Evaluation of the impact of the natural forest protection program on rural household livelihoods

Katrina Mullan, Andreas Kontoleon, Timothy M. Swanson, Shiqiu Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, we estimated the impact on local household livelihoods of the Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP), which is the largest logging-ban program in the world, which aims to protect watersheds and conserve natural forests. In doing so, we used a series of microeconometric policy-evaluation techniques to assess the impacts of the NFPP on two interrelated facets of household livelihoods: income and off-farm labor supply. We found that the NFPP has had a negative impact on incomes from timber harvesting but has actually had a positive impact on total household incomes from all sources. Furthermore, we found that off-farm labor supply outside the village has increased more rapidly in NFPP than in non-NFPP areas. Based on these results, policy implications for household livelihoods were drawn and are presented herein.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)513-525
Number of pages13
JournalEnvironmental Management
Volume45
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010

Keywords

  • China
  • Income impacts
  • Logging ban
  • Natural Forest Protection Program
  • Off-farm labor
  • Policy evaluation
  • Property rights

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