began to build nature reserves and protect the trees within them, and the idea of classified forest management was first proposed. Subsequently, the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China for State Forest Managers, issued in 1958, proposed that forest resources should be divided into five forest species according to their role in the national economy: (1) timber forests, used for the supply of wood and bamboo for production and living; (2) special economic forests, used to collect tree fruits and seeds and develop other products needed for economic development; (3) shelterbelt forests, including soil and water conservation forests, windbreak and sand fixation forests, field protection forests, road protection forests, and green forests; (4) fuelwood forests, used for firewood and charcoal burning; and (5) forests with other special functions, including ancient and famous trees, scientific research forests, and national defense forests. Thus, a preliminary version of forest classification management was developed; however, due to the rigid demand of timber harvesting for national construction, wood development and utilization were the main forest resources during this time. The government did not conduct formal certification and classified management of forests during this stage [39][1].

2. Formation Stage

In this stage, the forestry classification management system was gradually established. In 1984, the Forest Law of the People’s Republic of China was passed by the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People’s Congress, officially dividing China’s forests into the five aforementioned types and restricting felling in some shelterbelts and special-use forests [40][2]. This marked the initial formation of China’s forestry classification management system.
Due to excessive timber harvesting, China’s ecological and environmental problems have become increasingly serious. Scholars have actively been exploring the development of China’s forestry. Yong [41][3] put forward the division of labor in forestry. Yong [41][3] emphasized that “dominant utilization of multiple forest functions” divided forestry into commercial forests, compatibility forests, and ecological non-commercial forests. This played an extremely important and positive role in promoting the classified management of China’s forestry.
In 1995, the former Commission for Restructuring and the Ministry of Forestry issued the General Outline for the Reform of Forestry Economic System, which suggested that forests should be divided into ecological non-commercial forests and commercial forests. Economic forests, timber forests, and fuel forests were classified as commercial forests, while special-use forests and shelterbelt forests were classified as ecological non-commercial forests. Subsequently, the Notice on Carrying out the Pilot Work of the Reform of Classified Forestry Management required the implementation of pilot work for defining the forest classification division of ecological non-commercial and commercial forests, which were concretely implemented into hilltop plots. However, there is no clear document on the construction management method and investment compensation policy of ecological non-commercial forests that matches classified forestry management.
After the significant floods in 1998, it became urgent for China to improve its ecological environment. The Chinese government successively launched various major forest ecological protection construction projects. When the Forest Law was amended in 1998, it further stipulated that commercial forests and ecological non-commercial forests should adopt different cutting and circulation systems and proposed that the central government should set up a compensation fund for the management and protection of ecological non-commercial forests. Clearly, however, the ecological non-commercial forest demarcation is the basis for the implementation of forestry classified management. Therefore, the implementation of the national forest classification regionalization work notice highlights the classifying forest demarcation. In addition, the National Bureau of Forestry and Grassland legally affirmed the use of forestry classified management practices for forestry classification management and mature space.

3. Pilot Stage

In this stage, the Chinese government formulated relatively detailed certification measures for ecological non-commercial forests. The Regulations on the Implementation of the Forest Law (2000) stipulate that the landowners of ecological non-commercial forests have the right to receive compensation for ecological benefits. To address the forestry department and Ministry of Finance’s compensation fund sources, repeated consultations were held, and finances were extracted from government-managed funds, charge reservoir beneficiaries, forest parks, and other ecological non-commercial forest compensation mechanisms, and arranged according to the budget compensation scheme [12][4].
In March 2001, in order to strengthen the protection and management of forest ecological non-commercial forests, the former State Forestry Administration formulated the National Ecological Non-commercial Forest Identification Measures in accordance with the Forest Law and the Regulations for the Implementation of the Forest Law to strengthen the protection. The demarcation scope of national ecological non-commercial forest includes the source and main stream of rivers, important lakes and large reservoirs, national railways and highways, cultural heritage sites, national nature reserves and their surrounding areas, and forest lands around natural forest protection project areas. At the same time, in order to put China's forestry classification management on a scientific path and guide the construction of ecological and non-commercial forests and other ecological projects to improve quality and efficiency, the State Administration of Technical Supervision has formulated the Construction Standards for Ecological and Non-commercial Forests. Subsequently, the Ministry of Finance issued the Measures for the Management of Forest Ecological Benefit Subsidy Fund, and established the forest ecological benefit subsidy system for the protection and management of ecological non-commercial forests in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Forest Law and the Implementation Regulations of the Forest Law, and included the forest ecological compensation into the annual government budget.
In November 2001, China launched the ENCFC subsidy fund and began to pilot it. (The pilot areas of the forest ecological benefit subsidy fund implemented in 2001 were 633000 hectares in Zhejiang Province, 2 million hectares in Hunan Province, 860000 hectares in Fujian Province, 1267000 hectares in Hebei Province, 1 million hectares in Xinjiang Province, 533000 hectares in Shandong Province, 800000 hectares in Anhui Province, 1914000 hectares in Heilongjiang Province, 1.267 million hectares in Jiangxi Province, 2.333 million hectares in Guangxi Province, and 1.4 million hectares in Liaoning Province) The central government invested 1 billion yuan in 11 provinces including Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, and Heilongjiang Province, The area is about 13 million hectares, promoting ecological benefits; The subsidy standard is 75 yuan per hectare. The launch of the pilot project of the ENCFC subsidy fund marked that the paid use of forest resources in China has entered a new stage, ending the free use of ecological non-commercial forest resources [12]。[4].

4. Advanced stage

After three years of pilot work, the forest ecological benefit compensation fund system was formally established and fully implemented in 2004, together with the Measures for the Definition of Key Ecological Non-commercial Forest Regionalization and the Measures for the Administration of the Central Forest Ecological Benefit Compensation Fund. Of the 267 million hectares of national forest land, 104 million hectares were designated as key ecological non-commercial forests, and 27 million hectares were selected as ecological benefit compensation [42][5]. The average subsidy per mu is 5 yuan, and the total scale of the central financial compensation fund is 2 billion yuan. In 2005, the compensation standard for ecological non-commercial forests was raised from 5 yuan/mu to 10 yuan/mu per year. Each province also made supplementary demarcation for ecological non-commercial forests in accordance with the National Measures for Delimitation of Ecological Non-commercial Forests.
In 2009, the newly revised Measures for the Regionalization of Ecological Non-Commercial Forests and the forest ecological benefit compensation fund management measures were implemented successively, which defined the compensation area as 70 million hectares, and increased the subsidies to the people directly responsible for forest management and protection. By 2012, the designated area of ecological non-commercial forest land was 124 million hectares, including 71 million hectares owned by the state and 53 million hectares owned by collectives and individuals. In 2013, the state increased the amount of compensation for collective and individual ecological non-commercial forests, raising the standard to 15 yuan per mu per year [43，44][6][7].
When the Forest Law was revised in 2019, it stipulated that "establish a compensation system for forest ecological benefits and increase support for ecological and non-commercial forest protection". These regulations provide a basic system for clarifying "general" cases. The Forest Law also strictly protects the ecological non-commercial forests under the jurisdiction of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration.
According to the Forest Law, "the state shall, according to the needs of ecological protection, determine the forest land with important ecological location or fragile ecological conditions and the main purpose of giving play to ecological benefits, and determine the forest on the forest land as ecological non-commercial forest. The ecological non-commercial forest shall be determined and announced by the State Council and the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

References

  1. Shang, W.B. The “thirteenth five-year plan annual forest cutting quota compilation plan” was released, the goal is to ensure that forest resources are harvested more and more. China For. 2014, 11, 1. (In Chinese)
  2. Xu, Y.F. Study on the Legal System of Forest Resources Management in State-Owned Forest Areas. Master’s Thesis, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China, 2007. (In Chinese).
  3. Yong, W.T. Division of Labor in Forestry: Research on the Development Path of Forestry in China; China Forestry Publishing House: Beijing, China, 1992. (In Chinese)
  4. Liang, B.J.; Shi, Y.; Yuan, W.G. Review and reflection on forest ecological benefit compensation policy in China. J. Cent. South Univ. For. Technol. 2014, 8, 1–5. (In Chinese)
  5. Zhang, L. Study on Reform of Forestry Classification Management in China. Master’s Thesis, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China, 2007. (In Chinese).
  6. Liu, M.M.; Lu, Q.Q.; Yang, J.C. On the problems and improvement of China’s forest ecological benefit compensation system. Issues For. Econ. 2018, 38, 99. (In Chinese)
  7. Qiu, X.L.; Chen, S.Z.; Zhao, R. Review on ecological compensation of public forest owned by collective and individual. World Agric. 2017, 9, 216–220, 231. (In Chinese)
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