Follow Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization …
349
Wardens were responsible for protecting the natural environment by restricting access
to certain areas and enforcing relevant prohibitions.
The Industrial Revolution marks the beginning of the transition to a modern industrial civilization. Forests, an enormous natural treasure, continued to provide mankind
with basic raw material and fuel. The intentional massive use of forests was the
prelude to mankind’s transition from underdevelopment to development. The development of forest industry has produced the capital and raw material required for
development of industries, thus boosting industrialization.
Forests have played a vital role in all stages of the human civilization, be it
primitive civilization, agricultural civilization or industrial civilization, and have
made a great contribution to the development of mankind and the human civilization.
Nonetheless, we must be aware that the development of human civilization and
forests is accompanied by conflicts. The development of agriculture and industry
has caused pressure and impact on forests to varying degrees. As Karl Marx pointed
out over a century ago, “the development of civilization and industry in general
has always shown itself so active in the destruction of forests.” According to the
UN Environment Programme, the earth has lost half of its forests, for which human
activities are the main reason. While industrialization has boosted productivity and
globalization, it has also caused overexploitation of forest resources and greater
damage to ecosystems. Statistics show that over ten million hectares of forest is
destroyed every year.
Deforestation results in various problems, such as severer drought, flood and
soil erosion, biodiversity loss, desertification, etc. posing more and more daunting
challenges for the human world. These ecological crises indicate that there are unresolvable contradictions and deficiencies in the development model of mankind in
previous eras, especially during the industrial era. This has incurred careful thoughts
and deep explorations in human society. As it was said, human civilization started
when people cut down a tree for the first time, and it would come to an end when the
last tree was felled.
It is against such a backdrop that the concept of ecological civilization emerged as
a new form of civilization. It is not a complete negation of the industrial civilization,
but transcends the latter while maintaining its strengths. The core of an ecological
civilization is harmony between man and nature. It encompasses all previous forms of
civilization and seeks improvement from a higher perspective. It balances between
economic, social and ecological benefits so as to promote green and sustainable
socioeconomic development. It is the path that we must take for further development
of the human civilization.
Forests, as the mainstay of land ecosystems, have played an irreplaceable role in
all stages of the human civilization. Forests cover nearly 400 million hectares of land
on our planet, accounting for 30% of the total. More than one fifth of the world’s
population (about 1.6 billion people) depend on forests for livelihoods. Therefore,
forestry is an important part of an ecological civilization. Forestry finds its foundation
in forest resources and constitutes a major front in the endeavor to build an ecological
civilization. Forestry plays a key role in ecological development and conservation as
it is crucial for the conservation of the ecosystem.
349
Wardens were responsible for protecting the natural environment by restricting access
to certain areas and enforcing relevant prohibitions.
The Industrial Revolution marks the beginning of the transition to a modern industrial civilization. Forests, an enormous natural treasure, continued to provide mankind
with basic raw material and fuel. The intentional massive use of forests was the
prelude to mankind’s transition from underdevelopment to development. The development of forest industry has produced the capital and raw material required for
development of industries, thus boosting industrialization.
Forests have played a vital role in all stages of the human civilization, be it
primitive civilization, agricultural civilization or industrial civilization, and have
made a great contribution to the development of mankind and the human civilization.
Nonetheless, we must be aware that the development of human civilization and
forests is accompanied by conflicts. The development of agriculture and industry
has caused pressure and impact on forests to varying degrees. As Karl Marx pointed
out over a century ago, “the development of civilization and industry in general
has always shown itself so active in the destruction of forests.” According to the
UN Environment Programme, the earth has lost half of its forests, for which human
activities are the main reason. While industrialization has boosted productivity and
globalization, it has also caused overexploitation of forest resources and greater
damage to ecosystems. Statistics show that over ten million hectares of forest is
destroyed every year.
Deforestation results in various problems, such as severer drought, flood and
soil erosion, biodiversity loss, desertification, etc. posing more and more daunting
challenges for the human world. These ecological crises indicate that there are unresolvable contradictions and deficiencies in the development model of mankind in
previous eras, especially during the industrial era. This has incurred careful thoughts
and deep explorations in human society. As it was said, human civilization started
when people cut down a tree for the first time, and it would come to an end when the
last tree was felled.
It is against such a backdrop that the concept of ecological civilization emerged as
a new form of civilization. It is not a complete negation of the industrial civilization,
but transcends the latter while maintaining its strengths. The core of an ecological
civilization is harmony between man and nature. It encompasses all previous forms of
civilization and seeks improvement from a higher perspective. It balances between
economic, social and ecological benefits so as to promote green and sustainable
socioeconomic development. It is the path that we must take for further development
of the human civilization.
Forests, as the mainstay of land ecosystems, have played an irreplaceable role in
all stages of the human civilization. Forests cover nearly 400 million hectares of land
on our planet, accounting for 30% of the total. More than one fifth of the world’s
population (about 1.6 billion people) depend on forests for livelihoods. Therefore,
forestry is an important part of an ecological civilization. Forestry finds its foundation
in forest resources and constitutes a major front in the endeavor to build an ecological
civilization. Forestry plays a key role in ecological development and conservation as
it is crucial for the conservation of the ecosystem.