Effects of Natural Disasters on Conservation Policies: The Case of the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, China

Abstract

Conservation policies are increasing in response to human-induced ecosystem degradation, but little is known about their interplay with natural disasters. Through an analysis of satellite imagery and field data we evaluated the impacts of a devastating earthquake on forest recovery and avoided forest loss estimated to have been obtained by two of the largest conservation programs in the world. Results show that more than 10% of the forests in Wenchuan County, Sichuan province, China were immediately affected by the 2008 earthquake, offsetting some gains in forest cover observed since the enactment of the conservation programs. But without the enactment of these conservation programs, the combined effects of human disturbance and earthquake-induced landslides could have severely reduced the region's forest cover. The continuation-and enhancement-of incentives for participation in conservation programs will be important for reducing the environmental impacts of the combined effects of human disturbance and natural hazards not only in the study area but also in many disaster-prone regions around the world.

Performance and prospects of payments for ecosystem services programs: Evidence from China

“…Moreover, the main activities responsible for deforestation in the reserve (i.e., logging and fuelwood collection) have been reduced due to the implementation of NFCP (see Section 3.2 below). Our previous studies (Tuanmu, 2012;Viña et al, 2011;Yang et al, 2013c) also suggest that the NFCP has been a major driving force of forest change in the reserve and surrounding areas since 2001. Viña et al (2011) indicated that NFCP together with GTGP led to the forest transition in Wenchuan County, from a net forest loss in 1990s to a net forest increase from to 2007.…”

“…Our previous studies (Tuanmu, 2012;Viña et al, 2011;Yang et al, 2013c) also suggest that the NFCP has been a major driving force of forest change in the reserve and surrounding areas since 2001. Viña et al (2011) indicated that NFCP together with GTGP led to the forest transition in Wenchuan County, from a net forest loss in 1990s to a net forest increase from to 2007. Tuanmu (2012 suggested that controlling for other confounding factors different NFCP monitoring approaches and payment rates in different areas caused different change rates of panda habitat (of which forest is an essential component) across space.…”

“…The dynamics of forest cover in the reserve were obtained from forest cover maps developed in previous studies Viña et al, 2007Viña et al, , 2011. These maps were developed using data from different satellite platforms (i.e., Corona, Landsat MSS and Landsat TM) combined with ground-truth data acquired during field work.…”

“…Image classification procedures ranged from visual interpretation ) to unsupervised digital image classification (Viña et al, 2007(Viña et al, , 2011 using the ISODATA technique, an iterative process for non-hierarchical pixel classification (Jensen, 1996). Overall accuracies of these maps were between 78% and 88% using independent ground-truth data Viña et al, 2007Viña et al, , 2011. These maps included two main land cover classes (i.e., forest and non-forest).…”

“…These maps included two main land cover classes (i.e., forest and non-forest). For a detailed description of classification procedures and assessments of map accuracy please refer to the cited studies Viña et al, 2007Viña et al, , 2011.…”