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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2022, Vol. 58 ›› Issue (12): 74-88.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.20221208

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Ecological Property Right of Forests in Reservoir Confluence Area and Farmers' Continuous Participation in Protection of the Water Conservation Forest —a Case Study in the Confluence Area of Heihe Reservoir

Min Li1,Yuge Wang1,Weili Wang2,Quanxing Meng1,*   

  1. 1. College of Economics and Management, Northwest A & F University Yangling 712100
    2. Xi' an Water Group Heihe Jinpen Reservoir Management Company Xi'an 710401
  • Received:2021-12-30 Online:2022-12-25 Published:2023-03-11
  • Contact: Quanxing Meng

Abstract:

Objective: The externalities of water conservation forest and the "one size fits all" ecological compensation standards have not effectively encouraged farmers' protection behavior of water conservation forests in reservoir confluence area. Analysis on the impact of forest ecological property right on farmers' protection behavior of water conservation forests is important for sustainable utilization of water resources and urban water security to explore. Method: Following the logic that subdivision of property rights is the effective way to implement complex property rights, this paper subdivided the forest property right into economic property right and ecological property right, and incorporated ecological property right into the property right structure of collective forest rights. The analytical framework of collective forest rights was constructed from two aspects: integrity and stability of property right. Based on this analytical framework, the Double-Hurdle model was used to analyze the influence of forest ecological property right on farmers' continuous participation in forest protection with the micro-data of 708 households in the confluence area of the Heihe Reservoir. Result: The farmers' protection behavior of water conservation forests was measured by afforestation investment, and the result showed that the key factor affecting the farmers' protection behavior was whether it was "profitable". Under the condition that the use right and disposal right of forest land are strictly limited, how much ecological property right income can be obtained has an important impact on farmers' protection behavior of water conservation forests. In the property right structure of collective forest rights, only the income right of ecological products affects farmers' willingness to invest in forestry, but the other items of property rights do not significantly affect their willingness. If the farmers have willingness to invest, the forest land use right, economic products income right and ecological products income right all positively influence their forestry investment intensity, however the disposal right negatively influences their investment intensity. As for the stability of property rights, the lower the expectation of forestland expropriation risk is, the higher the possibility of investment in forestry and the higher the level of investment. Because the redistribution of forestland usually avoids the harvest period, the redistribution of forestland only negatively affect the investment level, and has no significant effect on the investment intention. The integrity and stability of collective forest right not only have an important impact on Farmers' afforestation investment, but also have an important impact on the sustainability of behavior. The impact direction and significance level are basically consistent with the impact of property rights on the investment intensity. Conclusion: Under the condition that the use right and disposal right of forest land are strictly limited, gains from ecological property rights are the main motivation for farmers to participate in the protection of water conservation forests. The ecological property right of water conservation forest has a positive effect on farmers' forest protection behavior and the sustainability of their behavior. On this basis, this paper points out that the principle solution is to improve the collective forest right system in the reservoir confluence area and the market-oriented ecological compensation mechanism for water conservation forests.

Key words: reservoir confluence area, forest ecological property right, water conservation forest protection

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