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Sustainability of Forests Created by China's Sloping Land Conversion Program: A comparison among three sites in Anhui, Hubei and Shanxi

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  • Song, Conghe
  • Zhang, Yulong
  • Mei, Ying
  • Liu, Hua
  • Zhang, Zhiqiang
  • Zhang, Quanfa
  • Zha, Tonggang
  • Zhang, Kerong
  • Huang, Chenglin
  • Xu, Xiaoniu
  • Jagger, Pamela
  • Chen, Xiaodong
  • Bilsborrow, Richard

Abstract

China implemented the Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) during 2001–2010, which led to the conversion of millions of hectares of marginal croplands to forests across 25 provinces involving 124million people and costing the government 233billionYuan. The objective of this study was to evaluate the sustainability of SLCP forests and the program's impacts on the livelihoods of the participating farmers based on data collected from household surveys in Anhui, Hubei, and Shanxi provinces. Overall, it seems likely that the areas will remain as forests in the near and medium future, with the possibility for the forests to be later reconverted back to croplands varying significantly across the three sites. The SLCP is associated with minor improvements in the livelihoods for a majority of participating farmers, and offers a significant safety net for households that are poor. We also found that farmers are overwhelmingly positive toward the program. To sustain these successes, continued monitoring of the forests is needed as current factors determining the success of the program may change. Further, studies in different regions of China would also be useful as SLCP outcomes strongly depend on the local context and conditions.

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  • Song, Conghe & Zhang, Yulong & Mei, Ying & Liu, Hua & Zhang, Zhiqiang & Zhang, Quanfa & Zha, Tonggang & Zhang, Kerong & Huang, Chenglin & Xu, Xiaoniu & Jagger, Pamela & Chen, Xiaodong & Bilsborrow, Ri, 2014. "Sustainability of Forests Created by China's Sloping Land Conversion Program: A comparison among three sites in Anhui, Hubei and Shanxi," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 161-167.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:38:y:2014:i:c:p:161-167
    DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2013.08.012
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    4. Giefer, Madeline M. & An, Li, 2022. "Divergent impacts of the grain to green program, landholdings, and demographic factors on livelihood diversification in rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    5. Zhang, Zhaohui & Paudel, Krishna P., 2019. "Policy improvements and farmers' willingness to participate: Insights from the new round of China's Sloping Land Conversion Program," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 121-132.
    6. Qu, Mei & Liu, Guangzhe & Lin, Yin & Driedger, Erika & Peter, Zsuzsanna & Xu, Xiaoqian & Cao, Yang, 2017. "Experts’ perceptions of the sloping land conversion program in the Loess Plateau, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 204-210.
    7. Ma, Zhao & Bauchet, Jonathan & Steele, Diana & Godoy, Ricardo & Radel, Claudia & Zanotti, Laura, 2017. "Comparison of Direct Transfers for Human Capital Development and Environmental Conservation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 498-517.
    8. Liu, Zhen & Li, Qiuming & Lan, Jing & Abu Hatab, Assem, 2020. "Does participation in the sloping land conversion program reduce the sensitivity of Chinese farmers to climate change?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    9. Zhao, Desen & Dou, Yao & Tong, Lu, 2022. "Effect of fiscal decentralization and dual environmental regulation on green poverty reduction: The case of China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    10. Lu, Gang & Yin, Runsheng, 2020. "Evaluating the Evaluated Socioeconomic Impacts of China's Sloping Land Conversion Program," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    11. Cheng Chen & Hannes J. König & Bettina Matzdorf & Lin Zhen, 2015. "The Institutional Challenges of Payment for Ecosystem Service Program in China: A Review of the Effectiveness and Implementation of Sloping Land Conversion Program," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-28, May.
    12. Wang, Ying & Zhang, Qi & Bilsborrow, Richard & Tao, Shiqi & Chen, Xiaodong & Sullivan-Wiley, Kira & Huang, Qingfeng & Li, Jiangfeng & Song, Conghe, 2020. "Effects of payments for ecosystem services programs in China on rural household labor allocation and land use: Identifying complex pathways," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    13. Xiaoxia Zhang & Tonggang Zha & Yun Zhao & Jing Qin & Zhiyuan Lyv & Zhijie Ma & Haiyan Yu & Yushen Zhu & Gaomin Wang & Felix Tettenborn & Benedikt Freiherr von Lueninck, 2017. "Sustainable Effects of Small Hydropower Substituting Firewood Program in Majiang County, Guizhou Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-16, June.
    14. Zhang, Qi & Wang, Ying & Tao, Shiqi & Bilsborrow, Richard E. & Qiu, Tong & Liu, Chong & Sannigrahi, Srikanta & Li, Qirui & Song, Conghe, 2020. "Divergent socioeconomic-ecological outcomes of China’s conversion of cropland to forest program in the subtropical mountainous area and the semi-arid Loess Plateau," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).

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