Reforestation in the Sichuan Province of China

Remote sensing involves using satellite imagery to quantify change in the world around us. The field of remote sensing is a facet of geography that is essential to our being proactive rather than reactive to issues present in the environment. Our project uses remote sensing to analyze the effectiveness of the reforestation efforts in China with our goal being to assess the impact of these efforts by quantifying the reforestation in the province. Specifically, we focused on the Sichuan Province, which is located in the southwest portion of the country. This province was estimated to be 57% forested for the first millennium B.C.E.; however, over the last fifty years, the province has experienced massive deforestation due to a high demand for fiber, fuel, and agricultural land in addition to the logging industry, which became central to the province’s economy. Combined, these factors essentially exhausted the vegetation in the area, which is made more detrimental when one considers the loss of biodiversity—a celebrated aspect of the province due to it being the home of the Giant Panda—that accompanies the loss of forested areas. In order to combat deforestation, the government implemented two programs, the Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP)—a ten year plan designed to restore damaged environmental areas and protect remaining areas—and the Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) that converts agricultural land to forests or grasslands. Ultimately, the government was overall successful in their efforts to reforest