Farmers' Changing Awareness of Environmental Protection in the Forest Tenure Reform in China

This study assesses changes in Chinese farmers' environmental protection awareness caused by the recent forest tenure reform. Surveys and ridit analysis were conducted in five provinces and cities of China. Results show that the tenure reform improved farmers' environmental protection awareness. This was measured through questionnaires by six topics: the awareness that forests help in protecting biodiversity, preventing soil erosion, air purification, acting as carbon sinks, supporting forest tourism, and protecting water resources. The most significant improvements in environmental awareness concern the biodiversity protection and air purification. Fully 81% of farmers report that the forest tenure reform has made them more aware of biodiversity protection. Awareness improvement is related to factors such as farmers' educational level, average annual family incomes, places of residence, gender, and so on.