Performances of collective forest regions in CHINA

1. Performances of collective forest regions in CHINA Dr. Can LIU Professor, Director China National Forestry Economics and Development Research Center

2. contents • Background and forest resources • The evolution of China’s collective forestland tenure • Performances of China’s collective forestland tenures • Conclusions and discussions

3. CHINA • 9.60 million km2 • 1.3 billion people • 32 provinces and autonomous regions. • Tropical, subtropical, and temperate climate zones

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12. Soil erosion

13. Deforestation during the Commune era Slide 8

14. Forest Resources • Forest as a % of Land Area 20.36% • Forest land area 303.7819 million hectares • Forested land area 181.3809 million hectares • Forest per capital 0.145 hectare (World average 0.624)

15. Forest Resources(cont’d) • Total Forest volume 14.913 billion cubic meters • Among which Forest standing volume 13.721 billion cubic meters • Forest standing volume per capital 10.151 cubic meters (world average: 68.542 cubic meters) • Natural forest area: 119.6925 million hectares (65.99%) • Plantation forest area: 61.6884 million hectares (34.01%)

16. Forest Resource (cont’d) • Young and mid-aged forests: 67.25% • Average standing volume: 85.88M3/ha • Uneven regional distribution: Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, and Yunnan: 41.27% (area) and 52.44%(volume)

17. Forest distribution

18. Natural forest resource distribution in China

19. Forest plantation distribution in China

20. Forest Laws • Forest law, enacted in 1984 and amended in 1998 • Forest action plan for the Agenda 21 (1995)

21. Forest Policy Changes • From a planning economy to a market economy (CAC--MBIs) • From economic to environmental orientation • From public (state and collective) ownership to multiple ownership, encouraging private property rights • Forestland • Collective 39.94% • State 60.06% • Forests • Collective 28.54% • State 39.38% • Private 32.08%

22. Types of forestland tenures • private • Open access • Common property

23. Evolution of collective forestland in CHINA • The reform of land • The cooperative • Peoples’ commune • The post Peoples’ commune • The current forestland reform

24. Land reform (1949-1952) • Characteristics • Distributing management and property rights to farmers(Disintegration) • Impacts • High production enthusiasm • High production efficiency • Strategy • The land reform law of P. R. China, 1950. Slide 6

25. Before Land Reform (Per household) After Land Reform (Per household) The forest property right changing in the land reform Slide 4

26. 1952--1958 • Mix of private and community ownership • Cooperative management • Scale became larger • Resource conditions improved

27. 1958s--1980s • Collective ownership • Collective management • Income distribution based on workdays not contribution • Low efficiency and forest depletion

28. 1980s to the Early 1990s • Land ownership is still collective • But forests were contracted out for management • More collective forestland management models • Increased harvesting • Unstable planting and thinning • Expanded forest cover • Lowered quality

29. Since 1990s-2002 • Shareholding and other cooperative models • Larger scale of operation • Higher economic efficiency • Better resource management

30. 2002—the present • NEW reform of forestland tenure

31. The weights of collective forestland

33. The reasons for the current reform (1) • Government • New rural construction • The reform of taxation • Increasing farmers’ incomes • Timber demand– higher price • Expanding timber processing industry

34. The reasons for the current reform (2) • Unclear forestland boundaries • Conflicts • Low productivity

35. Documents (1) • the Decision of the State Council and the CPC Central Committee on Some Promotional Policies to Increase Famers’ income(2004) • the Decision of the State Council and the CPC Central Committee about Further Strengthening the Work in Rural Areas and Raising the Integration of Agricultural Production Capacity(2005) • the Decision of the State Council and the CPC Central Committee about Promoting the Building of a New Socialist Rural Areas(2006)and • the Decision of the State Council and the CPC Central Committee about Actively Promoting the Development of Modern Agriculture and Solidly Building a New Socialist Rural Areas(2007)

36. Documents (2) • The Decision of the State Council of the CPC Central Committee about Accelerating Forestry Development” on June 25, 2003. • “reform of the collective forestland tenure,” in its working report of the 17th National People’s Congress of Communist Party of China was held in October 2007 • New Government: push the reform of collective forestland tenure in June 2008

37. Goals • Forest resource • Quality • Quantity • Rural households’ income and new rural construction

38. What • Define the collective forestland tenures • Supporting policies • Insurance • Reduce tax and fee burden • Credit • Forestland transfer • Tree transfer

39. process • Reviewing background of collective forestland tenure • Democracy • 2/3 representatives or all of farmers • Scenarios • Governmental functions • Certification • Signatures • Governmental improvement

40. Action • 14 provinces and municipalities and • will be gradually extended to the whole country.

41. Timber supply 4 plain-ps SCRs other NE NW SW SBT

42. Afforestation area Afforestation area of Southern collective regions weight

43. investment Investment of Southern Collective Forest Regions weight

44. Forestland productivity

45. Forestland use ratio

46. Forest contribution to rural households’ income Weight(%)

47. Ice storm • ButIce Storm in late 2007 and early 2008 in the south of China • How ice storm affects • Forest resource management? • Farmers’ confidence s ? • Reform of collective forestland tenure? • Long term vs short term??