Nestled within the ecological core zone of central Hainan, Baisha Li Autonomous County boasts a sprawling forest expanse of 2.5885 million mu. Historically, the local forestry economy has leaned heavily on rubber cultivation. However, this era of singular dependence is now giving way to a more diversified and sustainable model.
Speaking at a September 10th press conference in Hainan province focused on the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, Su Hanchuan, Deputy Director of the Baisha County Forestry Bureau, outlined a strategic pivot. Capitalizing on its vast 1.04 million mu of rubber plantations, the county is championing a multi-layered cultivation system integrating rubber trees with medicinal herbs like Yizhi, mushrooms, and other complementary crops. This innovative approach is yielding dramatic results: while traditional rubber tapping alone generates roughly 1,200 yuan per mu annually, the composite model lifts average comprehensive earnings past 25,000 yuan per mu, with top-tier demonstration sites achieving up to 30,000 yuan.
The impact on the county's economic landscape has been profound. In the first half of 2026, Baisha's total forestry output value surged to 1.334 billion yuan, marking a staggering 282.75% year-on-year increase, the highest growth rate across the province. This boom is underpinned by a cumulative 217,300 mu dedicated to under-forest economy, yielding 1.009 billion yuan in value.
Looking towards the future until 2030, Su Hanchuan detailed a four-pronged strategy for Baisha's forestry sector: safeguarding ecological thresholds, scaling up operations, extending the value chain, and strengthening institutional frameworks. The first pillar prioritizes conservation, aiming to maintain forest coverage above 80% through a fortified three-tiered forest chief system, enhanced joint enforcement mechanisms involving public security and prosecutors, and collaborative efforts on national park land management and community co-governance.
On the expansion front, the county plans to enlarge the footprint of under-canopy crops like orchids and Yizhi, targeting a total under-forest economy area exceeding 300,000 mu by 2030. This includes cultivating a robust tropical specialty agroforestry cluster and refining the primary industry structure, with 210 ecological projects already in the pipeline for the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.
The third prong focuses on industrial upgrading. In the primary sector, the "rubber+herbs+mushrooms+N" model will be promoted alongside standardized demonstration bases. The secondary sector will leverage Yizhi's quality standards to forge partnerships with pharmaceutical firms and medical institutions, aiming to attract one or two leading enterprises in southern medicine and timber deep processing. This will push the industry chain into food and biomedicine, utilizing facilities like drying and sorting centers to develop value-added products from orchids and Yizhi. The tertiary sector will merge forestry with education and wellness tourism, creating a premium tropical rainforest brand, developing eco-tourism routes, and advancing projects like the Gibbon Town within a broader ecological industry layout.
Finally, institutional reforms will be deepened to fully unlock the potential of forest land. This involves reforming forest rights, implementing a four-dimensional income mechanism for farmers based on rent, wages, service fees, and shares, nurturing family forest farms and cooperative entities, upgrading low-yield rubber plantations, and fostering deeper integration between land resources and local communities to ensure lasting benefits for village collectives and residents. These efforts collectively chart a course for Baisha's forestry economy to flourish sustainably and inclusively.