2. Threats to Biodiversity and Their Sources

The initial assessment of the major threats to biodiversity in NW Yunnan found seven common and significant negative trends in biodiversity: decrease in forest area, shrinking of wetland, hunting of wild animals, over harvesting of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs), over-grazing in the rangeland, loss of landrace of native crops, loss of habitats for endemic species and increase in exotic species and pests.

In addition to these drivers, some major events that led to degradation of biodiversity (although not unique to the region) include: Great Leap Forward (1958), Forest Allocation to households (early 1980s), commercial logging operations (mid-80s to mid-90s), natural disasters (forest fire and pests), and other government policies such as shifts of farmland and forestland tenure from people''''s commune to individual households, market economy for free trade policies, state commercial logging operations, conflicts due to designation of nature reserves and logging ban in late 1990s, introduction of invasive exotic species and some infrastructure development for poverty reduction or tourism development.