IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i11p6942-d832611.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comprehensive Monitoring and Benefit Evaluation of Converting Farmlands into Forests and Grasslands in China

Author

Listed:
  • Shidong Li

    (Management Office of Conversion of Farmlands to Forests and Grasslands, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing 100714, China)

  • Bing Wang

    (Institute of Forest Environmental Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China)

  • Sheng Zhang

    (Development Research Center, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing 100714, China)

  • Yingfa Chen

    (Management Office of Conversion of Farmlands to Forests and Grasslands, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing 100714, China)

  • Guangshuai Zhao

    (Development Research Center, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing 100714, China)

Abstract

Conversion of farmlands to forests and grasslands (CFFG) is one of the major ecological projects with the largest investment, strongest policy, widest coverage and highest degree of participation in China, and even in the world. In order to scientifically evaluate the benefits and dynamic changes, better serve the decision-making, consolidate the achievements and promote the high-quality development of this project, it is of great significance to organize the monitoring and evaluation of its benefits. On the basis of reviewing and summarizing the monitoring and evaluation history of the benefits, this study established an indicator system for comprehensive monitoring and evaluation, composed of three components of benefits, 10 categories and 48 indicators, including 23 indicators of ecological benefits, 11 indicators of economic benefits and 14 indicators of social benefits. These methods of monitoring and evaluation are applied to the systematic and full coverage monitoring and evaluation of the national project of CFFG for the first time. There are four aspects of the innovation of this research: First, it is the first time that a comprehensive ecological, economic and social benefit evaluation indicator system has been established. Second, it is the first time that quantitative evaluation methods have been established. Third, it is the first comprehensive quantitative assessment of the CFFG project. Fourth, this is a full-scale evaluation of the project for the first time. The evaluation results show that the total value of the three benefits from the CFFG project is 2405.046 billion Yuan (354.4129 billion US$)·y −1 , of which the ecological benefit is 1416.864 billion Yuan (208.7922 billion US$)·y −1 , the economic benefit is 255.486 billion Yuan (37.649 billion US$)·y −1 and the social benefit is 732.696 billion Yuan (107.9717 billion US$)·y −1 , accounting for 58.92%, 10.62% and 30.46%, respectively, of the total benefits. Our results provide detailed evaluation of the achievement and benefits of the CFFG project.

Suggested Citation

  • Shidong Li & Bing Wang & Sheng Zhang & Yingfa Chen & Guangshuai Zhao, 2022. "Comprehensive Monitoring and Benefit Evaluation of Converting Farmlands into Forests and Grasslands in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-16, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:11:p:6942-:d:832611
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/11/6942/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/11/6942/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jingjing Liu & Jing Wang & Zehui Li & Yingkun Du, 2021. "Exploring impacts of the Grain for Green program on Chinese economic growth," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 5215-5232, April.
    2. Emi Uchida & Scott Rozelle & Jintao Xu, 2009. "Conservation Payments, Liquidity Constraints, and Off-Farm Labor: Impact of the Grain-for-Green Program on Rural Households in China," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(1), pages 70-86.
    3. Liu, Zhen & Lan, Jing, 2015. "The Sloping Land Conversion Program in China: Effect on the Livelihood Diversification of Rural Households," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 147-161.
    4. Hao Wang & Guohua Liu & Zongshan Li & Xin Ye & Bojie Fu & Yihe Lü, 2017. "Analysis of the Driving Forces in Vegetation Variation in the Grain for Green Program Region, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-14, October.
    5. Wunder, Sven & Engel, Stefanie & Pagiola, Stefano, 2008. "Taking stock: A comparative analysis of payments for environmental services programs in developed and developing countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(4), pages 834-852, May.
    6. Chen Xie & Jincheng Zhao & Dan Liang & Jeff Bennett & Lei Zhang & Guangcui Dai & Xuehong Wang, 2006. "Livelihood impacts of the conversion of cropland to forest and grassland program," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(4), pages 555-570.
    7. Li, Hua & Yao, Shunbo & Yin, Runsheng & Liu, Guangquan, 2015. "Assessing the decadal impact of China's sloping land conversion program on household income under enrollment and earning differentiation," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 95-103.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhang, Qi & Bilsborrow, Richard E. & Song, Conghe & Tao, Shiqi & Huang, Qingfeng, 2019. "Rural household income distribution and inequality in China: Effects of payments for ecosystem services policies and other factors," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 114-127.
    2. Zhang, Daojun & Yin, Runsheng, 2019. "Spatial characteristics of degraded land and their implications to the design and implementation of landscape restoration programs: West China as an example," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 1-1.
    3. Giefer, Madeline M. & An, Li, 2022. "Divergent impacts of the grain to green program, landholdings, and demographic factors on livelihood diversification in rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    4. Zhang, Zhaohui & Paudel, Krishna P., 2019. "Policy improvements and farmers' willingness to participate: Insights from the new round of China's Sloping Land Conversion Program," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 121-132.
    5. Li Li & Atsushi Tsunekawa & Yangshangyu Zuo & Atsushi Koike, 2019. "Conservation Payments and Technical Efficiency of farm Households Participating in the Grain for Green Program on the Loess Plateau of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-16, August.
    6. Lu, Gang & Yin, Runsheng, 2020. "Evaluating the Evaluated Socioeconomic Impacts of China's Sloping Land Conversion Program," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    7. Sims, Katharine R.E. & Alix-Garcia, Jennifer M., 2017. "Parks versus PES: Evaluating direct and incentive-based land conservation in Mexico," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 8-28.
    8. Lan, Jing & Liu, Zhen, 2019. "Social network effect on income structure of SLCP participants: Evidence from Baitoutan Village, China," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 1-1.
    9. Huixia Zou & Shaowei Li & Huiyuan Zou & Wei Sun & Yingnan Niu & Chengqun Yu, 2022. "Livelihood Sustainability of Herder Households in North Tibet, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-14, April.
    10. Luqian Li & Xiaobo Hua & Guangshuai Zhao & Erqi Xu, 2024. "Continuous Decline in Direct Incomes for Farmers Threatens the Sustainability of the Grain for Green Project," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-13, August.
    11. Yanez-Pagans, Patricia, 2013. "Cash for Cooperation? Payments for Ecosystem Services and Common Property Management in Mexico," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 151294, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    12. Zhen Liu & Arne Henningsen, 2016. "The effects of China's Sloping Land Conversion Program on agricultural households," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(3), pages 295-307, May.
    13. Ding, Zhenmin & Yao, Shunbo, 2021. "Ecological effectiveness of payment for ecosystem services to identify incentive priority areas: Sloping land conversion program in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    14. Yanez-Pagans, Patricia, 2013. "Cash for Cooperation? Payments for Ecosystem Services and Common Property Management in Mexico," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 151295, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    15. Liu, Zhen & Li, Qiuming & Lan, Jing & Abu Hatab, Assem, 2020. "Does participation in the sloping land conversion program reduce the sensitivity of Chinese farmers to climate change?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    16. Hao Li & Michael T Bennett & Xuemei Jiang & Kebin Zhang & Xiaohui Yang, 2017. "Rural Household Preferences for Active Participation in “Payment for Ecosystem Service” Programs: A Case in the Miyun Reservoir Catchment, China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(1), pages 1-21, January.
    17. Chen, Cheng & Matzdorf, Bettina & Meyer, Claas & König, Hannes & Zhen, Lin, 2018. "How socioeconomic and institutional conditions at the household level shape the environmental effectiveness of governmental PES: China’s Sloping Land Conversion Program," SocArXiv jzvqh, Center for Open Science.
    18. Zhang, Qi & Song, Conghe & Chen, Xiaodong, 2018. "Effects of China’s payment for ecosystem services programs on cropland abandonment: A case study in Tiantangzhai Township, Anhui, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 239-248.
    19. Liu, Zhaoyang & Kontoleon, Andreas, 2018. "Meta-Analysis of Livelihood Impacts of Payments for Environmental Services Programmes in Developing Countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 48-61.
    20. Hao Li & Xiaohui Yang & Xiao Zhang & Yuyan Liu & Kebin Zhang, 2018. "Estimation of Rural Households’ Willingness to Accept Two PES Programs and Their Service Valuation in the Miyun Reservoir Catchment, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-19, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:11:p:6942-:d:832611. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.