Suchergebnisse

The Grain for Green Project (GGP) is one of many Nature-based Solutions (NbS), which aims to address the challenge of ecological restoration while providing livelihood security for farmers in poverty-dominated regions. Evaluating the success of such a project can prove difficult. Here, we choose the contiguous poverty-stricken regions (CPSR) of China to study the multiple benefits of the GGP in the context of NbS. We collect ecological-monitoring data, forest-resources data, and socioeconomic data and use them in a distributed method with relevant indicators, to evaluate the ecological benefits of the GGP. Additionally, the socioeconomic benefits are evaluated using questionnaire-based surveys. Our results showed that the ecological benefits of the GGP in the CPSR were 5.6 × 1011 RMB/a in 2017, with the proportion of each ecosystem's services being 27.1% (water conservation), 21.1% (biodiversity conservation), 18.4% (purification of the atmospheric environment), 13.1% (soil conservation), 12.9% (carbon sequestration and oxygen release), 5.4% (forest protection), and 1.6% (nutrient accumulation). In terms of socioeconomic benefit, the GGP changed the production methods of farmers, which resulted in income growth, with an average increase of 5100 RMB/a per household. In the context of NbS, ecological conservation, and restoration, the accurate and systematic monitoring of the socioeconomic and ecological benefits will become more important for government decisions.

Abstract: China's successful economic reforms have drawn attention to the question whether or not it can "feed itself." To assess that question, this article examines trends in population growth, per capita income, diet pattern, and a variety of agricultural factors (such as arable land, grain area, and fertilizer input). Evidence and conclusions are presented that offer a picture of China's food prospects different from those of the pessimists and optimists. The article finds that China can basically strike a balance between grain demand and supply in 2030, and thus feed itself, by fully utilizing the comparative advantage within China's borders and importing a small amount of grain from the international market.

Since 1949, China has achieved great success in feeding one-fifth of the world's population with only one-fifteenth of the world's arable land. By 1993, grain output had increased three times and per capita grain supply had almost doubled. The authors inquire whether or not China can feed itself and examine trends in population growth, per capita income, diet pattern, and a variety of agricultural factors (such as arable land, grain area, and fertilizer output). According to their findings, China can basically strike a balance between grain demand an supply in 2030. (DÜI-Sen)