Forestry Projects Research Articles

Local knowledge in a forestry development project of 1980s Burma

Local knowledge in a forestry development project of 1980s Burma

Public–Private Partnership as a Form of Ensuring Sustainable Development of the Forest Management Sphere

This article examines the application of one of the forms of modern public management—public–private partnership (PPP)—in the forestry sector. This contributes to the search for new forms and methods that uphold the principles of sustainable development, decentralization, liberalization and capitalization of natural resources. The purpose of this study is to determine the characteristic features and advantages of PPP as a special partnership between the state and business-entrepreneurial structures, as well as to analyze the prospects and justify the feasibility of using PPP tools to ensure effective forestry. The research methodology was based on the critical analysis of the scholarly literature. Strategic documents, political reports and programs relevant to the forestry sector were also examined. In summary, it can be said that PPP models are a significant addition to other types of cooperation, such as more formal, top-down initiatives. PPP forestry projects can enable the accomplishment of otherwise impossible tasks.

How socioeconomic factors affect ecosystem service value: Evidence from China

The impact of social and economic development on local ecological patterns should not be ignored. Because human beings cannot change the natural environment quickly, it is only by paying attention to the research on social and economic factors that we can promote the implementation of policies. From the perspective of ecological economics, this paper selects panel data for 31 provinces in China during 2000–2020 to explore the differences in influencing factors in different socioeconomic development stages by using the spatial Durbin model and piecewise regression method. We found that the distribution of ecosystem service value per unit area in China is uneven, being high in the east and low in the west, high in the south, and low in the north. At different stages of social and economic development, per capita GDP, the proportion of the primary industry, the proportion of the tertiary industry, industrial pollution control investment, population density, construction land area, total investment in key forestry projects, education infrastructure and per capita road length have different impacts on ecosystem service value, and even different spatial spillover effects on local and adjacent areas. Therefore, when formulating policies to improve the value of ecosystem services, the impact of socioeconomic factors in different regions and at different times must be carefully considered.

VOLUME TABLE OF Acacia auriculiformis A. CUNN. EX BENTH. AND Acacia mangium WILLD. PLANTED IN WOODLOT OF SOCIAL FORESTRY PROJECT IN DHAKA FOREST DIVISION OF BANGLADESH

Tree volume, the traditional measurement of wood quantity is a function of trees’ height, basal area, shape, and bark thickness. Tree volume table is the statement of expected tree volume of nominated dimensions in a particular forest stand or population. Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex. Benth. and Acacia mangium Willd. are two fast growing and hardy leguminous (Leguminosae, Mimosaceae) exotic species have widely been planted in the woodlot of Asian Development Bank financed Social Forestry Project in Bangladesh. In this study, models for calculating tree stem volume and a two way volume tables for both A. auriculiformis and A. mangium were developed. Data were collected from the social forestry woodlot of the respective species in Dhaka Forest Division, Bangladesh. Simple linear, logarithmic, polynomial, power and exponential regression models were developed. Best-fit model was selected based on highest R2 among seven linear regression models for volume calculation of A. auriculiformis and A. mangium. Regression R2 of the simple linear regression model for both the species was either higher or at least equal in compararison with said logarithmic, polynomial, power, and exponential regression models. Therefore, simple linear regression model as a function of height (h) and diameter at breast height (dbh) were adopted for the preparation of two way local volume table for both the species due to its simplicity in application.

Vegetation coverage and carbon sequestration changes in China’s forest projects area

To achieve the ultimate goal of carbon neutralization by 2060 in China, increasing carbon sequestration has become more important. Based on satellite images, field observations and spatial econometric models, this study examined vegetation coverage and carbon sequestration changes during the period 2000–2020 in China’s eight forestry engineering projects area, analysed their correlation, and compared their response to climate change. The results show that there was a significant turning green trend in all regions. The NDVI with an increasing trend accounted for 68.5 % of the whole study area, which were widely distributed and especially significant in the south. The NDVI with a decreasing trend were more concentrated in the north. For NEP, 31.44 % of the total study area showed decreasing trend, which had a wide distribution and more concentrated in the south and the coastal regions of China. NEP under increasing trend were more obvious in the centre and north of China. In time series, 77.85 % of NDVI in the total study area positively correlated with NEP, with the average correlation coefficient of R = 0.51 (P > 0.05), and the higher positive correlations were more concentrated in the centre and north of China. For precipitation, 83.32 % and 65.31 % of the total area can promote the increase in NDVI and NEP, with the effect more obvious in the north. For temperature, about half of the total area showed a positive correlation, more obvious in the north, for both NDVI and NEP. Spatially, NDVI changes corresponded well with NEP for most vegetation types, for both precipitation and temperature. The few differences only appeared for broad-leaved forest and coniferous forest changes with average precipitation higher than 50 mm between 2000 and 2020. We draw the conclusion that turning green will increase carbon sequestration, the effect is more obvious in northern China.

Ecological Civilization in the making: the ‘construction’ of China’s climate-forestry nexus

ABSTRACT In the Anthropocene, debates about global climate risks have taken carbon as a measure of policy success, with land-based mitigation strategies like afforestation receiving particular scrutiny. While scientists and policymakers discuss forestry as a potential climate solution, China has been implementing massive forestry projects for decades, drastically transforming environments under the Ecological Civilization framework. This article showcases China’s globally emerging paradigm of Eco-Civilization and its implications for the climate-forestry nexus. Drawing parallels with Ulrich Beck’s concept of ‘metamorphosis’ and Bruno Latour’s concept of ‘mutation,’ we argue that China’s Eco-Civilization aspires to a fundamental transformation in worldview – but one that is promoted as distinctly non-Western. We use the case of forestry to illuminate the potentially unique features of Chinese environmentalism as encapsulated in Eco-Civilization. We find that Eco-Civilization affords a strong role for the central state in actively building and constructing an ecological future in which the natural and the socio-political are not considered separate. This is in contrast to certain Western visions of preserving nature from human encroachment through grassroots environmental movements. We conclude by highlighting the theoretical contributions more pluralized debates about China’s environmental rise could bring to environmental sociology.

Test on the Policy Effect of Natural Forest Protection Project Using Double Difference Model from the Perspective of Forestry Total Factor Productivity

As one of the largest forestry ecological protection projects in China, the natural forest protection project has been implemented for 20 years, and great changes have taken place in the natural resources and social appearance of the forest area. This article regards the implementation of the natural forest protection project as a policy impact and makes an objective evaluation of the implementation effect of the policy through measurement and accounting. Based on the panel data of forestry total factor productivity (TFP) in 31 provinces in China from 1997 to 2018, this article uses the double difference model to investigate the impact of the policy impact of natural forest protection projects on the implementation of provincial forestry TFP from the perspective of quasinatural experiment. The results show that the natural forest protection project significantly improves the TFP of forestry in the province where the policy is implemented, and the higher the forest resource coverage, the more significant the provincial impact of policy implementation. From other influencing factors, the reduction of human investment, the rationalization of industrial structure, and the improvement of the level of scientific, technological, and economic development can also effectively mend the TFP of forestry in the region.

Effectiveness of vegetative mitigation strategies in the restoration of fluvial and fluvio-mass movement gully complexes over 60 years, East Coast region, North Island, New Zealand

Background: Early (1957–1997) remediation strategies, predominantly Pinus radiata D.Don afforestation and indigenous shrubland reversion, proved effective in treating gully erosion in the East Coast region, North Island, New Zealand. However, the expansion of untreated gullies and initiation of new ones necessitated additional investment in land-use change (1997– 2017) to reduce their on- and off-site impacts. Methods: Gullies were digitised from aerial photography flown in ~1957 (before reforestation) and again in 1997. The region was re-flown in 2017, providing an opportunity to assess remediation successes and failures. For hill country areas, gully location and size were recorded by vegetation type, for major catchments, for two contrasting geological terrains, and for land designated in Gisborne District Council’s Combined Regional and District Plan as Land Overlay 3A (LO3A). Results: Between 1997 and 2017, 601 treated gullies fully re-stabilised and 315 new gullies formed. There remain 1864 gullies, comprising 5347 ha. This represents a 13% reduction in numbers and a 31% decrease in area during this 20-year period. Over the longer 60-year period, and across all land uses, 2942 treated gullies successfully stabilised. However, with the initiation of 1446 new gullies there are currently 5347 ha of gully requiring further treatment, with the largest of the affected area equally distributed across pastoral and reforested hill country and primarily located within the Tertiary terrain, Waiapu catchment, and areas designated as LO3A. Conclusions: Although attempts at gully remediation since the early 1960s have resulted in a 45% reduction in gully number, the current area of hill country affected by gullying is only 5% less than 60 years ago. During this period, gully initiation and development have outstripped mandated erosion control targets set by the East Coast Forestry Project (ECFP), for land designated as LO3A, and for the ‘Restoration of the Waiapu Catchment’ by 2020-22. Addressing ongoing on- and off-site impacts of gully erosion will require further significant long-term investment in the prioritisation and completion of these unfulfilled targets. For gullies identified in the National Environmental Standard for Plantation Forestry (NES-PF) as high erosion risk (orange zone) or where the erosion risk is very high (red zone), we recommend: (i) a revision of remediation strategies for the larger and more actively eroding of gullies destined for future afforestation, and (ii) for gullies within exotic production forests, the replanting of species (exotic or indigenous) better suited to providing long-term stabilisation, post-harvest.

La vivaistica forestale in Italia al bivio: sfide e strategie

The recognition of the key role of forests in contrasting the dramatic effects of climate change and biodiversity crisis is the pillar of many initiatives on a global, European, and national scale calling for afforestation campaigns. The Italian forest nursery sector is currently inadequate to meet the demand for tree seedlings for the national campaigns. Forest nursery production is characterized by regional or local companies that are remarkably different from each other in organization and efficiency. It is therefore urgent to develop a comprehensive restructuring of the entire sector to be able to respond to the specific needs of forestry projects in Italy and Europe. In this paper, we present a series of key principles and criteria aimed at guiding the renaissance of the sector. Strategic actions are proposed by integrating research, governance, public/private partnership, training, and communication. The strategic approach presented is based on a collaborative structure integrating various skills and responsibilities. The first step is an expert review of the Basic Materials (BM) included in the National Register thanks to the development of the genetic studies of forest stands and the inclusion of shrub and herbaceous species, essentials for ecosystem restoration projects counteracting the biodiversity crisis. A series of actions concerns the aspects of certification, voluntary or prescriptive, of the quality of BM, and the ultimate harmonization of national production to European standards. Particular importance needs to be devoted to the collection, evaluation, and conservation of seeds to develop innovative solutions both for the production of BM and for specific implementation phases of afforestation projects and ecosystem restoration. The governance phase might be implemented through the creation of interregional centers with the duty of collecting and conserving seeds, thus enhancing the existing experiences of outstanding regional and provincial tree nurseries with the support of the National Centers for the study and conservation of Forest Biodiversity. Furthermore, the promotion of partnerships between public and private companies and the creation of a shared and accessible national platform represent strategic actions of primary importance. A fundamental role is then assigned to the implementation of training programs and the construction of an open and incremental communication plan. Thanks to these actions it will be possible to place forest nurseries at the center of the relationships between tree planting and afforestation plans and programs, integrated forest design, implementation of new forests, and their adaptive management.

Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) applied to evaluating the forest management approaches

The study mainly aims at looking into the disparities in beneficiary’s socio-economic status between the areas without implementation of forestry plans and the areas where forestry plans had initially been available even though they have recently been terminated as well. Babol Roud forestry plan is located in Lafoor forest area in the Babol County, the Mazandaran Province, Northeast Iran. This research was divided into three steps: first of all, by making use of Cochran’s formula, we identified the number of participants. Later on, the Delphi method was employed in order to determine criteria and subcriteria through the questionnaires. From then on, Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) was used to quantify the criteria that were weighted by experts’ viewpoints through the planned questionnaires. By adopting the Fuzzy Forests method, we found out that the economic, environmental, social and managerial criteria are most prominent. Forestry project staff’s income was in the highest relative weight (0.23) based on participant’s viewpoint. Most of the participants in the study did not give their consent to the forestry plan suspension due to the inevitably forthcoming economic and environmental problems ahead. Instead, they strongly underlined the need to go into immediate action such as revising the former plans as well as constant stream of close attention to the plan execution details of the ongoing process. Eventually, developing a new policy and using alternative forest management strategies that would meet the needs of all various stakeholders have been recommended.

КОРУПЦІЙНІ РИЗИКИ ЯК ЗАВАДА ДЛЯ МІЖНАРОДНО-ПРАВОВОГО РЕЖИМУ ЗМІНИ КЛІМАТУ

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (Glasgow, 2021), the largest conference of the parties to date, shaped the respective international legal regime according to state-of-the-art vision. Its outcome documents reflect the principal need for immediate actions during this critical decade to keep as reachable an aim to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The reasons for the current limited success in realization of the global climate goals are rooted not in issues of macrolevel, such as North–South divide, exclusively. Though never mentioned in the principal documents of the climate change regime, the corrupt practices significantly reduce the ability to address this global challenge. The article provides an overview of the key areas of actions that all parties of the regime are expected to take in order to accelerate their efforts pursuant to the Glasgow Climate Pact. Within this framework, mitigation, adaptation, finance and collaboration are examined taking into consideration corruption risks associated with them. The article argues that implementation of the commitment to mobilize not less than USD100 billion annually for adaptation measures, as well as growing mitigation finance, a priori possess a high corruption potential. Corruption challenges impeding sectors of the global climate action such as international carbon markets, phasing-down coal power, sustainable forestry and construction projects for adaptation, are considered. The article points to 'conventional' and new, associated with uncertainty and lack of the relevant experience forms of corruption. It is noted that Glasgow efforts to fully operationalize the Paris Agreement provisions by coming to an understanding on a new mechanism and standards for international carbon markets, common reporting requirements on emissions and support, as well as common timeframes for emissions reductions targets will inhibit corruption, but will not be able to totally eradicate it. Both, climate change and corruption, have become priority issues of international concern. The article claims that responding to existing challenges the climate change international legal regime will interact with the international legal framework against corruption. Though particular forms and directions for such interaction are not clear to the moment, knowledge, norms and techniques shaped within the anti-corruption framework will be potentially useful for global climate change actions.

What benefit-sharing mechanisms can help forestry-based land restitution beneficiaries in South Africa? The case of Limpopo province forestry projects

ABSTRACT The capture of the benefits by the elites due to the lack of a benefit-sharing mechanism is a serious threat to the development of forestry land restitution projects in South Africa. This study investigated the benefit-sharing mechanisms desirable to land claimant beneficiaries in forestry-based land restitution projects. A random sampling technique was used to select 351 and 170 households’ beneficiaries in Levubu and Tzaneen communities in Limpopo Province, respectively. Data were collected using a household questionnaire and focus group discussions. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. Findings revealed that there are still no benefit-sharing mechanisms in Levubu and Tzaneen communities, but the beneficiaries comprehend the significance of developing a benefit-sharing mechanism for fair and equal distribution of benefits. The results revealed that stakeholders’ meetings (58.7%) and open beneficiaries’ meetings (40.6%) were preferred mechanisms. In addition, beneficiaries in both Levubu (54.4%) and Tzaneen (68.9%) preferred to receive benefits monthly. This paper provides the first overview of a benefit-sharing model in forestry-based land restitution projects in South Africa. It concludes that there is a need to consider the early development of a benefit-sharing mechanism in land restitution projects in order to allow a greater equal share of the benefits.

Space-Time Conglomerates Analysis of the Forest-Based Power Plants in Brazil (2000–2019)

Forest based power plants are alternatives in the diversification of domestic energy supply in Brazil, given the growing demand for electricity in recent decades. Evidences of space-time clusters contribute to the understanding of regional development associated with correlated activity. Therefore, this paper analyzed the space-time conglomerates for Brazilian forest-based power plants, from 2000 to 2019. The data used were from the Generation Information System of the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL)-SIGA. It detected the existence of clusters by means of scan statistics via space-time permutation, considering the high level of conglomeration. The results show the Center-South region of Brazil with the highest concentration of conglomerates, with black liquor and forest residues being the most used energy resources. The clusters with the highest installed power were in the early 2010s, with the black liquor plants. The regions with the formation of fast-growing forest plantations promoted the existence of conglomerates associated with the pulp and paper and steel industry complexes. It is concluded that there was a conglomeration of forest power plants in the central-south region of Brazil, in which they help in decision-making and guidance of public policies for forestry projects for energy.

The end of indigenous territory? Projected counterurbanization in rural Protected Indigenous Areas in Temuco, Chile

Indigenous land is permeable to uses and practices that differ greatly from what current regulations establish. At the international level it is possible to see how real estate, agribusiness and forestry projects are diminishing these communities' capacity to control and manage their territories. A similar situation can be seen in Chile, where Mapuche communities have experienced a loss of territory to these external productive agents. However, a new actor has appeared on the horizon of permeability of indigenous territory: the amenity migrant. In this sense, and less evidently in the international literature, the counterurbanization process based on amenity uses in legally protected indigenous lands opens up a new front in the conflicts over peri-urban lands. The objective of this paper is to explore and discover the future impacts that the processes of suburbanization through counterurbanization will have indigenous lands in the vicinity of the city of Temuco, regional capital of La Araucanía (Chile), which are already visible. Considering a series of variables theoretically related to the projection of natural amenity on rural land and applying a logistic regression model, the results indicate that the future of the Títulos de Merced, the main mechanism recognizing property over indigenous lands, will be affected by the expansion of leisure plots, the modality through which amenity practices in Chile are disseminated. With this evidence, the implications that this situation has for Territorial Planning Instruments are discussed.

Risk Identification and Assessment of PPP Forestry Projects in China Using a Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation Approach

At present, the Chinese government is vigorously promoting the use of PPP mode to attract social capital and financial capital into the field of forestry, including ecological construction, protection and utilization, which is of great significance for promoting the construction of ecological civilization and the development of both the economy and the society. Because the financing, organization, implementation and environmental factors of PPP forestry projects are relatively complicated, there are certain risks for both the government and social capital. In order to evaluate the risks of China's forestry projects for the government and social capital, 43 risk factors were identified and divided into 4 groups based on Delphi method and questionnaire survey. 23 key risk factors were selected according to the standardized values. Then, the probability of occurrence (PO), impact size (IS) and overall risk level (ORL) of each key factor were determined by fuzzy synthetic evaluation(FSE) method, and each KRF, KRG and overall risk level (ORL) were calculated. Based on the results, "Government Decision Risk" in KRF was the most critical risk factor, and KRG "Financial Risk" was the most critical risk factor group. Overall, fuzzy comprehensive results showed that the ORL of China's forestry PPP project is relatively high. According to the analysis results, countermeasures were put forward. The research results could provide reference for all participants in PPP forestry projects to make decisions, and formulate a comprehensive risk management plan to use limited resources. In addition, this study could expand professional knowledge and enrich relevant results.

Opportunities and Challenges for Achieving Land Degradation Neutrality in the Forest Sector

Forests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems and play a major role in mitigating climate change and providing livelihood opportunities to the forest fringe communities. Relevant policies, laws and regulations, ongoing forestry programmes and projects for conservation and sustainable management of forests as well as for meeting the national targets and international commitments across the country provides enabling environment for achieving land degradation neutrality in the forest sector. Main challenges identified for achieving land degradation neutrality in the forest sector are no coordination mechanism among the institutions dealing the issues related to land, poor linkages between financial institutional and forestry institutions, non-availability of sufficient finance for restoration of degraded forest lands, lack of capacity of stakeholders for dealing the issue and no specific responsibility of the corporate sector in restoration of degraded forest lands. Besides addressing these challenges, setting up of state-specific land degradation neutrality targets and transformative projects need to be implemented for restoration of degraded forests and achieving land degradation neutrality.

Characteristics of Soil Macrofauna and Its Coupling Relationship with Environmental Factors in the Loess Area of Northern Shaanxi

Even with the in-depth implementation of forestry ecological projects, such as restoring farmland to forest (grass) in the loess area of northern Shaanxi, the characteristics of soil macrofauna communities and their coupling relationship with environmental factors after vegetation restoration in the study area are yet obscure. However, the soil macrofauna community characteristics are of great significance for evaluating the effectiveness of vegetation restoration in the study area. Therefore, the study aims to reveal the characteristics of the soil macrofauna community and their coupling relationships with the environment in the loess area of northern Shaanxi. In this study, all organisms of the five typical vegetation types in the study area were collected by manual sorting (Armeniaca sibirica and Populus simonii mixed forest (M), Robinia pseudoacacia (P), Populus simonii (S), Populus hopeiensis (H) and Hippophae rhamnoides (R)), and the adjacent abandoned grassland (G) was used as a control group. The group number and the individual number of soil macrofauna of different vegetation types in the study area and their coupling relationships with environmental factors are studied, and the following conclusions were drawn. (1) The study shows that there are certain differences in the environmental factors of different vegetation types in the study area, which include the significant differences in the alkaline nitrogen content of various vegetation types (p < 0.05). (2) The effects of different vegetation on soil macrofauna community were different. There were no significant differences in the soil macrofauna community structure between Armeniaca sibirica and Populus simonii mixed forest, Robinia pseudoacacia, Populus simonii and Populus hopeiensis, but there was a large difference from that of the abandoned grasslands. The community density of soil macrofauna in Armeniaca sibirica and Populus simonii mixed forest and Populus simonii were significantly higher than that in the abandoned grassland (p < 0.05), but the other indexes showed no significant differences. The Shannon–Wiener index of Robinia pseudoacacia and Populus hopeiensis were much lower than that of the abandoned grassland (p < 0.05). (3) The diversity of soil macrofauna communities was mainly affected by pH, alkaline nitrogen, potassium available, vegetation coverage and litter production. (4) Different groups of soil macrofauna were closely related and reacted differently to environmental factors, and vegetation coverage, litter production and alkaline nitrogen content were the key factors affecting the composition of soil macrofauna communities.

Modelling of River Flows, Sediment and Contaminants Transport

Economic development projects in river basins, involving mining, forestry, agriculture and urban developments, invariably impact the aquatic ecosystems of the basin [...]

EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OF HUMAN POPULATION IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HABITAT DESTRUCTION AND LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY ON THE MOTHER EARTH

There are a number of clearly defined processes leading to destruction of habitat and loss of biodiversity, but the ultimate cause of all these is the increasing human population. Most endangered species are threatened by numerous factors, but habitat loss worldwide is generally viewed as the single largest cause of biodiversity loss. When humans convert uninhabited areas for agriculture, forestry, urban development, or water projects like construction of dams, hydropower, and irrigation channels, they reduce or eliminate its usefulness as a habitat for the other species that live there. Biodiversity is the natural variety of living creatures we see around us. It is the variety of all forms of life on this terrestrial ecosystem. High rates of extinction are quickly reducing biodiversity especially in areas with high human population density and growth in the world. The direct and indirect effects of human interference on biodiversity are very challenging. Quantifying loss of genetic diversity is difficult, but it is clear that the extinction of species and declines in their population lead to a loss of genetic diversity. Unfortunately, the majority of the human population growth is seen within the greatest biodiversity hotspots. Scientific studies demonstrates that 87.9 percent of variation in endangered species can be explained by the single factor of human population density. In history many natural extinctions of species were witnessed, but the current rates of extinction are estimated to be roughly 100- times higher than the typical rates in the fossil record, and this increase of extinction will be 1000- 10,000 times higher in the future.

Spatiotemporal evolution of ecological vulnerability in the Yellow River Basin under ecological restoration initiatives

• New integrated ecological vulnerability evaluation system for arid and semi-arid regions is developed. • The vulnerability level is largely mitigated in the YRB during 2001–2019. • Ecological vulnerability has obvious geographical heterogeneity, Very heavy vulnerability dominates in the upstream. • The variations of ecological vulnerability are closely related to ecological restoration policies. Drought, water shortage, and anthropogenic disturbance bring about serious ecological issues in the Yellow River Basin. In recent decades, the “Grain-for-Green” project, wind-sand control, and water ecological civilization construction are major events affecting the ecological vulnerability in the Yellow River Basin. Based on the “exposure-sensitivity-adaptability” framework and earth observation data, this study proposes an ecological vulnerability evaluation index system that reflects the impacts of natural and human stressors and assesses the ecological vulnerability in the Yellow River Basin during different policy periods. The results show that the overall ecological vulnerability level shows a decreasing trend from 2001 to 2019 in the Yellow River Basin, despite a slight increase in 2015 due to the impact of the dry climate. Medium ecological vulnerability level prevails in the Yellow River Basin. The vulnerability levels have obvious geographical spatial variation. The northern areas in the upper reaches are most vulnerable. Ecological vulnerability in the midstream is better than that in downstream. Ecological restoration policies had an overall positive influence on ecological vulnerability improvement. From 2001 to 2010, the percentages of Heavy (0.60–0.70) and Very heavy (≥0.70) ecological vulnerability areas in upstream and midstream decreased by 13.3 % under the impact of priority forestry projects. The findings provide guidance for ecological restoration in the Yellow River Basin and the outlined approach is potentially transferable to assess the ecological vulnerability in other regions.