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ICRAF-China is supporting efforts to examine the relationships between institutions, governance, and natural resource management, and to measure the local socio-economic and ecological impacts of provincial and national policies. In addition, ICRAF-China work is contributing to improvements in national, regional, and global natural resource policy.
To examine the relationships between institutions, governance, and natural resource management, ICRAF-China:
- Conducted a case study analysis examining the impact of local elections on natural resource management, as part of a series of six coordinated studies in Yunnan Province (CBIK);
- Undertook a review of collective forestry arrangements in Yunnan Province, with a view toward understanding what factors have led to more successful community management;
- Is examining the opportunities and challenges of establishing institutional arrangements for environmental service payments (SFA, Yunnan University, CBIK).
To measure the local impacts of provincial and national policy, ICRAF-China:
- Supported studies to document historical land use change in northwest Yunnan, and to explore the relationships between policy and land use change (Baoshan Forestry Bureau, Yunnan University);
- Coordinated case study research providing policy feedback on SLCP implementation in selected villages in Baoshan and Nujiang (Yunnan University);
- Conducted an analysis of the China-Myanmar timber trade within the context of China¡¯s logging ban and its impacts on local forestry in Yunnan (Forest Trends).
To contribute to improvements in natural, regional, and global natural resource policy, ICRAF-China:
- Was invited by leading international organizations, such as the Ford Foundation, World Bank, and Forest Trends, to present at policy workshops with key Chinese policymakers;
- Presented research findings at conferences and seminars, in China, Southeast Asia, and Europe.
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Closing the Policy Loop
The Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) is providing grain, seed, and cash subsidies to farmers in 20 provinces to convert farmland to forest on hillsides above 25 degrees. Although well-intentioned, a review of the program by the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development noted that ¡°many problems have occurred with its implementation due to the great variance in local conditions,¡± and similarly noted the need for policy feedback to improve SLCP implementation. As part of this process, ICRAF-China supported case study analyses in northwest Yunnan to identify specific ways to improve the quality of reforestation on a prefecture level, and to provide policymakers with recommendations for improving the program¡¯s design and implementation on a national level. |
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