How can forest tenure reform give farmers a greater sense of gain?
Following the principle of "equal shares without dividing the hills, equal benefits without dividing the forest," Beijing basically completed the reform of the collective forest tenure system in 2012, and farmers became shareholders in collective ecological forests. However, these ecological forests cannot directly generate economic benefits, and farmers' income mainly comes from the 40 yuan per mu ecological benefit compensation.
How can these dormant forest land resources be revitalized? Since last year, Beijing has been carrying out family forest farm pilots, that is, on the premise of ensuring that the nature of the forest land does not change and ecological benefits are not affected, encouraging farmers to obtain management rights to collective ecological forests through contracting, and to develop understory planting, breeding, or forest tourism, thereby obtaining better economic returns.
Under a lush forest, more than 100 mu of Scutellaria baicalensis (Baikal skullcap) is growing vigorously. In Hantai Village, Changping District, Beijing, forest farm owner Han Ruiwen happily told reporters, "With this more than 100 mu of Scutellaria baicalensis, earning over 10,000 is no problem! In another month, I still have to plant another 80 mu." In addition to understory planting, Han Ruiwen's family forest farm has also opened two understory breeding farms, raising more than 1,000 free-range chickens, with annual egg production reaching 5,500 jin; and 100 boxes of bees, with an expected annual honey output of 5,000 jin. Relying only on understory planting and breeding, annual profit can reach 40,000 yuan.
What is even more encouraging is that while farmers obtain considerable economic benefits, this small village deep in the mountains is also becoming greener and greener. "For forest farm owners, the quality of the forest land is directly related to the growth of understory economic crops and to the landscape effect of ecological leisure tourism. Forest land maintenance work has changed from 'not my business' in the past to 'actively managing and protecting it.'" said Zhang Wenqing, section chief of the Changping District Landscape and Greening Bureau.
More than 10 million mu of green treasure awaits awakening
Hantai Village is a purely mountainous village in western Changping, where the Taihang Mountains and the Yanshan Mountains meet. The small village has only more than 100 households. Because the terrain is mostly mountainous, the village's forest coverage rate is as high as 80%, with more than 16,000 mu of collective ecological forest. It has resource endowments, but has never had a path for development, and the villagers could only guard the green mountains helplessly and "not dare to touch them." Because the mountain forest was neglected in management and protection, the trees grew poorly and weeds were overgrown.
This situation is not an isolated case. Yan Lin, director of the Rural Forestry Reform and Development Division of the Beijing Municipal Landscape and Greening Bureau, introduced that Beijing has 13.3 million mu of collective forest land, of which only 2.6 million mu is commercial forest and 10.7 million mu is ecological forest. The species are mainly ecological tree species such as pine, cypress, poplar, and locust, whose main role is to conserve ecology and which do not directly produce economic benefits. Some mountain villages guard mountains of green but are powerless to change their impoverished lives. Beginning in 2008, Beijing implemented an ecological benefit promotion compensation mechanism through the reform of the collective forest tenure system, carrying out "equal shares without dividing the hills, equal benefits without dividing the forest," with "confirmation of rights and shares" to individuals, and giving 40 yuan per mu in ecological benefit compensation. However, because the system was still not fully perfected, although farmers received corresponding compensation, they did not fulfill their corresponding forest land management and protection responsibilities well.
Starting in 2015, Beijing launched family forest farm pilots, precisely to separate the ownership and management rights of forest land and revitalize dormant forest land resources. "This family forest farm pilot is a deepening of the reform of the collective forest tenure system. Its purpose is to bring these ecological forests scattered across the Beijing suburbs into the scope of contracted management, gather some idle or underutilized forest land toward large-scale operators, and solve the problems of 'fragmentation' and abandonment of management. At the same time, on the basis of protecting ecological forests, by gradually relaxing the use rights and management rights of forest land, we revitalize forest resources and, while increasing farmers' income, also increase their enthusiasm for managing and protecting forests." Yan Lin said.
Zhang Wenqing introduced that according to different site conditions, one can contract for several dozen yuan to more than 100 yuan per mu. With policy support, villagers in the pilot villages also broadened their thinking. Some developed understory planting and breeding, while others planned to contract several hundred mu of forest land for leisure tourism. The once dormant resources have brought farmers more hope.
Family forest farms can be operated by a single farming household, or can adopt cooperative or shareholding systems
After comprehensively considering factors such as the degree of mechanization, the geographical conditions of the forest land, and the composition of family forest farm personnel, Beijing's family forest farms were initially set at a scale of more than 100 mu, and preferably concentrated and contiguous. The first batch of family forest farm pilots selected three areas: besides Hantai Village in Changping District, they also included Xianqigu Gully in Zhangfang Town, Fangshan District, and Ertaizi Village in Huairou District.
Family forest farms are open to villagers in the pilot areas. Any member of the village collective economic organization who intends to engage in concentrated and contiguous forestry production and operation at a scale of more than 100 mu and who holds a professional certificate in forestry or agriculture may submit an application. These family forest farms have a term of three years, and are mainly of three types: single farming household family forest farms, cooperative family forest farms, and shareholding family forest farms. On the premise of protecting forest land, they develop understory planting, breeding, or forest tourism, thereby obtaining economic returns.
Among them, Hantai Village mainly tries to cultivate single farming household family forest farms and cooperative family forest farms. "One household can contract it, or several households can cooperate. By contracting more than 100 mu of contiguous mountain land, one can apply for a family forest farm." Zhang Wenqing said.
The family forest farm in Ertaizi Village, Liulimiao Town, Huairou District, is a shareholding forest farm composed of multiple families. Villagers use the forest land to which they hold use rights as shares, sign shareholding cooperative forest management contracts, agree on responsibilities and rights, and implement collective shareholding dividends according to shares. Under the unified management of the family forest farm, villagers participate in forest land production and operation, and at the same time can also obtain wage income, which significantly increases villagers' enthusiasm. Last year, the highest villager income reached 18,000 yuan.
In addition, Xianqigu Gully in Zhangfang Town, Fangshan District, plans to create large-scale and specialized family forest farms through the pilot.
Starting in 2015, understory economic crops such as mountain ginger, Sophora flavescens (shrubby sophora), oil sunflower, Scutellaria baicalensis, Bupleurum chinense, and honeysuckle were successively planted in the three pilot areas, and free-range chickens and bees were also raised among the trees. In terms of infrastructure, check dams and other facilities were built in the pilot areas, and farmers' enthusiasm for starting businesses and becoming wealthy was ignited.
Understory planting and breeding, forest tourism: protecting the forest well is protecting one's livelihood well
For the 10.7 million mu of ecological forest, whether developing ecological tourism or engaging in understory planting, the primary premise is to protect the ecology.
In developing the understory economy, Hu Zhenqiang, a farmer in Bajia Village, Beizangcun Town, Daxing District, is a "pioneer." Understory planting and breeding bring him an additional 40,000 to 50,000 yuan in income every year. "The understory economy is rational planting and breeding based on forest land resources. For example, using the understory space to raise chickens: the forest can provide a good living environment for poultry and improve breeding efficiency; in turn, poultry manure can provide fertilizer for the trees, gradually forming a benign ecological cycle system. If the forest is destroyed, the understory economy becomes water without a source!" Old Hu sees the relationship between protecting ecology and developing the economy very clearly.
Before the family forest farm pilot was carried out, the village's collective forest was supervised by the village collective, and the management method was relatively extensive. Now, the situation is very different. Family forest farm operators have obtained the management rights to the forest land, and while obtaining returns, they also shoulder the responsibility for forest land management and protection. Farmers regularly prune the trees, have also purchased corresponding insecticide agents and equipment, and tidy up the forest environment at any time. For example, Hantai Village combines family forest farm construction with forest health management projects, carries out key tending in the pilot areas, and at the same time replants colorful-leaf tree species and ground cover. "Only when the forest becomes more and more beautiful will there be more and more tourists." Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and the villagers understand this very well.
To ensure that the concept of ecology first is put into practice, the Beijing Municipal Landscape and Greening Bureau has also formulated a strict family farm exit mechanism: if, after obtaining family forest farm management rights, anyone does not engage in forestry production and arbitrarily subcontracts or sublets the managed forest land; falsely reports the operating area, uses prohibited pesticides affecting forest product quality safety and environmental safety, maliciously destroys vegetation, or changes the use of forest land, the family forest farm operator's management qualification shall be revoked without exception.
"The family forest farm pilot has just started, and it still faces many difficulties." Yan Lin told reporters that Beijing's landscape and greening departments will further improve relevant measures, guide family forest farm business activities, analyze and study relevant access and exit mechanisms, as well as policies for encouraging and transferring family forest farms, explore the establishment of a policy integration mechanism, and further attract new family forest farm owners willing to participate. "In the future, we hope to see more and more suburban farmers return to their villages to manage forest land and become new-era forest farmers with specialized skills. We hope Beijing's forests become more and more beautiful, and the wallets of farmers in the Beijing suburbs become fuller and fuller."