Three state-owned forest farms and two villages have been chosen as representative case sites for evaluation. The state-owned forest farms were chosen based on 3 criteria: farm types, the starting Table 5.3. Funding sources for public benefit forest (PBF) payment schemes in Guangxi, 2001-2009.1
Year Central government Provincial government
area (km2) payment for national-level PBF (million Yuan)
payment for regional-level PBF (million Yuan)
area (km2) payment for regional-level PBF (million Yuan)
2001 23,333.33 175 0 0 0
2002 23,333.33 175 0 0 0
2003 23,333.33 175 0 0 0
2004 23,333.33 172.5 0 0 0
2005 23,333.33 172.5 0 0 0
2006 29,066.67 218 0 2,666.67 22.4
2007 45,400.00 287.85 52.65 3,000.00 22.5
2008 45,400.00 287.85 52.65 4,133.33 31.1
2009 48,333.33 287.85 74.65 4,133.33 31.1
1 Data provided by the Planning and Financial Division, Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
5. Implementing payment schemes for forest ecological services in a poverty-stricken area 105
time of payment schemes (the earlier, the better), and forests with high ecological importance.
The three state-owned forest farms chosen include two farms mainly for ecological purpose (Pingling and Dayuan) and one for commercial purpose (Huangmian). Table 5.4 shows the main characteristics of the three forest farms.
Pingling Forest Farm locates in Yongfu County and 82% of its forest is used for ecological protection along the Luoqing River, which is an important secondary branch of the Pearl River.
The main ecological function of its forest ecosystem is to prevent soil erosion and reduce sediment run off for the hydropower stations. Currently two hydropower stations lie along the Luoqing River and another four stations are in development.
Dayuan Forest Farm is within the jurisdiction of Yangshuo County and manages a sizable and well-reserved natural forest with high ecological importance (Figure 5.2). The forest farm shelters
Table 5.4. Characteristics of the sampled state-owned forest farms.1
Farm Established Employees Total area (ha) Commercial
forest (ha) Public benefit forest (ha)
Huangmian 1957 1,100 21,660 19,009 2,651
Pingling 1979 110 9,803 1,738 8,065
Dayuan 1958 282 8,592 3,033 5,559
1 Source: Investigation on Huangmian, Pingling and Dayuan Forest Farm 2009.
Figure 5.2. Dayuan Forest Farm, Guangxi.
a water source and is the rain collecting area for the Dayuan River, which is the main water supply for the River Li, one of China’s most famous scenic areas. In addition, the forest guarantees stable water supply for five villages of Xingping Town for daily drinking water and irrigation.
Huangmian Forest Farm also lies along the Luoqing River, but most of its forest is used for commercial purpose. This farm has been chosen to compare with the two ecological type forest farms. In addition, Huangmian Forest Farm is a provincial-level state-owned forest farm and is financially supported by the Guangxi Regional Forestry Department, while Pingling and Dayuan forest farms are county-level state-owned forest farms under the management of the county forestry bureaus.
In Guilin City (including 7 counties within its jurisdiction), which forms the major case site of this research, public benefit forest reaches 5,566.67 km2, ranking second in Guangxi. The counties under Guilin City have similar sizes of public benefit forest area, ranging from 680.00 to 833.33 km2. Lingchuan County has 740.00 km2 of public benefit forest and 86.5% of public benefit forest has been covered by the payment scheme with 5.64 million Yuan every year.
Two villages (Dongyuan Village and Xiling Village, Figure 5.3) in Qingshitan Township of Lingchuan County have been chosen as case study sites to assess the implementation of payment schemes on collective forestland (Table 5.5). The criteria for choosing the county and the villages include the starting time of payment schemes (the earlier, the better), the area of the public benefit forest, forests with high ecological and economic importance, and community’s dependence on forests. Lingchuan County proved to be an excellent case study area, fulfilling best these criteria.
Lingchuan County lies northeast of Guilin City, one of the famous tourism cities in China.
Its jurisdiction includes 11 townships, 2,258 km2 and a population of 355,000. The county is located in mountainous region with forest coverage of 65.9%. The public benefit forest (52.8% of the forestland in the county) provides two major ecological services: watershed protection and landscape value preservation for several forest tourism sites. The two sampled villages are both located in the water source protection area. Table 5.5 shows the characteristics of the sampled villages. 15 farmer households from each village have been chosen according to differences in age, education and family size. In total, 30 farmers attended the group meeting and received the questionnaires.
Table 5.5. Characteristics of the sampled villages.1 Village Land area
(ha) Households Population income per
capita (Yuan) Public benefit forest (ha)
Dongyuan 5,945 380 1,510 3,000 5,673
Xiling 4,181 500 2,080 3,000 4,040
1 Source: Qingshitan Township Forestry Station 2009.
5. Implementing payment schemes for forest ecological services in a poverty-stricken area 107