Table 3 Summary of environmental and socioeconomic outcomes of the CCFP

Land-use and forest cover change

The CCFP has contributed to rapid land-use change and afforestation. Forest area has increased much faster in the CCFP counties as compared with the rest of China, i.e. CCFP counties had a forest-cover increase of 5 % above the national average

Income

The CCFP has contributed to increased average levels of income for CCFP participant households. In some locations, households also perceived a negative impact of the CCFP on livelihoods, income and food production and/or food security

Tree survival rates

Around 80 % of CCFP participating households have achieved tree survival rates above 70 %

Employment

The CCFP has contributed to the re-deployment of labor in hilly and mountainous areas, away from agriculture on slopes towards livestock rearing (in some areas, initially) and off-farm employment (generally)

Plans for reconversion back to cropland

There is a high degree of variability across different regions with different geographical and socioeconomic conditions

Land access and management

Individual forestland certificates have been issued to the majority of CCFP participant households, which has been associated with a differentiation effect in households’ access to CCFP land plots

Biodiversity

Though studies are few and limited in geographic scope, there are some localized indications of substitution of local species by monocultures, which can affect ecological functionality and provision of ecosystem services as well as economic and cultural value

Food security

The CCFP has reduced grain production with negative impacts on food security of participant households in some locations; however at the county and national levels, overall grain production has increased

Soil erosion and flood prevention

Some positive results reported, although limited results in soil erosion control and flood prevention. Retention of nutrients has improved and water-yields reduced in some instances, but as mentioned, conservation strategies and their local possibilities should be weighed against each other

Social equality

The CCFP initially had a positive effect on both social equality and income mobility; this effect has been limited in recent years at least in part due to confounding factors related to the off-farm labor market

Biomass and carbon storage

The CCFP has contributed to carbon sequestration, with the expansion of forest area and tree cover and associated biomass. Trade-offs between water and carbon ecosystem services have been identified

Migration

Research is limited as to the CCFP’s effects on the growing trend of rural-to-urban migration, but available evidence suggests the program’s effects on land-use and rural labor are ‘push’ factors that at least complement the ‘pull’ of off-farm employment and the urbanization of China