Environmental Protection in China: Land-Use Management

Faced with intensified environmental degradation and decreased agricultural land productivity, the Chinese government has sought policy interventions to reverse both of these negative trends. Among the policy instruments is the Conversion of Cropland to Forest and Grassland Program (CCFGP) that aims to change the pattern of agricultural land use in 25 provinces and autonomous regions across China. This book provides the most comprehensive assessment of the CCFGP undertaken to date. It allows the consideration of fundamental questions pertaining to the sustainability of the land use changes brought about by the CCFGP, its cost effectiveness and the prospects for policy evolution. Contributions from a wide range of economists and scientists in the book provide policymakers in the Chinese government with relevant information with which to pursue more effectively agro-environmental goals.Providing an economic assessment of land-use policy in China, this book will be of great interest to policymakers and government advisers in China, international donor agencies, and academics and students with an interest in land-use policy and environmental and natural resource economics and management.

Table of Contents:
Contents: 1. Agriculture and the Environment Jeff Bennett 2. Land-Use Management in China Xuehong Wang, Hongyun Han and Jeff Bennett 3. The Conversion of Cropland to Forest and Grassland Program Jeff Bennett, Lei Zhang, Guangcui Dai, Chen Xie, Jincheng Zhao, Dan Liang, Yongwei Liang and Xuehong Wang 4. Are Farmers Better Off? Chen Xie, Jincheng Zhao, Dan Liang, Jeff Bennett, Lei Zhang, Guangcui Dai and Xuehong Wang 5. Economic Efficiency Impacts Jeff Bennett, Guangcui Dai, Jincheng Zhao, Li Jiang, Zhitao Zhang, Dan Liang and Xuehong Wang 6. Valuing Run-off Reductions Jeff Bennett, Lei Zhang, Yangwen Jia, Zuhao Zhou, Yaqin Qiu, Xuehong Wang and Zhitao Zhang 7. Non-market Values of Environmental Changes Xuehong Wang, Jeff Bennett, Chen Xie, Zhitao Zhang 8. An Overall Assessment of the CCFGP and Policy Recommendations Xuehong Wang, Jeff Bennett, Lei Zhang and Chen Xie 9. The Way Ahead Jeff Bennett and Xuehong Wang Index

About the Author :
Edited by Jeff Bennett, Professor of Environmental Management, Crawford School of Economics and Government, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, Xuehong Wang, Post-doctoral Fellow, Crawford School of Economics and Government, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia and Lei Zhang, Director-General, China National Forestry Economics and Development Research Center, State Forestry Administration, China

Review :
'This is a useful book for those who are interested in institutional, economic and policy issues in China's ecosystem management, environmental protection and poverty alleviation. It is also a valuable reference book for university students who are studying environmental economics and development studies in general.' 'This book edited by Jeff Bennett, Xuehong Wang and Lei Zhang fills the gap in the literature admirably. . . this book will be of great interest to economists examining agro-environmental problems and solutions in China and elsewhere. The economic analyses in each of the chapters are insightful in their own right and in some cases (bioeconomic and choice modelling) employ highly innovative techniques. The success with which the economic analyses are drawn together is a testament to the well-designed research approach of the book and of the Australia-China collaborative research project on which it is based, and the study's market-based approach, the valuations and the recommendations will be useful to policymakers in China as they design and refine agro-environmental programs into the future. Of most interest will be the on-the-ground trials of the market-based instruments proposed by the authors.'