Beijing’s 50 million new urban trees: Strategic governance for large-scale urban afforestation

Abstract Large-scale urban afforestation projects are increasingly used as a way to enhance urban sustainability. Governance of such projects is challenging yet few studies have examined this topic. Between 2012 and 2015, Beijing City implemented the One Million-Mu (666 km2) Plain Afforestation Project, which has led to over 50 million trees being planted in the city’s plain area and a 10% increase of overall forest cover. We analyzed the governance of this mega planting project through the lens of the Policy Arrangement Approach, with specific attention paid to actors, resources, rules, discourses and their interconnectedness. We found that a strong administrative capacity was in place for the project, and the efficiency and effectiveness of the project were generally good. However, civic participation was insufficient. The extensive use of farmland for afforestation has caused a conflict between the project and farmland conservation. Despite strong leadership of the project, there were still discrepancies between plans and outcomes due to inadequate rule-making during the very short period of planning. Authoritative discourses were dominant through the project, but a few decisions were improperly oriented. Findings from this study can provide important lessons for other cities to plan and implement large urban afforestation projects.