China has achieved a balance between its demand for wood products and the supply of timber from domestic forests, according to the country’s State Forestry Administration.
The nation’s total timber consumption reached a record 228.43 million m3 in 2003, while aggregate supply from Chinese forests was 224.13 million m3. The country imported 25.45 million m3 of timber and exported 21.52 million m3 for the year.
Officials said the Chinese government was committed to sustainable development and did not want to satisfy its domestic demand for wood via logging in neighbouring countries.
The State Forestry Administration said the government is cracking down on illegal logging of timber and has signed pacts with countries such as Russia and Indonesia on the protection and rational exploitation of forest resources.
China has introduced several projects to expand forest coverage since 1998, plus schemes to upgrade the quality of forests.
The country’s sixth survey on forestry resources, which involved more than 20,000 scientists and forestry workers between 1999 and 2003, found China’s forest cover has reached 18.21% – 175 million ha. The forests contain 12.45 billion m3 of wood, 1.58 billion of which is harvestable.
