The paper assesses the economic impacts of the natural forest protection program (NFPP) on the economy of Yunnan Province, China, in terms of gross output, value added, employment, and household income. An input-output model is developed to estimate NFPP’s economic impacts by means of backward linkages in the forestry sector and logging and haulage sector. It is found that the NFPP has positive impacts on gross output, value added and household income in the initial year, but has significantly negative impacts on the regional economy in the following years as the investment decreases. The paper assesses the economic impacts of the natural forest protection program (NFPP) on the economy of Yunnan Province, China, in terms of gross output, value added, employment, and household income. An input-output model is developed to estimate NFPP’s economic impacts by means of backward linkages in the forestry sector and logging and haulage sector. It is found that the NFPP has positive impacts on gross output, value added and household income in the initial year, but has significantly negative impacts on the regional economy in the following years as the investment decreases.