Study links higher farm income, ecological gains
Rubber has always been a key commodity in Hainan, China's southernmost province and an island known for its tropical climate, beach resorts and forested interior.
Hainan's rubber plantations have been expanding to supply material for tires in China's booming auto market, now the largest in the world. While providing jobs and income, the rubber production surge has also resulted in an extensive loss of the island's natural forest coverage, helping deplete a resource that helps in soil retention and flood mitigation. Rubber's ancillary effects also pose a danger to the island's coral reefs - a key tourist attraction.
A recent study, which pooled the work of researchers from Stanford University, Canada's McGill University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, showed that farmers and operators who took environmental concerns into account doubled their incomes while reducing their reliance on a single harvest.
