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Decentralizing while centralizing: An explanation of China's collective forestry reform since the 1980s

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  • Xu, Tuoyuan
  • Zhang, Xiaoxiao
  • Agrawal, Arun
  • Liu, Jinlong

Abstract

Governance systems are characterized by differing degrees of centralized vs decentralized decision-making and distribution of powers. This study investigates the history of Chinese centralized decentralization reforms in collective forestry using data from government documents and secondary literature based on the democratic decentralization and environmental governance frameworks. Additionally, it divides China's collective forest decentralization reform into three stages since the 1980s—the “economic development” period, “marketization cultivation” period, and “ecological protection” period. Our findings indicate that the effect of decentralization reform is largely due to whether the decentralization reform is consistent with the national government's centralized means/mechanism. In the economic development period (1980–1991), there were two sources of conflict: (1) between the centralized timber market system (unified purchase and sales system in state-owned forest) and the opening of the collective forest timber market; and (2) between the horizontal government upward accountability system and the decentralization of financial power to local governments. In the marketization cultivation period (1992–2002), the conflict between the horizontal government upward accountability system and decentralized financial power to the local government still existed, but the centralized fiscal policy of monetary tightening complemented the full-scale opening of the forestry market. During the ecological protection period (2003-present), the vertical government upward accountability system has complemented the devolution of financial power to forestry departments. We also find that the results of decentralization reforms of the government and market system usually affect the decentralization reform results of the community system.

Suggested Citation

  • Xu, Tuoyuan & Zhang, Xiaoxiao & Agrawal, Arun & Liu, Jinlong, 2020. "Decentralizing while centralizing: An explanation of China's collective forestry reform since the 1980s," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:119:y:2020:i:c:s1389934119303958
    DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2020.102268
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    Cited by:

    1. Shuning Zhu & Jinlong Liu & Hao Xu & Lingchao Li & Wentao Yang, 2022. "Has China’s New Round of Collective Forest Reforms Reduced Forest Fragmentation? A Case Study of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-15, May.
    2. Yuge Wang & Apurbo Sarkar & Min Li & Zehui Chen & Ahmed Khairul Hasan & Quanxing Meng & Md. Shakhawat Hossain & Md. Ashfikur Rahman, 2022. "Evaluating the Impact of Forest Tenure Reform on Farmers’ Investment in Public Welfare Forest Areas: A Case Study of Gansu Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-17, May.
    3. Zhao, Jiacheng & Liu, Jinlong & Giessen, Lukas, 2023. "How China adopted eco-friendly forest development: Lens of the dual-track mechanism," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).

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