0004-C1
Li Weichang[1]
On the basis of its long history, the characteristics of the development of community forestry in China can be summarized as follows: the adaptation of the management manner to the social structure of China’s primary stage of socialism; the combination of the integrated development of communities in rural areas with ecological construction, technical reformation and social reform; the synthetic functions of both government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs); the preconditions of the structural reform in the development of China’s community forestry; the features of various development models and different management manners; and the eco-ethic typical of Chinese nationalities, families and clans, for instance prohibiting deforestation and mountain closure to facilitate afforestation by local regulation. At the same time, the successful experiences and practical models in China’s community forestry development are introduced. Finally, the perspectives of community forestry in China are discussed.
Over the past several decades, China's forestry adopted at all times a superincumbent decision-making approach; in the government's afforestation activities, farmers basically had no power to participate in planning, they were simply told what they should do and when and where to do it, and the phenomena of low survival rate of afforestation and the disregard of maintenance after afforestation were sure results of farmers' passive participation as well as the real portrait of China's extensive afforestation. The Chinese governments at all levels had taken various methods to encourage farmers to consciously plant trees and boost survival rates, but the results were not the least encouraging. Only over the past couple of years, owing to China's promotion of community forestry in southwest region and application of participatory approach, the hang-up that puzzled the government many years was readily solved. China's rural forestry has a centuries-old history; its operation mode and features have a great deal of places in common with community forestry: the thinking of loving forest and protecting forest manifested in the local rules and regulations, in the establishment of forbidden forest and the enclosure of forest for tree growing, and in the consciousness of China's nationality, family and religion is the reflection of an ecological, ethic and moral conception; the managerial way of China's rural forestry/community forestry is suiting to China's social structure; the development of China's rural forestry/community forestry is taking structural reform as precondition and possess poly-development mode and multi-operation form. In China, the operation mode of community forestry generally is a way of labor-intensive and agriculture, forestry and backyard compounded. This operation is mainly carried out in the four-around farmland and forest-suited wasteland. And this small-scaled and relatively dispersed practicing mode not only suits China's rural situation and the features of agricultural and forestry productions, but also adapts to the feature of plant production. In combination with the reality of China's forestry development, especially China's centuries-old cultural tradition and forestry history, the definition of China's community forestry is: community forestry is a social organization mode and administrative way of forest resources, in the development of rural community, through the absorbing of community villagers to participate extensively in forestry production and forest management activities with forestry as the object and farmers as the main body, in a bit to obtain forest products and by-products required for self-existence and development, improve rural environment, promote a comprehensive, coordinative and sustainable development of rural society. The article introduced China's successful experience and mode of developing community forestry, and discussed the orientation of China's community forestry development.
China is a large agricultural country with the characteristics of huge population but relatively little arable lands, much mountains but relatively little farmlands, and low forestry productivity. It is reported there are nearly 42 million farmers without getting rid of poverty. Just as same as all other developing countries, China is facing a series of pressures such as huge population, food security, resources exhaustion, and environmental pollution. However, China is an ancient civilization country with long history and brilliant cultures. And there is no lack of the thoughts, cultures and practice of community forestry. From West Zhou to the end of Qing Dynasty, there are about 183 ancient masterpieces or agricultural books related to forestry. For example, Tao Hua Yuan Ji written by Tao Yuanming in Jin Dynasty showed a typical rural community idea; Tong Pu written by Chen Zhu in North Song Dynasty, Nong Sang Ji Yao edited by Si Nongsi in late Wei Dynasty, Nong Zheng Quan Shu written by Xu Guangqi in Ming Dynasty etc. systematically summarized the plentiful experiences of China’s farmers in community forest management. The intercropping, interplanting and rotation in ancient China can rival with the modern agroforestry. In Fujian Province, many farmers transplanted cutting Chinese fir branches for afforestation to support their subsistence as early as 800 of years ago. In Hunan, Guizhou and other provinces, a lot of farmers planted “Daughter’s fir” or “Eighteen fir” when giving birth child. After about eighteen years, these trees could become useful for their children’s espouse. The local regulations and different kinds of legislation, e.g. prohibiting deforestation and mountain closure to facilitate afforestation, demonstrated the farmers’ self-organizing and self-educating. Tea culture, bamboo culture, lacquer culture and other relative forestry cultural forms fostered the social, economic and cultural development at that time.
The early community forestry in ancient China depended on farmers’ spontaneity and freedom. The afforestation in rural areas aimed at planters. Owing to the historic, scientific and technological limitations, especially the most important factor - land tenure, the development of community forestry before was slow down and localization. Before 1949, less 10% of rural residents possessed 70-80% of arable lands and most farmers had not sufficient land for the development of community forestry. Therefore, the community forestry with the nature of “directly for residents self” could be developed on the 20-30% of lands only. In other words, the community forestry at that time was only in the embryonic stage.
For a considerable length of period, the splendid agricultural civilization had not developed further but was restricted in the timber production model on one occasion. An isolated and self-closed thought of “discussing forestry only according to itself” was taken. Together with the unsteady forestry policies and the variational management systems in the past, the original management modes, administrative and distribution systems can neither mobilize the positivity of the farmers nor restrict the enhancement of forestry productivity. Hitherto, tenure is still the kernel problem influencing the activities of farmers to participate forestry production. Some misunderstandings have been existing, such as “forests resource being of invaluable, eco-benefit of forests being of non-repaying, and forestry management being of inefficiency or low-efficiency”, and “the mountain having not its owner, the owner having no right and/or benefit”, which leads low yield, low quality and low efficiency in forestry.
Since the early of the 1980s, the rural economic system reform has caused a great transition in land-use system. Correspondingly, the forestry economic system is undergoing the period of reform, which creates a quite favorable condition for rural economic development. The policy of reform and openness is deeply rooted away the people and drives the development of China’s community forestry. Just as Y.S.Rao (5), a former official of FAO, said: “There are not the term of community forestry in China, however, its achievements in community forestry are much better than those of any other country. It is just the result of the broad participation of social publicity.”
Recently, under the impulse of domestic rural economic system reform and the support by international organizations, great strides forward have been made in China’s community forestry. As a new and rising force, the research on China’s community forestry is growing up. Furthermore, some scientists definitely put forward the viewpoint of that “the community forestry should be taken as one of the components of forestry development strategies.” Thus, it can be said that the community forestry is the best approach for the management of collective forests in China.
What is the community forestry with Chinese characteristics is well worth to study deeply and summarize conscientiously. It must view from the situation of the country, the situation of the forestry, and the situation of the people. We should not only sum traditional thoughts, theories and practices up, i.e., “making the past to serve the present”, but also use the experiences of other countries’ for references, i.e., “making foreign things to serve China”. Currently, under the excellent situations of the domestic policy of reform and openness and the international vigorous development of community forestry, the new born thing has gotten the regards from all levels of governments, and arisen more and more scientists and technicians’ interests, and, in particular, accepted by broad farmers as well. The main characteristics of the China’s community forestry could be summarized as follows:
China is still in the primary stage of socialism with the characteristics of relative low rural productivity, not quiet perfect market economy, and relative low living standard in rural. Therefore, the present central task in countryside is to carry out rural economic system reform£¬to adjust the relations of production, and energetically develop social productivity. The organizational and management mode of community forestry is adaptable to social structure of the primary stage of socialism, and is beneficial to improve the development of social productivity (6).
China is a country with the characteristics of huge population but relatively little arable land, much mountain but relatively little farmlands, and low per unit area yield. The development in mountainous areas in depth and in breadth is very important. However, the irrational use of mountainous lands would degrade the fragile eco-environment. Fortunately, one of the aims and characteristics of community forestry is to integrate the rural development and ecological construction, technological renovation and social reform (7).
Both governments and non-governmental organizations should all effectively brought into play. The successful experiences to develop community forestry in abroad are to emphasize the farmers’ participation and the roles of NGOs from the beginning to the end which are with doubt also very significant to China. Due to the strong power and the perfect functions, the governments are essential to develop community forestry. Whereas, community forestry demands the combination of instruction from governments and the participation of non-governmental organizations. The governments should change their working method from govern and order to guide and coordinate. Farmers’ associations and other NGOs have gradually being established in countryside (8).
The development of China’s community forestry must take the system reforms as the promise. The tenure reform is the core and key content. Therefore, the rural system reforms should take the tenure reform as the key linkage which would mobilize the positivities of the state, collections and individuals. In this case, the real combination of right, duty and interests would be reached. Then, farmers would improve the development of community forestry in the light of local conditions and taking the tide of flood so as to alleviate poverty and become better off (Zhang Chunxia£¬1997).
Thanks for the long history and civilization, there are wondrously abundant legacies stored in China’s agricultural masterpieces. For example, intercropping, interplanting and rotation of crops and forests are the main types of agroforestry£»the so-called “garden system” in ancient China is just the modern home-garden production; the typical eco-ethic thoughts, e.g., mountain closure, forests rearing and local regulations, deeply root in the Chinese nationalities, families, and clans consciousness such as prohibiting deforestation. These traditional agriculture cultures wait for our carrying forward.
There are diversified models of community forestry in China. The different natural conditions from south to north and unbalanced economic levels from east to west determine China’s rural development with the characteristics of stage, level, and diversity and the multiple models of community forestry development.
The advanced theories and methodologies should be compatible with China’s situation. Hereto, PRA, RRA and other demotics investigation methods have been introduced into China and applied in many research projects. However, the proper modification is necessary so that these methods can be more suitable to Chinese instances.
Since early 1980s, China’s community forestry has experienced over ten years. The main activities are as follows:
Firstly, “Forestry and Society Network” is established and Forestry and Society Newsletter with Chinese and English versions has being published. The Chinese version covers basic theories, case studies and practical techniques of community forestry which serves for more than 3 000 audiences. The English version aims at propagandizing the experiences of China’s community forestry to abroad. Up to now, nearly 1 300 readers coming from 86 countries are familiar with the latest achievements in China through the Newsletter. Besides, some translation collections were published and workshops and various training courses were held. A series of monographs on community forestry in Chinese were published¡£All these have been playing actively impelling role to communicate the relationship among scientists, technicians, decision-makers and farmers.
Secondly, the systematical research on community forestry was carried out. From 1992 to 1995, Natural Scientific Foundation of China granted the first research project on community forestry which initiated the systematic research of community forestry in China.
Thirdly, the construction of trial regions was paid attention to. The former Ministry of Forestry established the pilot regions of forestry economic system reform in Fujian, Hunan, Guizhou Provinces and other southern collective forest areas. The contents include: (i) the reform and construction of tenure; (ii) the research on organization and management forms; (iii) the research on relationships between villagers’ autonomy and participation; (iv) the research on the transition of management mechanism, the reform of management system, the establishment of modern forestry enterprises, and various unite management forms; and (v) conflict management. Combination tightly of the reforms and the research on community forestry has enriched greatly the contents of China's community forestry.
Fourthly, traditional techniques were developed further. Some traditional and long historic community forestry system in ancient China, i.e., rotation, intercropping and interplanting etc., were systematically summarized and, at the same time, agroforestry with modern scientific and technological intention was introduced. The main models are: (i) Chinese fir plantation and phyllostachys pubescent plantation etc. in southern collective forest areas; (ii) afforestation system with Chinese characteristics such as the engineering measurements which is the combination of technical reconstruction and socio-economic reform and the combination of the improvement of natural regeneration and directional fostering; (iii) some typical co-systems liking mulberry-fish pond and sugar cane-fishery pond in Southern, intercropping of forest-crop, forest-fruit tree, forest-medical herb etc. in North; (iv) the combination of economic development and ecological improvement in the northern mountainous areas, for instance, “eco-economic valley” in Taihang Mountains and the integrated management of small watershed; and (v) the fast development of home-garden forestry and relative economic activities due to successful management models and the auxiliary form of the collective economy.
Fifthly, the theoretical study on community forestry is springing up. As the important component of forestry development strategy, the community forestry takes the rural integrated development and sustainable development as its ultimate objective and takes the farmers as the main forces, and encourages farmers to participate the various activities concerning countryside and forestry. Therefore, it is necessarily to come down to every rural aspect, i.e. social, economic, ecological, technical, cultural problems and so forth. As a result, many scientists from universities, research institutions and production units, gave their efforts in the relative fields of community forestry including its concept, connotation, theoretical foundation, and practical methods. These research work subsidized by Natural Scientific Foundation of China and international organizations, and brought in from the projects of forestry economy system reform. Up to now, lots of monographs, article and research reports have been published, including many important issues on theory and practice, such as, the reform and perfection of tenure system, the practice of investigation and assessment methodology for rural areas, promotion of the function exerting of GO and NGOs, the research on gender and ethnic nationalities, and the relationship between community forestry and poverty alleviation and sustainable development in rural areas. And a textbook on community forestry suitable for university and adult education was published not long before.
Sixthly, In recent years, some international organizations such as UNDP, the Ford Foundation, GTZ etc., and many countries such as Netherlands, New Zealand, UK etc. offered aids to Yunnan, Sichuan, Fujian, An’hui Guizhou and other provinces to implement the community forestry projects one after another. These projects utilizing participation method, a new idea and concept to China, add new models to China’s poverty alleviation projects.
From the implementation of reform and openness policy, thanks for the excellent situations of adjusting rural relations of production and liberating the productive forces, the vast farmers spurt a huge stream of activity and creativity. A lot of community forestry models with Chinese characteristics emerged. The follows are some typical ones.
In Xixia County of Henan Province, the farmer-technician system becomes the bridge between governments and farmers. The technicians were ever up to 12 000 people. These technicians pilot the farmers towards well-to-do life by promulgating scientific and technological knowledge, making out of the development plans for farmers, judging the senior specialists and holding the rural evening-school and so on.
In Shuangpai County of Hunan Province, In order to systematically exploit the mountainous natural resources and synthetically treat the mountainous eco-environment, forestry-research-education integrated development model was developed. It is the combination of the “achieving richness project” and “curing clumsy project” on the basis of the development of science, technology and education. Various kinds of organizations were set up in different level, e.g. the leading group in county level, the sci-technological and educational center in township level, the network of sci-technology and education in village level and specialty household. Through the professional training and technical training, the academic education, professional education, and technical training were banded together organically. Their goal is that there are one or two farmer technicians in every village and every poverty household can master one to two practical techniques.
In Huguan County of Shanxi Province, the "eco-economic valley" model was developed. Facing with the contradictories between management and exploitation of degraded lands, between resource utilization and environmental protection, between ecological conservation and economic growth, and between short-term goals and long-term goals existing in Taihang Mountain areas, based on the principles of ecology and economy, a compound model was created. It consists of the integrated management of mountain, water, and farmlands and the combination of farming, forestry and animal husbandry. Therefore, it is not only the small watershed management but also the suitable stereo-exploitation and synthetic development in mountainous areas. Similarly, the so called “encircling the mountain model” in Tangshan City of Hebei Province and the village development model in Qiannanyu Village of Xingtai County character this model.
In some regions, the individual household-based management system in rural areas was changed to joint stock system forest farm. The new management form is the combination of technical renovation and socio-economic reform and embodies the free willing of farmers and their activity and participation in forestry economic system reform. The significant features of “making perspicuity between production and right”, “separating the functions of the government from those of enterprises”, “having full authority for management”, “taking full responsibility for profits and losses” demonstrate the farmers’ main part and participation. It is investigated that only in Jingzhou County of Hunan Province, there are 133 joint-stock forest farms. This model orients the purposes of “establishing the bases on the mountains, processing the products in the foot of the mountains, developing the market outside the mountainous, and obtaining the high efficiency of production with sci-technology and education”. And there are no lack of these kinds of successful examples in Fujian, Jiangxi Zhejiang etc. So many management models, such as joint-stock system, leasehold management, bargaining and contract, selling “four-wastes” (waste mountains, waste mountain, waste lands and waste pools) by auction, and individual contracting systems etc. have made the closed connection among the enterprises, households, and markets.
The home-garden management model is flourishing up. This is the individual management model in front of and/or behind the houses and private plots with the characteristics of diversified and high intensive management. It is the heritage of traditional “garden system” but much richer and more perfect. It is estimated that the income of some households accounts for over half of the total.
It is the fact that the systematic study and development of the community forestry in China is not long period and China is in the transition period of economic reform. Therefore, there are some issues urgent to be solved in the development of community forestry. According our analysis, the main problems are as follows:
The first is the incorrect recognition to community forestry. For a very long time, there is not the term of “community forestry” in China, however, the Chinese farmers have practiced lots of similar models. Nevertheless, the role of community forestry in rural development is not far from definition and even there are different opinions on its connotation. And, community forestry seems to be not accepted easily as same as “commercial forestry” and “ecological forestry” at present in some regions. All these in some extent restrict the development of community forestry.
The second is the tenure system reform. The tenure is the key problem puzzling the development of China’s forestry, especially the development of the collective forestry for a very long time. Ambiguous concept and non-steady system of tenure all come down to the ambiguity of the right subject, the equivocal right, duties and interests directly which is related to the vital interests of farmers and the motivity and energy of forestry development as well. Obviously, it is enslaved to the management system and mechanism of forestry. How to find the cutting-in point of the development of community forestry, how to make forestry economic system reform especially the reform of tenure system, and how to fall the tenure and the implementation of community forestry together are all need study profoundly. Nevertheless, the current reform and reconstruction of tenure system is only the concerns of governments. The participation and freedom of farmers are neglected.
The third is the imbalance development in different regions. Since its introduction into China in the early of 1980s, the idea of the community forestry has been diffused in some regions but its development is imbalance in different regions. The unexampled functions of community forestry in the “poverty alleviation movement desiderate the popularization in much more poor areas. And
The fourth is the unharmonious relations between governments and non-governmental organizations. Currently, in China, the forestry development could not separate from the management of the governments because (i) the forestry development is of long period, slow turnover and many risks; (ii) the farmers not only bear a tremendous burden from the changeable market but also are charged with ecological and social benefits; and (iii) almost 42 million poor farmers having not rid of poverty. However, due to the influences of planned economy system, there still exist some serious problems, for instance, private possesses to collective properties by use of administrative means and/or orders even to transfer the collective ownership to private ownership which seriously block the development of community forestry. At the same time, in the period of rural economic system reform, how to communicate the relations between governments and NGOs (various farmers’ technical society, mutual foundation, farmer’s association, and union of joint stock forest farms etc.) and to search an effective and practical approach need more research in the future.
The world’s forestry is in transition stage and so is China’s forestry. The challenges faced in China’s forestry is how to realize the integrated, harmony and sustainable development in the face of a series of conflicts and issues among population, resources, environment and development, between economic development and ecological conservation, and between interests and recompenses etc. In China, the rural population accounts for almost three fourths of the total. So, rural development would be the hinge factor in the China’s economic system reform. From the viewpoint of sustainable development, the chief task of the forestry is effectively to evaluate the role and function of forests in rural social sustainable development and to harmonize the relationships among ecological, economic and social benefits. In other words, that is to establish a healthy forest ecosystem with sustainable forestland productivity. It is out of the question that there could not be sustainable development of forestry without sustainable management of forest resources, whereas the sustainable development of forestry is essential to the integrated development of countryside. Of course, the formation of sustainable forestry also depends on the rural development.
In China, the collective forest lands account for 61.4% of the total forestland. For example, only in ten provinces of the South China, about 91.58% of forestlands belong to the collectivity. The collective forestry in fact is the community forestry, therefore, community forestry is the best development model for collective forestry. However, there is a big difference between the current situation of the collective forestry and the demand of community forestry. There are some problems urgent to solve, e.g. how to strengthen the farmers’ freedom and participation, what economic structure should be established, what kinds of moderate scale management models distribution forms should be set up, how to constitute the social service system in transition period of rural management mechanism, and how to exert the governments’ super-market forces in macro-controlling productive structure, resource allocation and economic distribution in countryside.
In China, community forestry has a huge potential and bright future. Along with the deepening of the economic system reform in China’s countryside, it can be expected that the community forestry could develop further. On the one hand, the development of community forestry in China relies on the sustainable and stable strategy from governments. Fortunately, “Participatory forestry” is involved in the “Forestry Actions Plan for China’s Agenda 21” as one important chapter. On the other hand, the development of community forestry must depend on the broad farmers consistently and firmly (9). It can be expected that community forestry, as a vivid forestry form, have a bright perspective.
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2. Jakarta Declaration. Corpus of Eighth World Forestry Conference, Chinese Forestry Press, 1981.
3. Mexico Declaration. Corpus of Ninth Corpus of Eighth World Forestry Conference, Scientific and Technological Centre on Forestry, 1986.
4. Principle Declaration about Forest Issues. World Environment and Development Congress. Forestry Resource Management, 1993,(1).
5. Paris Declaration. Corpus of Tenth World Forestry Conference, Chinese Forestry Press, 1992.
6. Rao.Y.S. Community Forestry and Function of NGOs- Asian Experiences. Corpus of Ninth Corpus of Eighth World Forestry Conference, Scientific and Technological Centre on Forestry, 1986.
7. Xu Guozhen. Community Forestry Should Be Important Organization for China’s Development Strategy. Forestry and Society, 1994,(2).
8. Xu Guozhen. Building Community Forestry with China’s Feature. Forestry and Society,1997,(1).
9. Zhang Chunxia. Development Route of Social Forestry with China’s Feature. Forestry and Society, 1997,(1).
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[1] Professor, Chinese Academy
of Forestry, Wan Shou Shan, 100091, Beijing, China. |