--- ---  # Balancing climate action with livelihoods  _Forest workers patrol the Dashui forest farm in Baokang, Hubei province, on July 13\. YANG TAO / FOR CHINA DAILY_ By HOU LIQIANG When Song Zhanfeng returned to the forest in Wangyedian, a State-owned forest farm in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, he wasn’t thinking about carbon sinks, regional forestry cooperation or sustainable forest management. He was thinking about whether mushrooms would grow, and whether anyone would buy them. A former worker at the forest farm, Song had struggled after leaving his job during earlier reforms. In 2021, when the farm encouraged him to try growing red pine mushrooms under the canopies, he hesitated. Years of setbacks in business had made him wary of another loss-making venture. The forest farm responded with two guarantees: free technical guidance and help connecting growers with purchasers. It also offered rent-free land use in the first year, while the local government provided subsidies for the under-forest economy. A year later, Song planted some 3.2 acres of mushrooms. He recovered 140,000 yuan ($20,600) in costs and earned 100,000 yuan in profit. Based on later production conditions, his annual income was estimated at 200,000 yuan. He then expanded cultivation by another 4.9 acres and became a forest ranger, promoter and technician, helping other villagers understand how income generation and forest protection can reinforce each other. Song’s story is becoming more common in China’s forestry sector. Forests are increasingly being managed not only as ecological assets, but also as living systems that can support biodiversity, store carbon, provide legal timber and create income for local communities. Since 2011, Wangyedian has partnered with the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation, known as APFNet, on three phases of multifunctional forest management demonstration projects. The projects have restored 1,878 acres of degraded forest land, rebuilt about 166 acres of mixed forest demonstration sites on logged areas and established 329 acres of forest management demonstration sites. “Red pine mushroom cultivation in Wangyedian has expanded to about 329 acres, with an annual production of over 5,500 short tons, making it the largest production base of its kind in North China. It also generated over 1,000 job opportunities for local communities, with each laborer seeing an income of over 20,000 yuan,” said Ma Chenggong, deputy director of the Wangyedian Forest Farm. The practice has helped turn growers into participants in forest protection, while linking enterprises, research institutes, cooperatives, households and nature education. By 2025 China’s forest coverage reached roughly 25.1%, while its forest stock volume rose to almost 21 billion cubic meters, meeting ahead of schedule the 2030 nationally determined contribution target related to forest stock volume, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. The progress has been driven by long-term planning rather than isolated afforestation campaigns. China has built a planning system for forestry and grassland protection and development. The system coordinates forests, grasslands and national parks, and links ecological protection with resource management, land-use governance and green industries. Sustainable forest management has also become a common pursuit of regional cooperation on combating illegal logging and associated trade. Illegal logging is not only a trade or law-enforcement issue, but also a symptom of weak forest governance and unsustainable forest management. Better forest management, legal timber supply and community income can help reduce the drivers behind it. APFNet has become one of the platforms through which China supports such regional cooperation. APFNet has implemented more than 50 demonstration projects in 20 member economies in the past years, covering tropical forests, mangroves and dryland ecosystems. These projects have restored 3,279 acres of degraded land, helped build Myanmar’s first national arboretum, supported pilot planting and sustainable management of native sandalwood in Fiji, and established a precious tree species breeding center in Cambodia to conserve 56 tree species. In Cambodia, a forest restoration project has shown how ecological rehabilitation can be linked with local livelihoods. Jointly implemented by the Chinese Academy of Forestry and Cambodia’s forestry authorities, the project introduced close-to-nature forest management techniques to degraded tropical forest while helping local communities build more sustainable livelihoods in Siem Reap. It established 123 acres of forest restoration demonstration sites, helped villagers build 49 acres of home gardens and provided solar power systems for 20 households. A revolving fund of $7,840 was also set up to support livelihood activities. Such projects show that forest restoration can go beyond tree planting. In many developing economies, degraded forests are closely connected with rural livelihoods, energy access and local incomes. By combining restoration with household gardens, small funds, training and clean energy support, forestry projects can become more acceptable and sustainable for communities. As China moves from expanding forest area to improving forest quality, its experience may offer references for other Asia-Pacific economies facing the combined pressures of ecological degradation, livelihood needs and climate change. The lesson from Wangyedian is modest but practical: when forests are managed carefully, they can shelter more than trees. Through planning guidelines, demonstration projects, technical exchanges and capacity building, China is seeking to turn such local practices into shared regional experience. [](https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/) ## China Daily Website - Connecting China Connecting the World Since its launch in 1981, China Daily has grown to become the nation’s leading English-language newspaper. With a combined print, online and mobile readership of more than 470 million, it serves a vital role in telling the world about China, providing valuable insight into the world’s second-largest economy. [LEARN MORE](https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/) China Daily - TIME - Partner Content - Balancing climate action with livelihoods ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/china-daily/balancing-climate-action-with-livelihoods/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/china-daily/balancing-climate-action-with-livelihoods/"},"headline":"Balancing climate action with livelihoods","datePublished":"2026-08-12T09:12:49.670Z","dateModified":"2026-08-12T09:12:20.564Z","description":"Balancing climate action with livelihoods","url":"https://time.com/branded-content/china-daily/balancing-climate-action-with-livelihoods/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/china-daily/balancing-climate-action-with-livelihoods/","name":"Balancing climate action with livelihoods"}}]}] ```