In China, with its long history, large population, and recurrent natural disasters, forests are of special importance in terms of economic development and environmental services. But due to utilisation, most of China's forests have been converted into low quality forests, which include secondary forests, open forests, forest plantations, young forests, shrubs, agricultural land areas, and over-degraded wasteland areas. Over utilisation is manifested in serious biodiversity loss, soil erosion, frequent flooding, decrease of natural forest area, and shortage of forest products.
China's timber imports are rising rapidly, with China now consuming over 130 million cubic metres of timber annually. Work done by WWF and partners shows that by 2003 there will be a deficit of 75 million m3 annually in the wood China uses to meet its domestic needs and export industry demand. This deficit will have to be met by wood sourced from elsewhere, for example from the Russian Far East.
Forest Certification offers a means to establish a sustainable forest industry. It is a process that leads to the issue of a certificate by an independent party, which verifies that an area of forest is managed to a defined standard. Though forest Certification is still at an early stage in China, there is increasing interest by the private sector and government.
