A framework for analysing contextual factors shaping forest-poverty dynamics

Oldekop, Johan A.; Gabay, Mónica; Humphreys, David; Kamoto, Judith; Mutta, Doris; Song, Conghe; Timko, Joleen; Rasmussen, Laura Vang; Stoian, Dietmar

doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2021.102591

Cited by 17 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…For these programs to succeed in the long term, it requires that the local population transition to sustainable non-forest dependent livelihoods. Some studies suggest that rural-to-urban labor migration, a hallmark of globalization, can facilitate the progress of forest conservation by reducing poverty and deforestation [ 12 , 13 ]. The main mechanism by which migration facilitates the goals of PES programs is that remittance from migrants substitutes income from extracting forest resources such as timber and fuelwood [ 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remittance from migrants reinforces forest recovery for China’s reforestation policy

Zhang,

Tao,

Jagger

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Forests play a key role in the mitigation of global warming and provide many other vital ecosystem goods and services. However, as forest continues to vanish at an alarming rate from the surface of the planet, the world desperately needs knowledge on what contributes to forest preservation and restoration. Migration, a hallmark of globalization, is widely recognized as a main driver of forest recovery and poverty alleviation. Here, we show that remittance from migrants reinforces forest recovery that would otherwise be unlikely with mere migration, realizing the additionality of payments for ecosystem services for China’s largest reforestation policy, the Conversion of Cropland to Forest Program (CCFP). Guided by the framework that integrates telecoupling and coupled natural and human systems, we investigate forest-livelihood dynamics under the CCFP through the lens of rural out-migration and remittance using both satellite remote sensing imagery and household survey data in two representative sites of rural China. Results show that payments from the CCFP significantly increases the probability of sending remittance by out-migrants to their origin households. We observe substantial forest regeneration and greening surrounding households receiving remittance but forest decline and browning in proximity to households with migrants but not receiving remittance, as measured by forest coverage and the Enhanced Vegetation Index derived from space-borne remotely sensed data. The primary mechanism is that remittance reduces the reliance of households on natural capital from forests, particularly fuelwood, allowing forests near the households to recover. The shares of the estimated ecological and economic additionality induced by remittance are 2.0% (1.4%∼3.8%) and 9.7% (5.0%∼15.2%), respectively, to the baseline of the reforested areas enrolled in CCFP and the payments received by the participating households. Remittance-facilitated forest regeneration amounts to 12.7% (6.0%∼18.0%) of the total new forest gained during the 2003–2013 in China. Our results demonstrate that remittance constitutes a telecoupling mechanism between rural areas and cities over long distances, influencing the local social-ecological gains that the forest policy intended to stimulate. Thus, supporting remittance-sending migrants in cities can be an effective global warming mitigation strategy.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remittance from migrants reinforces forest recovery for China’s reforestation policy

Zhang,

Tao,

Jagger

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

Self Cite

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“…Of course, the poverty alleviation effects of forests do not work at all times and places. Because of geographical, social, economic, and other factors, the role of forests in poverty alleviation varies significantly in different local environments [ 11 , 13 ]. Global forces of change may bring opportunities and risks to forest-reliant households and have impacts on their poverty dynamics [ 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interventions to strengthen forest property rights have proven to have a positive impact on poverty alleviation or income growth [ 17 ]. As a result, a better understanding of contexts and how they shape change in forest ecosystems is essential for the design and implementation of more effective forestry-based policies to alleviate poverty [ 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Forestry-Based Policies in Alleviating Relative Poverty in the Rocky Desertification Area in Southwest China

Wang

Rong

2022

IJERPH

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China has put forward a series of forestry-based poverty alleviation policies, aiming to alleviate poverty and improve the livelihoods of rural households, especially in backward and ecologically fragile areas with rich forest resources. Based on field survey data, we used an empirical analysis method to investigate the role of forestry-based policies in alleviating the relative poverty of rural households in the rocky desertification area in southwest China. The Logit regression results demonstrate that forestry-based poverty alleviation policies are significant at alleviating the relative poverty of rural households, and there are differences in the degree and significance of the impact of various forestry-based poverty alleviation policies. In particular, the forestry industry support (FIS) policy, the ecological forest rangers (EFRs) policy, and the Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) can significantly decrease the incidence of relative poverty of rural households, while the effect of the Public Benefit Forest Compensation Program (PBFC) on decreasing the incidence of relative poverty is not significant. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the role and effectiveness of China’s forestry-based poverty alleviation policies, and can provide a reference for optimizing the forestry poverty alleviation policies for the specific area and even the whole nation, as well as provide experience for worldwide poverty alleviation by forestry.

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Spatial patterns of poverty and forest cover dynamics in the Vietnamese Highlands

Hoang,

Rompaey,

2024

Environ Dev Sustain

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A framework for analysing contextual factors shaping forest-poverty dynamics

Cited by 17 publications

References 51 publications

Remittance from migrants reinforces forest recovery for China’s reforestation policy

Remittance from migrants reinforces forest recovery for China’s reforestation policy

The Role of Forestry-Based Policies in Alleviating Relative Poverty in the Rocky Desertification Area in Southwest China

Spatial patterns of poverty and forest cover dynamics in the Vietnamese Highlands

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