Market-based grazing land transfers and customary institutions in the management of rangelands: Two case studies on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Beginning in the early 1990’s, grazing lands once held in common were contracted to individual households in the rangeland regions of China. The resulting fragmentation of rangelands has led to ecological and social problems. As China seeks to address intractable poverty and rangeland degradation, attention has turned to rental, or transfer, of contracted grazing land as a market-based approach to re-aggregating grazing land into larger units that support economies of scale. However, given that many pastoral regions still maintain community customary institutions, what the relationship between market mechanisms and local customary institutions should be in rangeland management needs further analysis. This paper applies comparative case studies of two types of relationships between market mechanisms and customary institutions: (1) market mechanisms that replace customary institutions in the case of Axi village, and (2) market mechanisms that are embedded within customary institutions in Xiareer village. This allows contrast of the impacts of differing approaches on livelihoods, livestock production, and wealth differentiation among pastoral households. We found that there is a higher level of livestock mortality, lower livestock productivity, and higher livestock production cost in Axi Village compared to Xiareer Village. In addition, household asset levels are higher and there is less income differentiation in Xiareer Village. It is concluded that embedding market mechanisms within customary institutions has had notable benefits for the herders of Xiareer Village, because it is a better fit to the coupled pastoral social-ecological system. Based on these findings, we argue that in pastoral communities where the rangeland transfer system for contracted grazing land has not yet been implemented, it is critical to reconsider China’s current policy approach to pay greater attention to the innovative management systems being developed in local regions. Instead of considering market-based approaches as oppositional to traditional institutions, options that derive from the interaction of market-based and customary institutions should be considered.     

Livelihood roles of cattle and prospects for alternative land uses at the wildlife/livestock interface in South Africa

The emergence of wildlife ranching as an alternative land use option to agriculture, in Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs), has cast renewed interest on the role of cattle farming in rural livelihoods in areas close to wildlife parks. This study analysed the contribution of cattle to livelihoods and relationships between cattle and potential wildlife land uses in rural areas near Kruger National Park. Data were collected through household surveys, key informant interviews and community workshops. About 11% of households studied owned cattle, and cattle income constituted 29% of total household income. Benefits from cattle were also derived by households without cattle. About 71% of households had at least three sources of income, reflecting diversity of livelihoods. Wildlife related land uses were perceived by some households as threatening cattle production, whilst others viewed them as opportunities for alternative livelihoods. We conclude that cattle production has important livelihood roles, but is not sufficient as a driver of economic development in these areas. Incentives to encourage diversification of livelihoods at the wildlife/livestock interface, with possibilities for rural communities to explore wildlife based land uses should be put in place. In addition, land use policy and planning in such areas should focus on creating institutional mechanisms through which programmes integrating conservation and rural development goals can benefit rural communities.     

Effects of payments for ecosystem services programs in China on rural household labor allocation and land use: Identifying complex pathways

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) is increasingly used in developing countries to secure the sustainable provision of vital ecosystem services. The largest PES programs in the world are embedded in China’s new forest policies, which aim to expand forest cover for soil and water conservation and improve livelihoods of rural people. The objective of this study is to identify the complex pathways of the impacts of two PES programs , the Conversion of Cropland to Forest Program (CCFP) and the Ecological Welfare Forest Program (EWFP), on household livelihood decisions, and to quantify the direct and indirect impacts along the identified pathways. We fulfill this objective by developing an integrated conceptual framework and applying a Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM), based on household survey data from Anhui, China. Labor allocation (for on-farm work, local paid work, local business, or out-migration) and land use decisions (i.e., rent in, maintain, rent out, or abandon cropland) for participating households are key to understand PES program effects on livelihoods. Results show that the PES programs have only small direct effects but significant indirect effects via the mediating factor of capital assets. Moreover, group heterogeneity analysis shows that lower-income households do not benefit more than the better-off households from the PES programs, while households with medium wealth increase dependence on agriculture. In addition, household demographics, individual attributes, and geographic settings differ in their impacts on labor allocation and land use decisions. We conclude that CCFP and EWFP would be more efficient in conserving the environment while improving the economic welfare of lower-income households if capital assets were taken into account in the design of compensation schemes.     

新一轮退耕还林对农户收入影响的机理研究 ——基于赣南、鄂北农户调查的实证分析

研究目的：新一轮退耕还林补助资金即将到期之际,分析新一轮退耕还林对农户家庭收入的净效应并揭示其内在机制。研究方法：理论上阐述了新一轮退耕还林政策促进农户收入增长的作用机理,基于赣南、鄂北地区农户调查数据,利用倾向得分匹配法进行实证分析。研究结果：（1）无论是否包含退耕补贴,新一轮退耕还林政策对农户收入有正向影响;（2）退耕林种对农户收入的作用机理不同：种植经济林的农户增加了林果业收入和非农经营收入,减少了工资性收入;种植生态林的农户通过提高工资性收入,进而提高总收入水平。研究结论：新一轮退耕还林加快了农户生计转型的进程。政策实施5年后,农户形成与生态环境相适应且稳定的生产方式,为补偿政策的逐步退出创造有利条件,实现了新一轮退耕还林政策的造血功能。     

When should households be compensated for land-use restrictions? A decision-making framework for Chinese forest policy

Competing uses of land mean that regulations aimed at environmental conservation often conflict with the land-use rights of rural households. Several reports suggest that this has occurred with the introduction of the Natural Forest Protection Programme (NFPP) in China, one of the world's largest logging ban programmes. This paper investigates whether households should be compensated for infringements on property rights, drawing on institutional economics literature on regulation. We distinguish between cases where regulation solves local collective action problems and increases the welfare of those affected, and those where regulation involves a redistribution of rights from one group to another. We apply this to the NFPP by estimating the net welfare impacts, using household level stated preference data with econometric techniques that explicitly account for zero and negative values of the dependent variable. We find that the ban on logging does not affect the net welfare of the affected forest communities. This indicates that the losses resulting from the restrictions on property rights are offset by the benefits from restrictions on other local households. We also find evidence that a partial reduction in logging would be welfare increasing, indicating that the NFPP is to some extent addressing local collective action problems in forest areas. Broader implications for the question of compensating for infringement of property rights as the result of regulatory interventions in contexts of institutional imperfections are also drawn.     

Land for welfare in China

Drawing on firsthand observations, Party and government documents, and survey data, this study examines the causes and processes of the land for welfare policy in China. The implementation of the land for welfare program cannot be understood in isolation from the profound urban–rural gap in the land property rights regime and social welfare provision in China. The dual land tenure system allows local officials to generate revenue by expropriating rural land, which, to rural households, functions as a social insurance as well as an income-generating property. In the process of land requisition, land-losing villagers are provided with social welfare benefits to compensate for their loss of their land's insurance function. Such provision, however, is not developed out of the local governments’ benign intention, but their strategic reaction to the central government's development program that combines rural social welfare provision with a land rewarding system, which provides an opportunity for local officials to gain more land, a valuable asset for local governments. The provision of social welfare benefits is selective: affected rural households are provided with welfare benefits that are less costly to the local government, typically in the form of a pension insurance.     

The impact of protected areas on the rural households’ incomes in Ethiopia

Protected areas are cornerstones for biodiversity conservation, yet they can be controversial because of their potential impact on the livelihoods of local people due to restrictions on agricultural land use and the extractive use of natural resources. This study evaluates the impact of PAs on households’ livelihoods, as measured by total household income (THI) and livestock income (LI). We use a survey and a quasi-experimental design to gather socioeconomic and biophysical data from households living within, adjacent to and outside three national parks (NPs) in Ethiopia and employ matching methods to isolate the impact of NPs. Our findings suggest that there is no evidence that the establishment of NPs adversely affects local livelihoods. Instead, we find that households within and in adjacent areas to NPs have higher incomes compared to those living outside. Understanding the heterogeneity of the effect of NPs on local livelihoods can help in designing well-targeted policy interventions that improve conservation goals while also addressing livelihood concerns of resource-dependent local communities.     

Managing China's pastoral lands: Current problems and future prospects

China has the second largest area of pastoral land in the world, and these lands and their peoples play a very beneficial role in the global environment. Because of China's huge population, rate of social reform, and economic development, the pastoral ecosystems are at a critical turning point. There is a conflict between national benefit and the land users (mainly herders) benefit. This paper introduces the scale of pastoral land, the history of its management institutions, past and current projects and programs, as well as the current framework of policy and law as relevant to land management. The challenges for pastoral management in terms of institutions, administration, technology and their shifting role in regional economies of scale are also analyzed. Opportunities for sustainable development in China's pastoral lands are presented. Finally, this paper highlights the available approaches for enhancing livelihoods and conserving pastoral land, including establishment of law and policy framework at the national level, redefining use rights for community management, promoting Integrated Ecosystem Management (IEM) as a basis for natural resource utilization, preserving and respecting cultural aspects of pastoral peoples, and shifting the focus from GDP generation to environmental protection.     

Land use,the environment and development in post-socialist Mongolia

This paper describes the economic policies that have transformed the pastoral sector in post-socialist Mongolia, and their impact on pastoral land use. These policies reflect the influence of development economists from the Asian Development Bank who have been advising the Mongolian government, and their conviction that exclusive private rights to land are a necessary precondition of an efficient rural market economy. These assumptions stand in marked contrast to indigenous Mongolian conceptions of rights over land, and the policy debate reflects the contested nature of knowledge of the Mongolian environment. However, far from preventing damage to the resource base, evidence suggests that these policies of land allocations may actually be exacerbating problems of pasture degradation. This paper argues that policies of this kind reveal a misunderstanding of the nature of Mongolian pastoralism and the conditions that have made it viable in the past. Although international development agencies lionize a romanticized notion of Mongolian “traditions” as reflecting a “respect for nature”, there is little appreciation of the actual institutions that successfully conducted pastoralism until recently, the concrete embodiment of Mongolian pastoral knowledge. Environmentalist agendas reflect a familiar western interest in promoting western conservationist ideology and establishing and expanding protected areas to harbour wildlife and biodiversity. Mongolian practices tend to be cast as “traditions” to be utilized for the greater goal of conservation as conceived of in western terms, rather than seen as part of wider social and political institutions of land use.     

农村土地流转的供求意愿及其流转效率的评价研究

研究目的:研究农村土地流转的农户供求意愿,定量评价土地流转的经济效率。研究方法:通过设置的土地流转意愿度指标分析农户土地流转的供给意愿,通过农户实际土地经营规模和最适土地经营规模的比较分析农户的需求意愿,利用市场供求模型估算土地流转带来的供求双方农户经济福利。研究结果:中部6省的农户供给意愿在0.18—0.52之间,农户实际土地经营规模为0.27—0.73 hm2/户,最适土地经营规模0.61—1.08 hm2/户,以100—300元/亩流转交易价实行土地流转后,中部6省中各省供给方农户的经济福利可达到1.1—9.2亿元,需求方农户的经济福利可达到2.2—12.2亿元。研究结论:从供给角度看,当前农户的土地流转意愿低;从需求角度看,农户有土地流转的意愿。土地流转交易使土地资源和劳动力资源得到重新配置,增进了土地供给者和土地需求者的福利,提高了经济效率。     

Land size and productivity in the livestock sector: evidence from pastoral areas in China

This article explores the relationship between land size and productivity in the livestock sector. Household panel data from pastoral areas in northwestern China were analysed. Results suggest an inverse relationship (IR) between land size and the number of livestock per ha. IR can be largely explained by labour input intensity, which is negatively correlated with land size. We find that household’s labour demand is not separable from household’s labour supply and households’ decisions to rent land and hire labour for grazing are significantly related to the labour–land endowment ratio. These findings are consistent with the Chayanovian explanation that labour input intensity varies with farm size due to unobserved interhousehold variation in shadow wage rates. In addition, participation in the labour market does not significantly influence the IR for the employer, while the practice of land renting reduces, but does not eliminate, the IR for the lease. These findings point towards the potential for using factor markets to optimise pasture‐based livestock production scale, and the need to promote the factor market development to achieve efficiency in resource use.     

Using participatory mapping and a participatory geographic information system in pastoral land use investigation: Impacts of rangeland policy in Botswana

Since the 1980s, the spatial extent of communal grazing lands in Botswana has been diminishing due to rangeland privatisation and fencing associated with animal health policies. Spatial comparisons of pastoral land use transformations are particularly important where accessibility to grazing and water resources remains at the core of sustainable pastoralism policies. Achieving success in pastoral development research requires a sound understanding of traditional pastoralists’ information systems, including the nature of local spatial knowledge. This study explores local spatial knowledge through participatory mapping and a Participatory Geographic Information System to understand and analyse pastoralists’ grazing patterns, spatial mobility and the impacts of subdivisions and privatisation policies in Botswana’s Ngamiland rangelands. The study uses focus group discussions, historical analysis through key informant interviews, and participatory mapping exercises along with community guided transect walks. The resulting maps provide insights into the traditional tenure patterns of land use and the impacts of rangeland policy on traditional livestock spatial mobility and access to grazing lands. Privatisation and rangeland enclosures have resulted in the restricted movement of livestock and overstocking of floodplains and riparian rangelands, with some natural water pans becoming inaccessible to local communities. We conclude that the integration of local spatial knowledge can be used to foster better articulation and understanding of pastoralists’ tenures, which are often lacking in communal land administration systems. Such integrated analysis can contribute to sustainable pastoral land management policy toolkits in semi-arid rangeland environments and enable better land tenure and management decision making for sustainable land management.     

不同模式下农村宅基地退出的农户福利效应研究以福建省晋江市为例

目的 为合理引导农村宅基地有序退出并制定出科学的宅基地退出管理策略,亟需开展不同模式下农村宅基地退出的农户福利效应研究,准确把握农户在此过程中的生活质量变化状况。方法 文章以阿玛蒂亚·森提出的可行能力理论为基础,构建宅基地退出的农户福利评价指标体系,利用晋江市的调研数据,运用模糊数学综合评价方法,评价和比较不同模式下农村宅基地退出的农户福利效应及其差异。结果 资产置换模式和指标置换模式下宅基地退出后农户的总福利水平都有所改善,总模糊指数分别从0.378、0.404上升到0.399、0.418,货币补偿模式总福利水平则呈下降的状态,从0.412下降到0.373。其中资产置换模式和指标置换模式在社会保障、居住条件和心理状况的农户福利水平有所上升,家庭经济和决策参与的农户福利水平下降,两者改变程度有所差异。货币补偿模式只有居住条件的农户福利得到改善。宅基地退出后农户之间的福利差异进一步扩大,福利差异系数从0.114上升到0.147。结论 不同模式的宅基地退出致使农户福利效应差异明显,使其对农户的生活方式和长远生计的影响程度有所不同。因此,应综合考虑不同宅基地退出模式下农户福利效应差异,从科学设定宅基地退出的补偿标准、规范宅基地退出程序、分类实施宅基地退出保障措施等方面提升农户福利水平和促进农户福利均衡发展。     

Loss of land and livelihoods from mining operations: A case in the Limpopo Province,South Africa

Loss or degradation of communal lands can have major implications for people’s livelihoods and well-being in rural underdeveloped areas. Mining operations are one driver of land loss with negative implications for people. This study assesses the livelihood effects of open-cast mining on a rural communal land village that lost 8 000 ha of land and compares it to another village nearby that did not. The results suggest that the loss of land and the ecosystem services they provide has negatively affected people’s livelihood strategies and outcomes. On average, only 23 % of households in the affected village had crop fields compared to an adjacent village, that did not lose land to the mine, where 90 % of households had a crop field. This accounts for substantial losses in income through agriculture, both as cash earnings and savings, and negatively affects household food security. As a result of the mine the affected community has also lost access to grazing, and now many households must pay to graze their livestock in other areas. Furthermore, the option to harvest several key natural resources (provisioning services) or non-timber forest products (NTFPs) such as wild fruits and vegetables, edible insects, fuelwood, and to a lesser extent resources like reeds and medicinal plants were lost due to the mine, negatively impacting local livelihoods. NTFPs are important for rural livelihoods as they allow for cash saving, income generation and act as a safety net or fall-back option during times of increased vulnerability. The findings also give a good indication of changes in agriculture and resource use over time and the varying reasons for this. Other negative effects from the mine included; cracking of houses due to blasting, dust pollution, water contamination, social and cultural effects, community alterations and conflicts, and very little was seen to be gained in terms of employment through Social Labour Plans (SLPs) or corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Households in the village affected by the mine lose approximately R 15 000 per year through losses of agricultural potential and the ability to collect NTFPs, which is larger than the annual cash incomes for most households. This value is likely to be an underestimate of the total value lost, as reductions in grazing potential and the loss of supporting, regulating and cultural ecosystem services were not included in this figure. This study highlights the importance of considering land access and associated land-based livelihoods in rural communal land areas in the context of disturbance and change. Recommendations for future assessments and policy on compensation for rural communities are made and issues relating to CSR are discussed.     

农地可持续利用激励约束机制

旨在从农户的角度为农地可持续利用建立一个激励约束机制的分析框架.在概述农户可持续利用农地资源激励约束机制的理论基础的前提下,从分析农户非持续利用农地行为动机出发,剖析了资源特性、技术状况、农地制度安排及其激励约束对农地利用方式的影响;进而提出一个基于农户的农地可持续利用激励约束机制的分析框架,主要包括产权、价格和财政税收政策等激励机制,以及经济制度、法规和规划等约束机制.     

基于产权与利用视角的台中市土地变化分析

[目的]以我国台湾省台中市为研究对象,利用多源统计数据,对其2011—2015年土地产权变化及土地利用变化进行分析,以揭示台中市几年来土地产权变化和土地利用变化的主要特征。[方法]文章主要采用描述性分析和统计分析方法。[结果](1)2011—2014年台中市共计增加登记土地产权面积621 hm2,公私共有产权土地面积先减少后增加,至2014年达到643hm2。(2)已登记非都市土地总面积,从2011年起处于先减少、后增加的趋势,特别是2014年已登记非都市土地总面积增加较多,相对于2013年增加了1.4196万hm2。(3)都市发展区中的住宅用地、商业用地、文教用地、特定专用区的面积皆有增长,而工业用地、公共设施用地、其他区的面积有所下降;非都市发展区中的保护区面积比较稳定,而农业区、风景区和河川区的面积处在调整的状态。[结论](1)台中市私有土地面积占比处于下降趋势,但整体不是非常明显;土地所有制包括公有、私有和公私共有等多种形式完全可以共存;东南亚人取得的土地所有权数量在总体上增减变化不大;(2)台中市都市发展区用地虽有增长但增幅较小,而都市区土地、非都市区土地内部的用途竞争导致了各类用地功能区的面积此消彼长;土地所有制对城市用地扩展没有构成制约,即土地所有制不是城市发展的分歧所在;(3)非都市土地转换为都市土地,不仅取决于各类土地竞租能力的差异,还取决于都市发展计划与土地使用分区管制,土地用途转换应以经济高质量发展与居民社会福利增进为目标。最后,提出完善土地权利结构体系,增加公有土地面积占比来保障社会公共福利等政策建议。     

论土地制度的公私矛盾

研究目的：梳理土地制度的公私关系,探讨土地制度运行的内在规律。研究方法：归纳与演绎、文献研究法、比较分析法。研究结果：土地制度是人类进入文明社会（出现国家及法律）以后的基础性制度,并交替存在着公有制、私有制等制度形态;无论是实践中还是在理论上,土地公有制与私有制选择始终是一对矛盾,但产权是否清晰与土地公有私有无关,财产权神圣不可侵犯应同等保护公私财产,平等保护财产权并非追求财产平等。研究结论：土地作为自然资源的本质属性决定了其产权制度的基本特征,土地所有制度属于政治范畴,土地产权制度与财富分配机制属于经济问题,土地制度规则应遵循公权与私权均衡,公利与私利分野。     

农村集体产权结构开放性的历史演变与未来走向

[目的]改革开放40年来,为适应人口流动性提高、改进资源配置的需要,农村各类集体资产的产权结构发生了较大变化,但变化的方向和程度并不一致。面向未来,为促进乡村振兴,应重构农用地、集体经营性建设用地和集体非土地经营性资产等农村集体产权的权利结构,允许部分权能跨村流转和配置,提高乡村资源配置效率。[方法]在系统梳理文献、借鉴地方实践经验的基础上,阐述了农用地产权结构、集体经营性建设用地产权结构、集体非土地经营性资产产权结构开放性的历史演变与未来走向。[结果]随着农户的逐步分化,应以促进流转集中、扩大经营规模为目标,进一步扩大农用地产权结构的开放性;随着城乡统一的建设用地市场的发展,应以提高配置效率为目标,进一步扩大集体经营性建设用地产权结构的开放性;随着集体经济组织成员收入的多元化,应逐步扩大集体非土地经营性资产产权结构的开放性。[结论]必须在坚持农村集体所有制的前提下,逐步重构农村集体产权的权利结构,让稀缺的农用地不因集体经济组织成员的进城而荒芜,让进村创业和生活的非本集体经济组织成员能够获得必要的土地要素和居住空间,让村庄和集体资产治理结构能够更有效率。     

Eviction policy in postwar Angola

Angola's four decades of civil war continue to have a profound effect on the country's recovery and development. While the end to the war in 2002 and the subsequent extraction of natural resources has fueled the country's economic recovery for a minority, for the majority recovery depends less on natural resource extraction than it does on acquiring and maintaining secure access to land and property upon which viable livelihoods can be rebuilt. However the current large scale evictions in urban and peri-urban areas of the country and the resulting acute tenure insecurity is significantly worrying, and is the single most acute land rights, land policy, and political problem in the country. Aspects of the country's constitution and the development of the postwar land law facilitate eviction, and an important opportunity to upgrade postwar informal land rights has been missed. Land and property rights problems have played a significant role in the country's armed conflicts and social problems, and current trends are constructing a difficult future.