The Role of Community Forestry in Poverty Alleviation Efforts

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The Role of Community Forestry in Poverty
Alleviation Efforts
----Increasing farmers income through the
development of home-garden forestry and family
forest farms
Weichang Li Professor Chinese Academy of
Forestry Yongjun Zhao Executive
Director Center for Environment, Development and
Poverty Alleviation (CEDPA)
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• The dilemma of Chinas rural development
• high population pressure
• limited arable land (0.1hectare per person)
• 7 of the arable land of the world for 22 of
  the
• world population
• Therefore, sustainable utilization of the land
  has to be pursued.

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• Community forestry first implemented
  in 1980s
• household based
• small scale, relatively dispersed
• local farmers participate with traditional
  knowledge
• farmers benefit
• long-term benefit for the statenature
  conservation
• two types home-garden forestry, family forest
  farms

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• Home-garden Forestry
• timber forest, economic forest, non-timber forest
  products developed on courtyards, hillsides
  around houses little financial input, quick
  return of benefits

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Main Features dispersed adoption of
appropriate technology small-scale production,
remarkable economic return
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Management Models developing timber and bamboo
products pine, fir, bamboo, etc. developing
economic forest to boost farmers incomes
developing a multi-model of fruit trees-beekeeping
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Farmers benefits economic benefit
ecological benefit
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• Family Forest
  Farms
• Individual households contract out land from
  village collectives
• 1.5-50 ha, 15-30 years
• seedlings of timber and economic forest planted
  and managed
• agricultural activities, animal husbandry
  combined
• economic and ecological benefits also gained

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Farmers benefiting from forest farm
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Farmers benefiting from forest farm
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Farmers benefiting from forest farm
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Improved natural environment
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• The pilot project of poverty alleviation through
  community forestry
• Hefeng County, Hubei Province
• home-garden forestry developed involving
  agroforestry
• improving quality of the environment
• increasing farmers income
• participatory approach as compared with the
  top-down approach
• whole process participation
• rights to decision-making given to farmers
• womens participation

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• 
  Conclusion
• community forestry as a breakthrough in
  forestry-related policy reforms
• multi-stakeholders involvement
• active participation of farmers in decision
  making
• changing relationship between government and
  farmers
• community forestry for sustainable development

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Thank You !