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

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 1980 s.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 and development of water rights systems locally and abroad.

Collective Forest Tenure Reform in Nature Reserves in China:Problems and Countermeasures

Collective forest tenure reform is now carried out throughout China with the aim to clarify the property,increase forest farmers' income and motivate the development of forestry.But the collective forest tenure reform in nature reserves comes to a dilemma.The current implemented laws and regulations provide that forests and trees in nature reserves shall be under strict protection,while the forest farmers hope to improve their livelihood in the reform.The paper discussed the problems encountered in the c...

The Practice and Reconstruction of Village Communal Ownership: An Analytical Framework for Collective Forest Tenure Disputes in China

As shown in the many disputes occurring in reforms to collective forest tenure, reforms aimed at clarifying property rights that follow the contract responsibility system for arable land are not wholly compatible with the informal system of property rights followed in village communities up to the present. This highlights the fact that the existing theory of collective property rights no longer provides a sufficient or effective interpretation of the property rights game in the practice of collective forest tenure. Further, the existing institutional arrangements for collective property rights are conducive neither to the resolution of disputes over forest tenure nor to the sustainable management and utilization of forest land. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a more inclusive analytical framework for rural property rights： village communal ownership. This highlights the village community as the main force in the practice of property fights and integrates the communal ownership values accumulated and inherited in the course of village transition. The introduction of a rational mechanism developed through the practice of village communal ownership may be able to further improve and encourage the reform of rural property fights in China, leading to the construction of a modem system of rural property rights involving clear title to the land.

Willingness of Farmer Households for Forest Management and Its Impact Factor Analysis after Collective Forest Tenure Reform

The study was conducted in Mangling Village under Dehong Perfecture, Yunnan Province, for thorough investigation of forest tenure structure, management mode and forestland transfer of collective forests as well as of farmers' preference for management and transfer intention. The impact factors of management orientation of farmer households were analyzed with Logistic Model. The results showed that tenure structure and management modes of collective forest have been diversified after the collective forest tenure reform, and 87.5% of farmer households preferred to independent or joint management while 12.5% of them would rather to transfer their forestland. The choice of farmer household for management mode was mainly influenced by their education background, production skill, household labors and household income sources. The main factors influencing farmer households' forestland transfer activities include the proportion of forestry revenues to the total revenues, farmers' experiences, amount of household labor and forest land area.

Problems in Use of Inefficient and Idle Forestland——A Case of Lutian Town

In order to improve fragile eco-environment and develop economy in mountainous regions, problems during use of barren mountains and forestlands were explored with Lutian Town as an example through a survey of 97 farm households in the research. The results showed that barren lands in Lutian Town were exten- sive and the barren rate was as high as 48.6%. It is notable that the rate is in- creasing as farmer ages and education declines. It is proposed that forestry cooper- atives should be established and land management laws and rules can be formulated to promote mountainous area economy and forestland use.

Effect Evaluation of Collective Forestry Tenure Reform and Forest Farmers' Willingness to Participate in the Reform: A Case Study of Shaowu, Fujian Province

Since 2003, China has carried out the pilot of collective forest tenure reform (CFTR). Inrecent years, there have been lots of researches about evaluation of the CFTR, which are, however,mostly qualitative research with little focus on the quantitative research. This paper used the AnalyticHierarchy Process (AHP) and expert assignment method to define the comprehensive evaluation indexes and monitoring indexes of the CFTR. In this study, the authors did a quantitative evaluation of the CFTR in Shaowu, Fujian Province, which was scored as 0.844, indicating more significant effect. The authors investigated 100 farmer households there, and the data showed that the average household income has grown by 49.2% in the 6 years after the CFTR implementation, while the forestry incomehas grown by 108.3%, indicating that farmers’ income increased significantly after the CFTR. Factor analysis shows that CFTR has been the key factor to increase farmers’ income.

Discussion on Private Forestry Development in China

After the reform and opening-up policy being initiated in China, the private sector began toparticipate in forestry section. Now, it plays an important role in forestry construction, forestry industrydevelopment, farmers’ income improvement and eco-environmental protection. The historical process, presentsituation and challenges of private forest in China are illustrated and several suggestions on how to accelerateprivate forest development in China are put forward in this paper.

Survey Study of Moso Bamboo Management Techniques Dissemination in Zhejiang

By PRA survey to 1 245 farmer households of 10 key Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) production counties, the source and demand of the management techniques in Zhejiang were studied. The conducted principal factor analysis revealed that experience and traditional knowledge are currently major technical sources of farmer households' Moso bamboo forest management techniques and that the demonstrative household is a highly expected technical source, in which the prime factor is interpersonal dissemination with the variable information making up 21.5% of the total. The paper thus suggests that following the nationwide collective forest tenure reform and forest land allocation to the households, the technical sources available to the households should be diversified, that technical training with site expert instruction be taken as priority in establishing demonstrative households for extension and that the current technical extension mode await improvement.