UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

Collective Action Dilemma after China’s Forest Tenure Reform: Operationalizing Forest Devolution in a Rapidly Changing Society

Identification

Public canonical key

doi:10.3390/land9020058

Authors

Yiwen Zhang · Shashi Kant · Hexing Long

Reported year

2020

Reported language

en

Source type

article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:16:51.641535+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:16:51.641535+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

Minzu University of China · University of Toronto

Documentary abstract — original language

Devolution is a promising tool to enhance forest management. The literature has discussed many factors that affect the outcomes of forest devolution policies; however, insufficient attention has been paid to the role of exogenous socio-economic changes. Using the longitudinal case study method, we focus on how socio-economic changes affect the effectiveness of forest devolution policies using a case from Southeast China. We find that in this case, although forest devolution succeeded in granting farmers sufficient forest rights, it failed to incentivize farmers to contribute to managing forests because of the dramatic changes in socio-economic contexts. Economic development and outmigration reduced farmers’ dependence on forest income, elevated the costs of silvicultural operations, and posed market risks, thereby reducing farmers’ enthusiasm about managing forests; outmigration also weakened community leadership and impeded the collective action of making forest investments. Eventually, socio-economic changes compromised the positive stimulus caused by forest devolution and contributed to the collective action dilemma of managing forests after the reform. We argue that operationalizing forest devolution in developing countries needs to consider the exogenous socio-economic changes that may enhance or counteract the effects of devolution policies, and that more autonomy should be granted to communities to make policies adaptative to their local socio-economic dynamics.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W3005680295

DOI

10.3390/land9020058

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

article

Jurisdictions studied — explicit sources

CN

Natural entities mentioned

Forest

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2 · Record 3

• Document · http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land9020058
• DOI · https://doi.org/10.3390/land9020058
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W3005680295

Documented bibliographic relations

Source-declared references and links; they do not establish legal support or UGLC qualification. Up to 20 outgoing references are displayed.

• openalex:w1493232756 · CITES
• openalex:w1515479812 · CITES
• openalex:w1548030735 · CITES
• Resolving Forest Property Rights Disputes in China: The Bailian Case · CITES
• openalex:w1789620102 · CITES
• openalex:w1964905403 · CITES
• openalex:w1965013305 · CITES
• openalex:w1967353293 · CITES
• openalex:w1967832226 · CITES
• openalex:w1978856443 · CITES
• openalex:w1984969669 · CITES
• openalex:w1999696855 · CITES
• A comparative analysis of the effects of institutional property rights on forest livelihoods and forest conditions: Evidence from Ghana and Vietnam · CITES
• openalex:w2008414600 · CITES
• openalex:w2008601635 · CITES
• In the Eyes of the State: Negotiating a “Rights-Based Approach” to Forest Conservation in Thailand · CITES
• openalex:w2019932251 · CITES
• openalex:w2034994370 · CITES
• openalex:w2046464890 · CITES
• openalex:w2048866711 · CITES

1 incoming references within the detected corpus

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

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