Human-induced degradation of natural forests is one of the most significant threats to biodiversity of our planet. This situation is very serious in the natural forests of southwestern China, although a lot of efforts on the restoration of degraded forests in this region have been made in order to recover the ecosystem structures and functions.

To increase understanding of forest degradation and restoration in tropical, subtropical and subalpine areas and achieve the sustainable forest management, XTBG organized Symposium on degradation, restoration and sustainable management of forest ecosystems during October 25-27 in Kunming. 25 participants from Australia, Japan, India, and China, took part in the symposium.

The 3-day symposium included 15 oral presentations. The topics include disturbance and forest change, assessment of the restoration potential of degraded forests, new models of forest restoration and management, and socio-Economic dimension of restoration. The attendees also discussed preliminary planning for the upcoming cooperation project of China and Australia.

During October 28-29, participants made a 2-day field investigation on the 20-ha tropical rainforest dynamics plot in Xishuangbanna and restoration plots of degraded forest in XTBG after the symposium.