Natural capital investments in China

Ecosystem service investments in China today are remarkable in their goals, scale, duration and innovation. Following severe droughts in 1997 and massive flooding in 1998, China implemented several national forestry and conservation initiatives, exceeding 100 billion used over the current decade.  Targeted investments aim to secure natural capital and alleviate poverty through wealth transfer from coastal provinces to inland regions, where many ecosystem services originate.  Over 120 million  farmers are directly involved in programmes with  the intention to reduce the loss of soil, reduce  desertification and protect biodiversity and  ecosystems for e.g. flood control, more productive  agriculture and ecotourism.