Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the state-owned forestry industry (SOFI) has contributed greatly to national construction and social development. However, since the end of the 1970s the SOFI has been affected by the “two crises” [poor economic performance and ecological degradation], and these to date have yet to be resolved.

This chapter discusses the use of PES schemes as a suitable market-based instrument to achieve sustainable use and management of ecosystems regarded as important, due to their contribution to human welfare in its many expressions.

In the 1970s, it appeared that fuelwood use was growing rapidly, and this could have major adverse impacts on the resource and poor users. By the mid-1980s, revised assessments indicated that there was less of a problem than had been foreseen, and much less of a need for forestry interventions to maintain supplies.

The impact of woodfuel collection on forests has been controversial and its role in rural livelihoods and deforestation is the subject of considerable debate. This study reviews the main dimensions of this discourse and the resulting responses form the forestry sector.

In Orissa 100 thousand ha of village plantations were established from 1985 to 1992 as an aid project to support the subsistence needs of rural poor and to relieve heavy pressure on the natural forests. The aim of this paper is to examine the welfare and environmental effects of these village plantations.

A major strategy to combat deforestation caused by household fuel collection has been the establishment of plantations, especially in India.

A household model is specified with a number of collection possibilities and analyzed empirically using household, vegetation, and GIS data, and the potential decrease in collection from the natural forest is estimated. The results show reduced pressure on the natural, forest due to the establishment of plantations. It also questions buffer zone plantations very close to natural forests.

This study by EfD China Research Associate Priscilla Cooke St.Clair, explores the impact of changes in environmental conditions on intrahousehold labor allocation to the collection of environmental goods such as fuelwood and leaf fodder for a sample of rural Nepali households.

This paper reviews the expectations for forestry’s contribution to rural development – and for its special contributions to the most disadvantaged, to women and the landless users of the forest commons.