Document Type: Briefs

Twentieth century China was a laboratory of both successful and disastrous land tenure reforms. In the early part of the century, the Chinese Communist Party won the popular support of the mass of the rural population, largely thanks to a land tenure reform where numerous poor peasants were given land with full private ownership during 1949-1956. This resulted in a 70% increase in grain production and an even higher increase in farm income (Lin 1988, Chen 2008). In 1956, China unfortunately decided to follow in the footsteps of the former Soviet Union and promoted collective farms. Private ownership and family farms were prohibited, and collectives (village communities or their agglomerations) became land owners and farm operators. Agricultural production plummeted, and 15 to 30 million consequent deaths occurred during the years 1958-1962 (Peng 1987).

This brief, containing case studies from Ecuador and Indonesia, was published by the Land Tenure Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison under the USAID TransLinks Program. The study highlights key land tenure issues to be mindful of when planning programs that offer payments or other rewards for provision of ecosystem services.

This Brief was published by the Land Tenure Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison under the USAID TransLinks Program and presented at The Land Tenure Center Spring Forum: Designing Pro-Poor Rewards for Ecosystem Services, Madison, WI (April 7-8, 2008).

The United States has experimented with its version of rewards for ecosystem services for close to 80 years. In general, market forces are used to reward land users for protecting the environment. This brief – which was published by the Land Tenure Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison under the USAID TransLinks Program – examines the US experience and investigates if the lessons can be adapted to tenure regimes in the developing world.