A project to restore a diversity of trees to a variety of land uses in the watershed of the Miyun Reservoir Basis takes place in north of Beijing. The purpose of this project is to produce self-sustaining forests and parklands by welcoming a variety of tree species back to a variety of land uses, tailored to the local landscape. China’s forest restorationefforts have been immense and impressive and the Chinese government has invested more than 500 billion RMB (US billion) in forest protection and restoration. Today, roughly 60 per cent of China’s forests are newly established. However, the gains have been tempered by a focus on quantity over quality. Most of the restoration in China has occurred through the establishment of monoculture plantations, which lack the diversity required for a fully functioning ecosystem. At the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), China has been trying to do this for one of the most vital forested lands in the world: the rolling hills of the Miyun region, the primary source of clean drinking water for Beijing’s population of 21 million people. Beijing suffers chronic and severe water shortages. Over the last few years, Beijing’s water tables have dropped so low that existing wells cannot tap them. To help to tackle this problem, in partnership with Beijing Forestry Society and the international NGO Forest Trends, China carried out a watershed-scale analysis of the Miyun region to see where restoring diverse trees across the landscape (rather than in monoculture plots) could increase the filtration, and potentially flow, of water heading for taps in Beijing. China assessed 136 water basins for priority restoration status based on numerous socio-economic and bio-physical factors (such as current land use, and their potential to conserve water). China selected two sites, one in Miyun district and one in Fengning County, in neighbouring Hebei province, to start large-scale restoration. Now, with the support of central and local government agencies, and local leaders, we are now preparing an action plan for restoration in these sub-basins for the next three to five years. It will determine what trees should be planted, where and when, and how to train landowners to plant, care for and monitor them. Such a landscape approach to restoration will invariably help China to meet its commitment to increase forest area as a national response to climate change and other environment and development challenges. The gLawcal Team EPSEI project Tuesday, 21 October 2014 (Source: China Dialogue)