Forest Tenure Reform Research Articles

Property Rights, Village Political System, and Forestry Investment: Evidence from China’s Collective Forest Tenure Reform

To investigate the effect of improved property rights and, in particular, village democracy under China’s Collective Forest Tenure Reform (Tenure Reform) on household forestry investments, we estimate both tobit models and the more general Cragg models for farmers’ labor and monetary inputs into forestry, using survey data of 652 households from the southern collective forest region of China. The results reveal that the improved forestland use and disposition rights had a significant effect on household investments in forestry, while the beneficiary right did not. In addition, the results suggest that village democracy had a positive effect on households’ forestry investments. More importantly, we find that village democracy was able to significantly strengthen the investment incentive effect of the improved property rights under the Tenure Reform. These effects may be explained by the fact that village democracy improved households’ perception, cognition, and, subsequently, confidence toward, in particular, the use and disposition rights of the forests entitled to them. Therefore, the findings suggest that to increase the investment incentives of the Tenure Reform further, governments could strengthen the bundle of households’ use and disposition rights, as well as their related policies. Also, our findings indicate that governments could significantly improve the performance of public policies by effectively employing democratic procedures in the process of policy implementation.

Land tenure, logging rights, and tree planting: Empirical evidence from smallholders in China

To encourage afforestation and promote rural livelihood, China launched a new round of forest tenure reforms (CFTR) for its collective forestland in 2003. Using data spanning a long time period for rural smallholders in China, this study analyzes the causal effects of land tenure security and logging rights on tree planting investments. We address potential selection biases into tree planting and treatments using alternative estimation methods including matching methods and Heckman models. We conclude that complete logging rights over standing timber had a significantly positive effect on investments in tree planting, while the effect of secure land tenure was insignificant. Smallholders with confidence in obtaining a harvest permit invested on average 52% more in total and 36% more in seedling.

Stabilizing Forests and Communities: Accommodative Buffering within China's Collective Forest Tenure Reform

AbstractChina's recent collective forest tenure reform is intended to clarify and certify forest rights, and thereby promote market circulation of forestland, encourage forestry production and safeguard conservation. Central policy statements prioritize parcelling tenure among households to promote efficient management. This study examines how participants experienced the programme in communities in north-west Yunnan. In the study area, rather than individualizing tenure, forestry agencies compelled communities to re-collectivize forests. Nonetheless, residents persist in using household forests despite restrictions. Local officials tacitly sanction these activities. In mountain hinterlands, forest tenure reform has been focused on “stabilizing” forests and communities. Rather than forcibly impose tenure designs, authorities perform what we call accommodative buffering. A set of formal institutions, rules and mappings enables projects like forest ecological compensation payments to go forward. However, state agents at local and higher levels tolerate informal practices that contain the trouble that poorly fitted formal institutions might cause. While potentially more resilient than by-the-book enforcement, these arrangements could leave residents vulnerable to political shifts that require a demonstration of policy adherence.

Comparative Study on Collective Forest Tenure Reform and Water Rights System Reform in China

Abstract: Collective forest tenure reform and water rights system reform are two types of resource system reform initiated by the Chinese government since the implementation of the reform and opening policy of the 1980s. Forest tenure reform has been completed and water rights system reform is ongoing. This study analyzes key points and problems with collective forest tenure reform and summarizes four typical successful reform measures and lessons that will have implications for the developing water rights system: the collective forest-cutting quota system, collective forest tenure compensation, collective forest tenure confirmation, and collective forest tenure trading center. A flexible water permission index, compensation measures in water rights trade, water rights approval, and various forms of water rights trading platforms are proposed as reform measures. This study fills a gap in comparative studies between two important resource system reforms in China and provides a reference for further reform ...

Does Property Rights Integrity Improve Tenure Security? Evidence from China’s Forest Reform

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of land property rights integrity, subdivided into use rights, mortgage rights, and transfer rights, on household perceptions of long-term tenure security in China. To this end, we establish a theoretical framework that links China’s collective forest tenure reforms undertaken since 2003 to property rights integrity and two sources of tenure (in)security based on property rights theory: forestland reallocation and expropriation. Probit models are applied in the empirical analysis to household data collected in Jiangxi province in 2011 and 2013. The results indicate that household perceptions of tenure insecurity resulting from forestland reallocation expectations are affected by transfer rights, whereas household perceptions of insecurity resulting from forestland expropriation expectations are not affected by forestland rights. We thus suggest that it is crucial for policymakers to identify the sources of local property rights insecurity before they take steps to strengthen land tenure security. This paper contributes to the available literature on the relationship between property rights integrity and tenure security by identifying different sources of tenure insecurity, emphasizing the effect of property rights integrity on long-term tenure security, and taking into account the potential endogeneity problem.

Influencing Factors on the Ecological Protection Behaviors of Entrepreneurial Farmers in Chinese Forest Zones

Following the collective forest tenure reforms in China, many households pursued entrepreneurial activities creating substantial pressure on the environment. This study examines data collected from 462 informants in 10 provinces in Southern China to understand how changes in attitudes toward ecological protection behavior occur. The internal mechanisms of ecological attitudes were explored using structural equation modeling to obtain a function path. Ecological emotion has a direct effect on ecological protection behavior by acting as an intermediary between ecological knowledge and ecological protection. Perceived ecological severity mediates between ecological knowledge and emotion influencing entrepreneurial farmers’ ecological protection behavior. The perception of individual effect is mediated by perceptions of ecological severity and ecological emotion, eventually affecting ecological protection behavior. A model of cognition–emotion–practice is proposed based on the findings.

How off-farm work drives the intensity of rural households' investment in forest management: The case from Zhejiang, China

China’s new round of forest tenure reform since 2006 has devolved the land-use rights of collective forests to individual households. Since then, policymakers have advocated household forestland transfers and large-scale forest holdings to increase the efficiency and returns from forest management. At the same time, there has been a rapid growth in off-farm working opportunities in urban areas of China. It is therefore important to analyze the impact of this increase in off-farm employment on the forest management investments of households with different scales of forestland holding. Based on the framework of the new economics of labor migration theory (NELM) and data obtained from surveying 300 households in 5 rural counties in Zhejiang Province, alternative econometric models were used to estimate how off-farm work drives the intensity of rural households' investments in forest management. The findings reveal that households with large-scale forestland holdings (LHs) are usually willing to increase their investments in forest management due to the remittance effect of their off-farm employment. In contrast, households with small-scale forestland holdings (SHs) prefer to decrease their investments in forest management due to the out-migration effect of the growing off-farm employment opportunities. The results provide a clear explanation about the necessity of large-scale forest management under the backdrop of increasing out-migration of the labor force in China's rural areas. The paper concludes with recommendations for policymakers to develop initiatives that will promote and support large-scale forest management by households in rural China.

The Effect of China’s New Circular Collective Forest Tenure Reform on Household Non-Timber Forest Product Production in Natural Forest Protection Project Regions

The implementation of China’s natural forest protection project (Protection Project) in 1998 changed households’ forestry production modes in project regions, and China’s new circular collective forest tenure reform (Tenure Reform) has been implemented since 2003 with the goal of motivating household forestry production and increasing household income from forests. Policymakers expect that Tenure Reform could also stimulate households to engage in non-timber forest products (NTFPs) production in Protection Project regions. However, only a few studies have investigated the effect of Tenure Reform on household NTFP production in Protection Project regions. To fill this gap, we built an integrative conceptual framework and estimated a corresponding structural equation model (SEM) using survey data from 932 households in Protection Project regions in southwestern China. In our research framework, there are four factors, including household characteristics, labour and social capital, forestland characteristics, and the Tenure Reform, affecting household NTFP production. The results substantiate that Tenure Reform has had a significant positive effect on household NTFP production. Additionally, household and forestland characteristics have promoted household NTFP production, but quantitatively less than Tenure Reform. This report can be used to inform the government that future investment in Tenure Reform still needs to be enhanced, and policy enforcement still needs to be strengthened.

Reform and efficiency of state-owned forest enterprises in Northeast China as “social firms”

State-owned forest enterprises (SOFEs) in northeast China have experienced past economic loss and environmental degradation, causing government to seek reforms. Measurement of technical efficiency allows us to evaluate overall trends and how reforms affect production of social and environmental goods. Previous assessments have used small samples, short time periods, and viewed SOFEs as if they were profit-maximizers. We compared a traditional profit-maximization framework to an alternative “social firms” framework for SOFEs to classify inputs and outputs, and data envelopment analysis to measure the efficiency of 86 SOFEs from 2003 to 2009. We argue that the social firm framework is more appropriate for SOFEs given their stated objectives. We found no overall trend in pure technical efficiency over time for the social firm framework; however, there was an increase in pure technical efficiency for the profit maximization framework, consistent with past literature. At the same time, there were decreases in scale efficiency primarily due to higher levels of government investment. We compared groups of SOFEs that underwent a specific pilot forest tenure reform to those that did not, and we found no evidence to support that tenure reform improved technical efficiency.

Collective forest tenure reform and household energy consumption: A case study in Yunnan Province, China

The recent Collective Forest Tenure Reform in China has started the process of devolving forest management rights from village collectives to households since 2003. In this paper, we study the impact of the reform on rural energy consumption. Devolving forest tenure improves farmers' access to forest products on their newly acquired forestland, and is therefore expected to increase farmers' fuelwood consumption. The reform also allows farmers to adopt some revenue-enhancing forest technologies which may lead to energy switching in farmer households. Our empirical study finds that the devolution significantly increases household fuelwood consumption for both lower and higher income households; the lower income households benefit more. This is welfare-improving in places where alternative fuels are still too costly. We find limited evidence that higher income households in Yunnan begin to substitute alternative commercial fuels for fuelwood when those are available. Our findings suggest further devolution of forest rights, especially in the poor, forest-rich regions.

Identifying factors influencing the forestry production efficiency in Northwest China

Forestry industry has realized a rapid development in China due to the domestic and international demand for forestry products. Considering the conservation of forest ecology, China has strived to improve the forestry production efficiency. Currently, the northwestern regions have been trying to recover the ecology and make economic growth through forestry development. This research has assessed the forestry production efficiency in the six provinces in Northwest China. The stochastic frontier analysis was used to calculate the production efficiency. To conduct a spatiotemporal analysis, we measured the regional differences in forestry productivity and used global spatial autocorrelation to measure the spatial correlation degree. The regression model uncovered how the six factors influenced the forestry production efficiency in Northwest China. Our results show that from 2005 to 2015 the forestry production efficiency of the six provinces was declining. The spatial differences of the forestry production efficiency among the six provinces were gradually decreasing. Regarding the influencing factors, we found that the per capita GDP, forest coverage rate, the educational level of forestry employees and the number of township forestry technology stations had positive correlation with the production efficiency. The collective forest tenure reform had a negative effect, which hindered the efficiency at the regional level in Northwest China. In the future, efforts should be made to enhance the infrastructure investment, the education of forestry practitioners and the application of the advanced technology.

Institutional Regime, Off-Farm Employment, and the Interaction Effect: What are the Determinants of Households’ Forestland Transfer in China?

The development of the land rental market has been widely attributed to the associated institutional regime and the functioning of the off-farm labor market. However, little is known of the interaction effect of these two factors. To fill this gap, we employ a nationwide representative household dataset to investigate the effects of China’s collective forest tenure reform (CFTR) and off-farm employment on forestland transfer in China. Special interest is focused on their potential interaction effect. The Smith-Blundell instrumental variable tobit model is adopted to account for the endogeneity of off-farm employment. The estimation results show that both the tenure reform and off-farm employment significantly influence forestland transactions. However, compared to the positive effect of the reform on both renting in and renting out forestland, the effect of off-farm employment is mixed, that is, its effect is negative when forestland is rented in but positive on rent-out decisions. An important finding is that the CFTR imposes a negative enhancement effect on forestland rent-in through its interaction term with off-farm employment. In contrast, the enhancement effect on rent-out is not statistically significant, which may be due to the neutralization by the endowment effect of the CFTR.

Feminist Institutionalist Interpretation of Forest Tenure Regimes in Nepal

Forest tenure reform is one of the key agenda for sustainable forest governance. But forest tenure is not gender neutral. We examine various forest tenure regimes of Nepal from feminist institutionalist approach and explore, to what extent, each regime recognises the right of women to forest tenure. Five community-based forest tenure regimes, namely community forest, pro-poor leasehold forest, collaborative forest, buffer zone community forest and conservation area are taken into account for assessing gender dimension. Historical changes and continuity are presented in forestry governance in terms of women’s bundle of rights over forest resources across three key phases – before 1950s, from 1950s to 1970s and from 1970s onward. Formal and informal institutions in each of the five tenure regimes were analysed and we found that the formal institutions in community forestry recognises the roles of the women in forest tenure, but those in other regimes and informal rules in all the regimes, by and large, prevent women from having access to and control over forest resource decisions. Emerging aspects of forestry, mainly forest-based enterprises and REDD+ have not been able to address gender issues properly. Some recommendations are made for gender equality in forest tenure regimes.

Political Economy of Forest Tenure Reform Implementation in Nepal: Evolution, Contestation, Outcomes and Challenges

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Political Economy of Forest Tenure Reform Implementation in Nepal: The Case of Protected Forests

Protected forest is a new approach to forest management in Nepal. The programme targets natural forest areas that have high biodiversity, scientific and cultural values but are not covered by the country’s protected area network. So far, eight biodiversity-rich natural forest areas and biological corridors, covering a total area of 133,754.8 hectares (ha) are being managed under this regime, and eight other forests, covering a total area of 194,907.9 ha are in the process of being declared as protected forests in the near future. By reviewing existing literature, policy, legislation and management plans, this paper makes a critical analysis of the protected forest management regime from political economy perspective with special focus on the rights offered to local communities, benefit sharing arrangements and tenure security. Mismatch among the law, policy, and practice; lack of legal clarity on the role, responsibility and authority of stakeholders; unclear benefit sharing arrangement; non-clarity about the rights of non-state right holders; and difference in perceptions of tenure arrangements among the stakeholders are some of the specific issues and challenges related to the management of protected forest. Some other contestations relate to division of authority, and benefits sharing between the government and local communities. There is a need to amend the Forest Act 1993 and Forest Regulations 1995, especially to clarify the legal status of the protected forest council, and address the issues of benefit sharing between the central government and local stakeholders. Another important need relates to adopting a flexible policy and implementation approach to address the contextual differences among different protected forest sites located in different physiographic zones across Nepal.

Randall A. Bluffstone and Elizabeth J. Z. Robinson (eds.): Forest tenure reform in Asia and Africa: local control for improved livelihoods, forest management, and carbon sequestration

Randall A. Bluffstone and Elizabeth J. Z. Robinson (eds.): Forest tenure reform in Asia and Africa: local control for improved livelihoods, forest management, and carbon sequestration

Looking beyond tenure in China's Collective Forest Tenure Reform: insights from Yunnan Province, Southwest China

SUMMARY The Chinese government has carried out ambitious reforms in the country's collective forest sector since 2003. Based on two case studies from Yunnan Province, this paper examines the effects of China's Collective Forest Tenure Reform with regard to villagers' participation in their implementation of the reform, their effects on formal tenure rights and the changes to actual tenure rights on the basis of two case studies from Yunnan. The case studies show that higher levels of participation by villagers can lead to changes in formal and actual tenure rights that bring these rights more into line with national objectives. Thus, decentralization may be a critical precondition for successful forest tenure reform in China and beyond.

An analysis of farmers' net incomes from underplanted forest products: case studies from Hunan and Guangxi Provinces of China

SUMMARY The development of underplanted forest products (UFPs) is one of the forest-related policies arising from the recent Collective Forest Tenure reforms in China. This study aimed to understand what might affect farmers' incomes from UFPs, the difficulties and barriers farmers face in developing UFPs, and the influence of the UFPs policy. A semi-structured questionnaire study and two qualitative interview studies with local households and local forest authority directors were administered in Guangxi and Hunan Provinces, China. A lack of related knowledge and market information was the major barrier to cultivating UFPs. The UFPs policy has had negligible influence in encouraging the development of UFPs. According to participants, the main difference between households that were and were not cultivating UFPs was related to improved market access and information. Interviewees felt that cooperation and support from the government and from UFP processors would enhance their interests in the cultivation of...

Research on Spatial Distribution and Trends of China’s Forestry Industry Development

Based on the data of China’s forestry industry output from 2007 to 2013, the spatial distribution of China’s forestry industry after the Collective Forest Tenure Reform was analyzed by using the methods of Global Spatial Analysis and Hot Spot Analysis. We found that China’s forestry industry presented aobvious and stable state of spatial agglomeration before and after the Collective Forest Tenure Reform; The distribution of China’s forestry industry exhibited a stepped spatial distribution. Hot Spot Zone of forestry industry development, namely the better development areas, were mainly concentrated in eastern China, while Cold Spot Zone of forestry industry development, namely the less developing areas of forestry industry, were mainly concentrated in western China; The spatial pattern of China’s forestry industry development showed a large change before and after the full implementation of the Collective Forest Tenure Reform, while it showed a stable state after the Collective Forest Tenure Reform; The distribution pattern of forestry industry development in different area of China showed a trend to a higher level. Keywords: China’s Collective Forest Tenure Reform; forestry industry development; spatial distribution

Timber Regulation and Value Chain in Community-Based Timber Enterprise and Smallholder Forestry in the Philippines

Forest tenure reform has no doubt attained significant gains in promoting social justice and equity in the forest sector, through legal recognition of the communities’ property rights over forest lands in many developing countries. This includes the right to harvest and market trees that the communities planted. Along these lines, the Philippines’ community-based forest management (CBFM) and smallholder forestry have the potential to meet the country’s wood demand and contribute to its poverty alleviation goal. Realities on the ground, however, make this lofty aspiration seems too far-fetched. Formal and informal barriers along the timber value chain restrict the growth and obstruct opportunities for community-based timber enterprises (CBTEs) and smallholder forestry. Using the case of CBFM and smallholder forestry in the Visayas and Mindanao Islands in the Philippines, respectively, this paper examines the hurdles posed by regulations and informal practices, such as restrictive policies and increased transaction costs, through a segment analysis of the timber value chain. It argues that failure to address these barriers would lead to the decline of CBTEs and smallholder enterprises, thus undermining the merits of the forest tenure reform.