Collective versus individual property : tenure security and forest tenure reforms in China

Abstract

This study assesses the determinants of forest land allocation to households in the forest tenure reforms in China in the period 1980-2005 using data from three provinces in Southern China; Fujian, Jiang Xi and Yunnan. Furthermore, it assesses the current level of tenure security on forest land and how this tenure security is affected by past and more recent policy changes. A key finding is that issuing of written documentation of forest land rights in form of forest land certificates for a specific time period (30-70 years) enhances tenure security beyond what the otherwise perceived rights to land do.