Snow and sleet last January caused the biggest extreme weather disaster south China has ever seen, in the process causing massive damage to China's forests. Trees hundreds of years old collapsed and large numbers of wildlife perished. Thick forests succumbed like matchsticks as nature wreaked havoc. The result is a life-and-death test for south China's forest ecosystem. According to statistics from the State Forestry Administration, 10 percent of the country's forest areas were subject to the snow disaster, amounting to 18.6 million hectares, equal to the total tree-planting area added in five years. As the disaster-stricken areas provide the best environment for tree growing and also the best forest resources in the country, the loss resulting from the snow disaster has made it much more difficult for China to reach its goal of increasing the country' forest coverage rate by 20 percent in 2010. Over 50 percent of local income in these ravaged areas depend on the forest and agricultural sector, so foresters' livelihood will be seriously affected. As the timber production cycle is longer than that of other sectors, the disaster will not only sharply reduce foresters' earnings in 2008 but also in the following 3 to 5 years. The short term will also see a drop in timber supply, which will further widen the existing gap between supply and demand and force some businesses involved in the forestry sector to shut down. In the past 30 years, thanks to tree planting, natural forest protection and "grain-to-green" projects, forests have greatly increased. The past three decades have seen China's forests grow from 134 million hectares in 1978 to the current 175 million hectares, with the forest coverage rate jumping by 18.21 percent. The expanding forests are able to absorb more amounts of carbon dioxide: In 1990, the country's forests absorbed about 470 million tons of carbon dioxide every year and now the amount is calculated at more than 500 million tons, accounting for over 8 percent of the total greenhouse gas emission throughout China every year. Apart from a series of measures to accelerate tree planting and improve forest quality, the Chinese Government is also developing marsh gas so as to use forest resources in a more effective way. Apart from a direct economic loss of almost $8.1 billion in terms of the forestry sector, the snow disaster at the beginning of 2008 also caused major damage to the ecosystem in south China, severely reversing the good work done by China to maintain an ecological balance and relieve the greenhouse effect in the past years. Faced with a severe situation, forestry departments at various levels are taking action to organize reforestation initiatives and to maintain social stability in forest regions as life returns to normal. Programs on scientific assessment of snow disaster-stricken areas as well as policy formulation on ecological rehabilitation are being gradually launched, with a view to heal the forests in south China in 2008.

今年初中国南部省份遭遇的50年罕见的特大雨雪冰冻灾害，也使得中国的林业受到了历史上罕见的损失。受灾地区的森林成片倒伏，甚至粗如水桶的百年老树也被连根拔起，大量野生动物因此而死亡。对南中国的森林生态系统来说，无异于经历了一场生死考验。 来自中国林业局的数据显示，在这次冰雪灾害中，受灾森林面积占全国森林总面积的1/10，达1860万公顷，相当于中国1个五年规划增加的森林面积。由于受灾地区属于中国林业发展最快、活力最旺的地区，也是森林资源最好的地区，灾害造成的损失为2010年中国实现森林覆盖率达到20%的目标增加了很多困难。 受灾地区的林农林业收入约占总收入的50%以上，灾害将使林农今后几年的生活受到严重影响。由于林业生产比农业等其他行业周期性更长，这次灾害不仅将使灾区林农今年收入大幅减少，还将影响他们今后3至5年的收入。 今后几年中国林产品供给也将受到影响，原本紧张的木材供求矛盾可能更加突出，一些林业企业将停产。 近30年来，中国通过开展动员全民参加植树造林、实施天然林资源保护、退耕还林等一系列工程，森林面积有了很大提高。30年间，森林资源由1978年的1.34亿公顷增加到了现在的1.75亿公顷，森林覆盖率增加到了18.21%。 森林面积的增加使得中国每年碳的吸收也在不断增加。森林年吸收的二氧化碳量从1990年的约4.7亿多吨增加到现在的5亿多吨,约占全国温室气体年排放总量的8%以上。除采取一系列措施着力加快植树造林步伐、提高森林质量外，中国政府还大力发展沼气、改灶节材，以减少森林资源低值消耗。 2008年初的这场冰雪灾害除对中国林业造成了近81亿美元的直接经济损失外，还使得中国南部地区的生态系统受到严重破坏，中国近年来为保持生态平衡、缓解温室效应所做的努力受到重创。 . 面对严峻的形势，各级林业部门正在采取措施，组织开展灾后林业生产重建，维护林区社会稳定和林农群众正常的生产生活秩序。一些对受冰雪灾害地区的科学评估及生态恢复与重建对策研究项目也陆续启动，以研究“重伤”之后南中国森林系统的“康复”对策。如何让中国林业在灾害的重创中恢复过来，今年将会有不少艰巨的任务要去完成。