Sustainable forestry industry development in developing countries: A case study of China’s policy effectiveness

Developing countries often grapple with the dual challenges of resource scarcity and poverty in their pursuit of sustainable industrial growth. This study offers a systematic and quantitative evaluation of forestry policy effectiveness in China since 2003—an area that has received limited attention...

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Main Authors: Yulan Sun, Weiming Lin, Yongwu Dai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Ecological Indicators
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25006120
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author Yulan Sun
Weiming Lin
Yongwu Dai
author_facet Yulan Sun
Weiming Lin
Yongwu Dai
author_sort Yulan Sun
collection DOAJ
description Developing countries often grapple with the dual challenges of resource scarcity and poverty in their pursuit of sustainable industrial growth. This study offers a systematic and quantitative evaluation of forestry policy effectiveness in China since 2003—an area that has received limited attention in empirical policy analysis. Using text mining techniques in conjunction with the Policy Modeling Consistency (PMC) Index, we construct a structured assessment framework to examine the internal coherence and implementation focus of key forestry-related policies. Our analysis highlights the need to advance industrial ecology, especially in wood processing and paper manufacturing, and to develop ecologically centered industries focused on non-timber forest products. The evaluation points to a high policy consistency in sectors like paper and camellia oil production. However, a notable misalignment between policy agents and intended beneficiaries highlights the need for improved stakeholder engagement and adaptive policy design. We recommend enhancing participatory mechanisms and introducing market-based instruments to strengthen policy performance. The findings provide critical insights for ecological policy optimization and the sustainable transformation of forestry industries in China and other resource-constrained economies.
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issn 1470-160X
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series Ecological Indicators
spelling doaj-art-d005a89f05ea495c89d21b392e86be9c2025-08-20T03:21:38ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-07-0117611368210.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113682Sustainable forestry industry development in developing countries: A case study of China’s policy effectivenessYulan Sun0Weiming Lin1Yongwu Dai2College of Economics and Management, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaCollege of Economics and Management, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaCollege of Economics and Management, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaDeveloping countries often grapple with the dual challenges of resource scarcity and poverty in their pursuit of sustainable industrial growth. This study offers a systematic and quantitative evaluation of forestry policy effectiveness in China since 2003—an area that has received limited attention in empirical policy analysis. Using text mining techniques in conjunction with the Policy Modeling Consistency (PMC) Index, we construct a structured assessment framework to examine the internal coherence and implementation focus of key forestry-related policies. Our analysis highlights the need to advance industrial ecology, especially in wood processing and paper manufacturing, and to develop ecologically centered industries focused on non-timber forest products. The evaluation points to a high policy consistency in sectors like paper and camellia oil production. However, a notable misalignment between policy agents and intended beneficiaries highlights the need for improved stakeholder engagement and adaptive policy design. We recommend enhancing participatory mechanisms and introducing market-based instruments to strengthen policy performance. The findings provide critical insights for ecological policy optimization and the sustainable transformation of forestry industries in China and other resource-constrained economies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25006120Forest policyPolicy efffectivenessPMC index modelTopic modelingLatent Dirichlet allocation
spellingShingle Yulan Sun
Weiming Lin
Yongwu Dai
Sustainable forestry industry development in developing countries: A case study of China’s policy effectiveness
Ecological Indicators
Forest policy
Policy efffectiveness
PMC index model
Topic modeling
Latent Dirichlet allocation
title Sustainable forestry industry development in developing countries: A case study of China’s policy effectiveness
title_full Sustainable forestry industry development in developing countries: A case study of China’s policy effectiveness
title_fullStr Sustainable forestry industry development in developing countries: A case study of China’s policy effectiveness
title_full_unstemmed Sustainable forestry industry development in developing countries: A case study of China’s policy effectiveness
title_short Sustainable forestry industry development in developing countries: A case study of China’s policy effectiveness
title_sort sustainable forestry industry development in developing countries a case study of china s policy effectiveness
topic Forest policy
Policy efffectiveness
PMC index model
Topic modeling
Latent Dirichlet allocation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25006120
work_keys_str_mv AT yulansun sustainableforestryindustrydevelopmentindevelopingcountriesacasestudyofchinaspolicyeffectiveness
AT weiminglin sustainableforestryindustrydevelopmentindevelopingcountriesacasestudyofchinaspolicyeffectiveness
AT yongwudai sustainableforestryindustrydevelopmentindevelopingcountriesacasestudyofchinaspolicyeffectiveness