林业生产性服务能促进农户林地规模经营吗?--基于林地流入视角的实证分析

厘清林业生产性服务对农户林地规模经营的影响,可为盘活集体林区林地资源、促进家庭林业发展提供决策参考。为考察林业生产性服务对林地规模经营的影响,首先构建了考虑林业生产性服务及林地规模的农户生产模型,通过理论分析后提出假设:林业生产性服务投入增加,将促进农户增加林地要素投入,即林业生产性服务对农户林地规模经营有正向影响。其次,基于福建500份经营商品林农户调查数据,利用Double-Hurdle模型及工具变量处理选择性偏差、遗漏变量及联立因果等引起的内生性问题,实证分析林业生产性服务对农户林地规模经营的影响。结果发现:不同类型的林业生产性服务对农户林地规模经营影响存在差异。其中,林业信贷服务对农户林地规模经营有正向影响,正规信贷与非正规信贷分别使农户林地流入概率提升19.6%、15.9%,使农户林地流入规模分别扩大66.8%、38.5%。林业物资与技术服务仅在是否流入林地阶段对农户林地规模经营有正向影响,使农户林地流入概率提升8.9%。林业劳动力服务仅在林地流入规模阶段对农户林地规模经营有正向影响,使得农户林地流入规模扩大66.9%。林业销售服务由于买方垄断特征对农户林地规模经营有负向影响,使农户林地流入概率降低12.3%,使农户林地流入规模缩减73.2%。因而,政府应有针对地激励和规范各类林业生产性服务发展,以更好地服务于集体林区家庭林业发展。     

Household costs and benefits of biodiversity conservation: case study of Sichuan giant panda reserves in China

Households in communities in and around nature reserves are important stakeholders in biodiversity conservation; they are the focus of the conflict between ecological protection and community development. This study surveyed 927 households in 16 giant panda reserves in Sichuan Province, China, to calculate the costs and benefits to households of biodiversity conservation, and the differences for those inside and outside reserves. A multilevel regression model was used to measure the factors influencing the costs and benefits. There are three main findings. First, the direct economic cost for average biodiversity conservation for households inside reserves (1166.83 yuan/year) is significantly higher at the 1% level than for those outside (578.27 yuan/year), while the direct economic benefit for average biodiversity conservation to households living inside reserves (3881.94 yuan/year) is not statistically different than those outside (3653.47 yuan/year). Second, the influence of biodiversity conservation on households is significantly different depending on whether they live inside or outside the reserve, regarding employment opportunities, ties with the outside world, infrastructure, and the community environment. There is also a significant difference between those inside and those outside in perceptions with regard to restrictions in the collection of wild plants and destruction of traditional culture by biodiversity conservation. Third, the factors that affect the costs for and benefits to households of biodiversity conservation include, at the household level, the head of household’s education level, village cadres, number of migrant workers, distance from the town market, reserve-based employment, development projects, and ecotourism management participation, and, at the reserve level, establishment time, level of reserve, protective effect, and location.     

Non-timber forest product dependency in the Central Himalayan foot hills

Rural households throughout the Himalayas are regarded as dependent on non-timber forest products (NTFPs), but very few studies have quantified this dependency. This case study, undertaken in two villages in the Central Himalayan foot hills in Nepal, documents the absolute and relative importance of commercial NTFPs to rural household economies. Data were collected in a one-year period and included interviews with 250 households using a semi-structured questionnaire and monthly interviews with four sub-local NTFP traders, two local traders and two central wholesalers. The conservative estimate of NTFP-derived cash income showed this to be a cornerstone in poorer household livelihood strategies and thus in poverty prevention. An annual average of 578 kg of commercial NTFPs was collected in the wild per household, providing poorer households with a cash income share of 44–78%. Better off households are not NTFP dependent but rely on income from crop production and livestock. Based on a net marketing margin analysis, showing that harvesters capture a large share of the Indian wholesaler price, it is argued that there is scope for pursuing NTFP-based strategies for poverty reduction through leasehold forestry and agroforestry. Both these options are compatible with conserving forest cover and forest corridor functions and may thus present a win–win scenario for livelihood improvement and conservation.     

Dependence on forest resources and tropical deforestation in Ghana

In Ghana, forests provide many products on which the local population subsists. However, these resources are depleting due to a variety of factors including agricultural expansion and over-exploitation of forest resources. This paper presents an analysis of the level of local dependence on forest resources and its implications for forest management in Ghana. The paper also outlines the causes of continuing deforestation in the studied region from the perspective of the local residents and discusses what role they could play in addressing the problem. The aim is to share more light on the current causes of deforestation and make suggestions for improved community-based forest management practices that could help to reduce deforestation. Primary data was collected through personal interviews and focus group discussions with 431 household heads randomly selected from three Forest Districts in Ghana. The survey showed that income from agriculture constituted 60% of the average total rural household income. Forest income provided 38% of total household income, and off-farm income 2%. The four most highly ranked causes of deforestation are poverty-driven agriculture, lack of alternative rural wage employment other than farming, household population levels, and conflict in traditional land practices. This shows a shift in the view of local people who in the past were quick to blame logging companies and government policies for deforestation. The majority of the respondents depended on wild animals like snail, bush meat, wild honey and wild and cultivated vegetables. Given the reasons for deforestation, much thought needs to go into agroforestry practices (e.g. snail farming, bee keeping, fish farming, and vegetable production) in efforts to reduce deforestation, which are currently less promoted. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Social demand for multiple benefits provided by Aleppo pine forest management in Catalonia,Spain

This paper estimates the social demand for key benefits provided by Aleppo pine forests in Catalonia that can be enhanced by management. These so-called externalities are the side effects of forest management on citizens’ welfare and can be either positive or negative. The externalities addressed are: biodiversity (measured as the number of tree species), accessibility for practicing recreational activities, CO₂ sequestration and annual burned area by wildfires. By the use of a choice experiment, an economic valuation method, we estimate in a joint manner people’s preferences for these externalities and show that there is a social demand for their enhanced provision. Based on these estimates, we construct three hypothetical scenarios reflecting the range of likely outcomes of different management strategies and calculate the social demand for these scenarios. Results show that the highest gains in terms of social benefits are obtained under a scenario that minimizes the burned area (2044.23 €/ha year). Our estimates show that an increase in the investment in forest management is in line with the social demand for forest benefits and the social support that exists for a related cost increase for inhabitants.     

Game analysis of Chinese stakeholders in collective forest rights system reform

In the current stage of Chinese forest ownership reform, the central and local governments as well as the forest farmers play different roles with variations in their expected returns. Managing these respective relationships between the forestry stakeholders to maximize their benefits while actively engaging each stakeholder in the collective forest ownership reform process has become an important issue. This study uses the game theory methodology to analyze the relationship between the different reform stakeholders and then builds on the forest farmers’ participation in the reform model process at the reform movement micro-level. This model calculates the forest products equilibrium marketing sales and the government subsidies provided to the forest farmers, when the forest farmers willingly participate in the reform process. It will provide a reliable basis for formulation of government policies which positively impacts Chinese forestry reform.     

Invasive alien species as drivers in socio-ecological systems: local adaptations towards use of Lantana in Southern India

Lantana camara. L (hereafter Lantana) was first introduced by the British into India in 1807 as an ornamental plant. Since then the species has spread across the length and breadth of the country. Attempts to control Lantana in India have not been successful. In this study, we analysed the use of Lantana by local communities in southern India and identified the possible causes and consequences of its use through the use of a household survey of the socio-economic profile of the user and nonuser households and an analysis of the ecological history of the communities. Communities have been using Lantana for over 25–30 years and apparently such use was not prompted by external agencies. The characteristics of user and nonuser households were similar, except that Lantana users were more literate and had a greater number of occupations per household than nonusers. Per capita income was similar between user and nonuser groups. For nonuser groups, their main income sources were from trading (44 %), wage labour (32 %) and forest resources (23 %). In contrast, the Lantana user groups substituted their loss of income from forest resources (7 %) by income from Lantana (46 %). The ecological history revealed that Lantana was adopted as a resource at a time when it was increasing in the landscape and traditional bamboo resources were in decline because of overuse by commercial enterprises and mast flowering. This change in ecological resource availability prompted a major shift in livelihoods for some in the area.     

Correlates of women’s environmental behaviors: a study in Pawe Woreda,Northwest Ethiopia

Available cross-country, macro-level evidence regarding gender differences in environmental behaviors shows women are more environmentally concerned and responsive than men. However, while such macro-level evidence helps understand patterns of women’s environmental behaviors at a much broader level, it does not allow deeper insights into particular patterns at a single location or in much smaller areas. Tailor-made interventions needed to address livelihood and environmental strategies of poor rural women become meaningful if studies aim at revealing context specific, local variations in women’s environmental behaviors. In this context, there is only little research for Ethiopia regarding what influences women’s response to environmental problems. The objective of this research was to describe women’s response to environmental problems in Pawe Woreda and examine the demographic, socioeconomic, and institutional correlates of this response, with particular emphasis to forest resources. Data were primarily obtained from a sample of 363 households in a multi-stage sample survey and were analyzed mainly using a multivariate logistic regression model. We found that all except one of the demographic and socioeconomic variables included in the model were found to be statistically significant correlates of woman’s environmental response, but the institutional variable was not significantly associated with a woman’s environmental response. However, the qualitative result for additional institutional issues revealed the importance of land tenure. Many of the results are in line with the existing literature.     

The livelihood potential of non-wood forest products: The case of Mbooni Division in Makueni District, Kenya

Forestry is a productive sector with significant effects on meeting national socio-economic and environmental functions as well as the improvement of rural livelihoods. Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) in particular have been widely advocated by conservation and development organisations as potential alternative livelihood strategies, particularly among vulnerable forest dependant households. Like in most tropical countries, NWFPs are relevant in the sustainable development of Kenya that is particularly endowed with important forest resources. Kenya hosts about 17 million ha of forested land (about 3.51% of the total Sub-Saharan Africa forest cover by 2000), of which about 16,865,000 ha is under natural forest (EarthTrends: Forests, grasslands and drylands, 2003). Outside the gazetted forests, there are other large tracks of forests in trust lands, including national parks and reserves, hill forest reserves and privately owned lands covering about 0.5 million ha (Kenya’s forest resource assessment in the EC-FAO Partnership Programme Report, 2000; The Kenya Forests Act, 2005). Woodlands, bushlands and wooded grasslands, mainly found in the arid and semi-arid lands cover 37.6 million ha, while forest plantations (started in 1946) cover about 170,000 ha of land (The Kenya forestry master plan, 1994–2020, 1994). In most NWFPs endowed regions of the country however, this socio-economic and environmental potential is still unrealized. We illustrate the latter by a case study of NWFPs use and management in four villages in Mbooni Division of Makueni District, Kenya. The division was chosen because of its relatively high NWFPs availability, particularly from South Mbooni forest that is located at a distance less than 5 km for an estimated 80% of the interviewed households. Data used for the analysis was collected through a fieldwork survey carried out on women (35+ years) in August, 2005. One hundred and sixty (160) NWFPs are harvested (from plant and animal species) and used mainly for food, income generation (supplemental) and medicinal purposes. A number of challenges limit women’s enjoyment of the full benefits from NWFPs exploitation, the overriding problem being their inadequacy (in quantity and/or quality). In this paper we discuss these commonly utilized and managed NWFPs plant species in Mbooni and their potential contribution to improved livelihoods and sustainable development in Mbooni, Kenya and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in general.     

Bioeconomic modeling of farm household decisions for ex-ante impact assessment of integrated watershed development programs in semi-arid India

The increasing population and urbanization have serious implications for sustainable development in less-favoured areas of developing countries. In an attempt to sustain the long-term productivity of natural resources and to meet the food and non-food demands of growing population in the semi-arid tropics, the Indian government invests and promotes integrated watershed development programs. A comprehensive tool to assess the impacts of watershed development programs on both social well-being and sustainability of natural resource is currently lacking. In this study, we develop a watershed level bioeconomic model to assess the ex-ante impacts of key technological and policy interventions on the socioeconomic well-being of rural households and the natural resource base. These interventions are simulated using data from a watershed community in the semi-arid tropics of India. The model captures the interaction between economic decisions and biophysical processes and using a constrained optimization of household decision model. The interventions assessed are productivity-enhancing technologies of dryland crops and increased in irrigable area through water conservation technologies. The results show that productivity-enhancing technologies of dryland crops increase household incomes and also provided incentives for conserving soil moisture and fertility. The increase in irrigable area enables cultivation of high-value crops which increase the household income but also lead to an increase in soil erosion and nutrient mining. The results clearly indicate the necessity for prioritizing and sequencing technologies based on potential effects and trade-offs on household income and conservation of natural resources.     

Distribution of benefits based on household participation roles in decentralized conservation within Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Project,Nepal

Kanchenjunga Conservation Area is located in the remote and sparsely populated mountainous region of Eastern Nepal. It has been locally managed as a decentralized Integrated Conservation and Development Project since 2006, the first of its kind in Asia. Major international donor agencies sponsor programs to empower and strengthen the capacity of local communities to manage their natural resources, while concurrently improving livelihood opportunities. We surveyed 205 randomly selected households throughout the project area to assess the factors that influence household participation roles in management and management groups, and to evaluate how benefits from program involvement were distributed among the community. Overall, the distribution of benefits was unequal: households with higher level participation roles had increased access to financial credit and capacity development trainings. Social variables such as age, level of education among head of households, the highest level education among household adults, and household size predicted participation. The region is economically homogeneous; therefore, economic factors such as remittances, off-farm income and the quantity of landholdings or livestock did not predict household participation roles. Our results demonstrate the importance of targeting and empowering disadvantaged households in decentralized conservation programs, including educating members about the relationship between participation and equitable distribution of benefits.     

An empirical assessment of rural livelihood assets from gender perspective: evidence from Ghana

Poverty studies have demonstrated that a group’s ability to escape poverty is largely dependent on the types of assets that the group’s members possess. A major claim that has been asserted with limited empirical evidence in the asset literature is the gender disparity dichotomy. Using rural Ghana as a case study, we assess the asset levels of farm households from a gender perspective. In doing so, we theorized and empirically tested assets on case bases. A household questionnaire survey was used to collect data from two hundred households in the Fanteakwa district of eastern Ghana. An asset index was used to compute the asset levels, while Kruskal–Wallis statistics was employed to compare the significance of the temporal changes. The results show a minimum level of asset endowment. Natural, social and financial assets were the three most endowed assets, with physical and human assets being the least. A gender analysis shows no significant difference, even though the levels of assets for the female-headed households were slightly higher than those of the male-headed households. However, the study found a 22.7% increment in the accumulation of financial assets among the female-headed households over the last 5 years compared to a 9.3% decrement in the same assets for their male-headed counterparts. Applying our theory, the results present an unbalanced and unstable asset situation among the household heads. We call for improvement, in physical and human assets. The overall study results imply an improvement in gender-asset accessibility in the context of rural Ghana.     

Forest income and dependency in lowland Bolivia

Forests contribute to livelihoods of rural people throughout the tropics. This paper adds to the emerging body of quantitative knowledge on absolute and relative economic importance, through both cash and subsistence income, of moist forests to households. Qualitative contextual information was collected in six villages in lowland Bolivia, followed by a structured survey of randomly selected households (n = 118) that included four quarterly income surveys. We employed a novel data collection approach that allows detailed estimation of total household accounts, including sources of forest income. We estimated the average forest income share of total annual household income (forest dependency) at 20%, ranging from 18 to 24%. Adding environmental income increased the average to 26%, being fairly constant across income quartiles at 24–28%. Absolute levels of forest income increased with total household income, while forest dependency was the highest in the best-off income quartile—the primary harvesters of forest products are better-off households. The pattern of high forest dependency among better-off households has also been reported from other countries, indicating that this pattern may be more common than advocated by conventional wisdom. Using ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions, we found significant determinants of absolute forest income to be household size, sex of household head and area of cultivated land; the significant determinants for forest dependency were level of education, whether household head was born in village and whether household was food self-sufficient. Better-off households were able to realise cash income from forests, while poorer households—in particular if headed by women—were more reliant on subsistence forest income. We argue that the differential patterns of forest income across income quartiles should be considered in future development interventions and that findings indicate a potential for forests to contribute to moving households out of poverty.     

Distribution of health costs of pesticide use by household economy

We observed skewed distribution across household of benefits of pesticide use in vegetable farming in Nepal. However, economic burden or harm of pesticide use and exposure by household economy is poorly studied. It is hypothesized that exaggerated and incompetent pesticide use is likely to affect human health that may lead to decline in human productivity, and economic loss––that may further marginalize farmers. Thus, a study was conducted in the Ansi khola watershed of Kavrepalanchowk District of central Nepal. The primary aim of the study was to value risks of pesticide use and to estimate health costs of exposure by household category. We grouped household into “large-scale” who owns more than 1 ha of agricultural land, “small-scale” having <0.5 ha and “medium-scale” in between >0.5 and <1 ha. Data were collected through (1) an initial household survey conducted from May to June 2008, (2) monthly visit surveys accomplished from June to November 2008 and (3) a final household survey conducted during November to December 2009. The cost of pesticide use and exposure was highest for medium-scale household; however, the economic burden in relation to incomes was the highest for small-scale household. On the basis of area under vegetables, small-scale household incurred 23 % higher economic burdens compared to the large-scale household. Overall, the cost of pesticide use and exposure amounted 15 % of agricultural income and/or 5 % of gross household income. For small-scale households, the cost was equivalent to 18 % of agricultural income and 6 % of gross income. Small-scale households are not only deprived from benefits of agriculture intensification, but also incurred highest burden of pesticide use.     

Influence of social capital on farmer household income gap: total effect and structural effect

Based on the survey data of typical villages in Shaanxi Province, China, the effect of social capital on the income gap of farmers’ households was analyzed using the Shapley value of the total amount of social capital and the social capital structure. The results show the following: first, social capital can expand the household income gap, and the effect of this index on the household income gap is 7.54%. Second, the indexes of the social capital dimension can expand the household income gap, and the structural effects of the household income gap on social networks, social trust, and social participation are 3.17%, 3.64%, and 0.65%, respectively. Third, no dimension of the path is the same as the effect on the household income gap.     

集体林权改革评价:林产品生产绩效视角

新一轮的集体林权改革已经开展了6年,对这一轮改革及时进行评价,不但对于认识改革的效果有积极的作用,而且对于有效地推进改革也是必不可少的.本文通过分成地租模型预测,集体林权改革对林产品生产效率会产生正向的影响,这些正向的影响主要包括林户劳动积极性的提高和林产晶产量的增加,同时也可能会对林产品全要素生产率产生积极影响.利用此次林权改革的主要省份之一--福建2县11乡(镇)29村320林户调查数据,本文的研究结论证实了前者,林户劳动投入由改革前146.53工日增加到改革后的180.76工日,增长了23%;竹产品的产量也由改革前的1 312.33 kg增长到改革后的1 815.09kg,增加了38%.另外,基于肯德里克方法,本文计算了集体林权改革前后林产品全要素生产率,对比二者发现,改革对林产品全要素生产率并没有产生正向的影响,相反而是负向的影响.据此本文提出,下一步的林业改革在做好相关配套改革的基础上,还要注重提高林产晶全要素生产率.     

农户对生物质能源产业参与意愿实证分析——以湖北省为例

生物质能源一直是人类赖以生存的重要能源，它是仅次于煤炭、石油和天然气而居于世界能源消费总量第四位的能源，在整个能源系统中占有重要地位。生物质能源产业的发展不仅仅需要产品生产企业、政府相关机构的参与，微观个体农户同样扮演着至关重要的角色。农户对生物质能源产业的态度和行为，会对政府和生产者的行为选择产生深刻影响。以湖北农户对生物质能源产业的参与意愿的调查为例，运用因子分析法，对农户对生物质能源产业参与意愿和参与行为的影响因素进行分析。分析结果表明：预期收益、年均纯收入、环保意识、文化程度、配套设备生产情况、产品技术成熟度、相关政策支持、商品能源使用率、当地生物质资源量9个因素会影响农户参与意愿。提出了相应的建议：一是提高农户对生物质能源的预期收益和农户收入水平；二是从根本上提高农户综合素质，增强环境保护意识；三是完善生物质能源产业技术、政策支撑体系，合理开发利用生物质资源     

农地转出:缓解还是加剧了农户的多维贫困?

基于六盘山集中连片区的1 112户农户调研数据，在综合考虑样本选择偏差和异质性的基础上，通过构建内生转换模型分析了农户农地转出行为对多维贫困指数的影响。结果表明：农户农地转出行为能够显著地降低多维贫困指数。通过进一步的反事实假设研究，发现农地转出户如果不转出农地，多维贫困指数将提高22.16%；未转出户如果有机会转出农地，多维贫困指数将下降30.22%。尽管农地转出行为能够降低农户的多维贫困指数，但受制于以地为生思想意识的制约，集中连片区农户并不能做出合理的决策。     

沼气的减排效果和农户采纳行为影响因素分析

文章采用计量分析的方法,基于统计报表,对沼气减排效果进行分析。结果表明:2000年至2009年农村年平均沼气消费相当于替代标准煤的煤炭消费602.20万t,折算成煤炭,则相当于替代了843.423 8万t的煤炭消费量。以2009年为例,按照10美元/tCO2来计算,中国农村沼气替代煤炭减排CO2带来的收益为0.43亿美元。据估计,到2015年,我国农村户用沼气将达到233亿m3左右,加上规模化养殖场、养殖小区年产沼气6.7亿m3,共计239.7亿m3,相当于替代1 711.46万t标准煤,核计收益1.71亿美元。文章通过在我国沼气典型省份湖南省的160户农户调查问卷,建模分析包括农户基本情况、生产状况、心理认知、经济状况方面的20个变量对农户的沼气采纳行为的影响。结果表明,农户性别、年龄、是否参加协会、环境保护意识、是否有外来资金支持等因素对农户沼气采纳行为起到或正或负的影响。文章从减排的角度论证了进一步推进农村沼气建设的重要性,从农户行为影响因素的角度论证了推进农村沼气建设是一个复杂的系统工程,需要宣传、培训、服务、技术、协会、资金等方面的配套跟进。     

The role of remittances and decentralization of forest management in the sustainability of a municipal-communal pine forest in eastern Guatemala

At the national scale, forest cover in Guatemala declined at an annual rate of 1.2% during the past quarter century because of settlement that removed primary forests in the northern region of the country; however, the majority of the population of Guatemala still resides in the densely populated central highlands and has extracted timber and fuelwood from adjacent forests for centuries. Using baseline data recorded in 1987 and 1996, this article reexamined the sustainability of a municipal-communal pine forest in San José La Arada, a municipality in eastern Guatemala. The pine forest declined from the period 1987 to 1996 because of overextraction of timber and fuelwood. Forest structure and forest use were reexamined from the period 1996 to 2007 to test the hypothesis that the forest continued to decline. Forest characteristics such as stand density, basal area, tree height, and evidence of forest use were measured to replicate the procedures from previous work at the study area. To understand changes in forest structure and forest use in the context of the rise in remittances and the introduction of decentralized forest governance that emerged since 1996, a household survey was conducted in two adjacent villages. Forest structure improved from 1996 to 2007. From 1996 to 2007, forest characteristics such as stand density, basal area, tree height, and forest regeneration improved and evidence of forest use decreased in the municipal-communal pine forest. The influence of large amounts of remittances from the United States and other regions of Guatemala to households in the adjacent villages and the decentralization of forest governance largely explains the shift toward forest sustainability in San José La Arada.