Contribution of Forestry to Poverty Alleviation - APFNet

A number of farmers who have been
allocated forestlands engage in chicken
raising, mushroom production and other
income generating activities under the
trees they planted or are managing.
for a job before CFTR, now grows zhu ling (Polyporus umbellatus, a valuable medicinal mushroom
that grows in forests 1,100 meters above sea level) in his 12.4 ha of contracted forest land. His annual
average income is approximately US$ 3,000, higher than his previous income. A typical example to
show the contribution of traditional forestry to poverty alleviation is Chen Jinghe, a poor farmer who
earned less than US$ 200 per capita per year by planting crops. In 2008, his family contracted 36.2
ha of forest lands during the reform. Now, he gets US$ 148 per year by leasing 13.3 ha of forests to
a tour company for eco-tourism, and US$ 3,545 by growing mushrooms on other forestlands. The
income of his family doubled compared to his previous income from the traditional way he managed
the forest area.
In the case of Ningshan, traditional forest is an important resource for local farmers for both subsistence
livelihood and increased incomes. Traditionally, farmers rely on forests for multiple living and production
materials. The implementation of NFPP does not reduce the degree of farmers relying on the forest but
changes the mode of forest management. Before NFPP, the income of farmer households from timber
was more than 70% of the total. Currently, income from fruits alone accounts for more than 50% of
the total. Under CFTR, farmers enjoy the management rights to contracted forest land and can manage
forest resources by multiple modes to get multiple forestry products. Forest resource multiple uses for
commercialized management directly changed the state of operation of farmer households, increased
their incomes, and improved the livelihoods of local farmers. Under CFTR, the population living in
absolute poverty decreased to 12,000 (33%) from 18,000.
Contribution of Commercial Forestry to Poverty Alleviation: Anhua Case
Anhua County is located in central Hunan Province. Its total land area covers 495,000 ha with 1.08
million people, of which 80.86% comprise the rural population. There is a labor force of 182,700
engaged in forestry production, accounting for 39.4% of the rural labor force. Anhua County is a NPSC
and in 2010, rural per capita net income was US$ 394.27, only 51.8% of the national average in the same
period. There are 247,600 poor people, and the poverty incidence was 25.33% in the county.
According to 2009 data, there are 373,000 ha of forested land with a forest volume 12.16 million m 3 , and
forest coverage of 76.17%. The economic forest area in the county is 79,000 ha, accounting for 20.1% of
the forest area. The area of oil-yielding trees is 25,700 ha; the medicinal woody area, 20,000 ha; the tea
area, 10,500 ha; the fruit forest area, 12,000 ha; and the rest of the forest areas, 10,800 ha. In 2010, the
total output value of the economic forest, planting, and cultivation under crown cover was US$ 267.38
million. Economic forest, planting and cultivation under crown cover drove the average income of local
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Research Team