Tenure security
is a significant issue in China because of its
population of 1 billion farmers. The goal of tenure
reform in China is to encourage private investment
because of the belief that individuals have more
access to funding and expertise in sustainable
forestry management. Favorable policies to encourage
individual investment include granting individual
user rights, transferability of user right certificates
and the abolishment of the harvest tax. These
reforms are credited with increasing China¡®s
forest area and quality, raising farmer income,
improving forest management practices and allowing
for a more efficient allocation of capital, technology
and labor.
Today, 58%
of China¡¯s forest is owned by collectives, while
the remaining 42% is owned by the state. User
right certificates are only granted to collectives,
their individual farm members and state owned
companies. Although user rights can not be sold
to non-collective members, collectives and their
farmers can subcontract and lease out land use
rights to PRC non-collective member
| Evolution
of Land Tenure Rights |
| 1950
- 1952 |
Confiscation & Redistribution
of land to farmers |
| 1953
- 1956 |
Collectivization into small cooperatives |
| 1957
- 1980 |
Communization of small cooperatives
into large communes |
| 1981
- 1987 |
De-collectivization, allowing farmers
to keep production in excess of quotas |
| 1988
- Present |
Introduction the market mechanisms
of leasing rights and transferability
of leases |
|
|
