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Explaining success on community forestry through a lens of environmental justice: Local justice norms and practices in China

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  • He, Jun
  • Martin, Adrian
  • Lang, Rong
  • Gross-Camp, Nicole

Abstract

It is of global interest to understand under what conditions community forestry can be successful and sustainable in terms of environmental conservation and local livelihood benefits. Existing theories have explained several influential factors, including small groups of people with shared norms, sound institutions, high levels of decentralization, downward accountability, and security of tenure. This paper explores how local conceptions of environmental justice become closely linked to sustainable community forestry. Based on an in-depth case study in a highly populated and culturally heterogeneous village in southwest China, we examine an enduring example of community forestry, using a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The results show that village forest cover has increased significantly over the last 30 years, contributing to improvements in local livelihoods. It is argued that one of the important factors in this success has been villagers’ ability to align forest management with local justice norms and practices. Distributive, procedural, and recognition aspects of justice are considered, and we find that, in combination, these become integral to building effective institutions for collective action. To broaden the focus on successful factors in existing theories, this paper argues that the consideration of justice as an important condition for establishing effective and durable local institutions that will be effective for community forestry. The insights from this study suggest a need to consider justice dimensions in community forestry research to enable improved understanding of its dynamics and outcomes worldwide.

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  • He, Jun & Martin, Adrian & Lang, Rong & Gross-Camp, Nicole, 2021. "Explaining success on community forestry through a lens of environmental justice: Local justice norms and practices in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:142:y:2021:i:c:s0305750x21000620
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105450
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    4. Zhengjie Zhang & Jiahao Song & Caixia Yan & Dingde Xu & Wei Wang, 2022. "Rural Household Differentiation and Poverty Vulnerability: An Empirical Analysis Based on the Field Survey in Hubei, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-15, April.
    5. Matt Johnston & Dan Darkey & Hilde Ibsen, 2023. "Environmental Justice And Dissent For Postcolonial Urban Sustainability Transitions," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(4), pages 645-664, July.
    6. Kumeh, Eric Mensah & Kyereh, Boateng & Birkenberg, Athena & Birner, Regina, 2021. "Customary power, farmer strategies and the dynamics of access to protected forestlands for farming: Implications for Ghana's forest bioeconomy," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    7. Liang, Wenyuan & Arts, Bas & Zinda, John Aloysius & Dong, Jiayun, 2024. "Justice and injustice under authoritarian environmentalism: Investigating tensions between forestland property rights and environmental conservation in China," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).

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