Forest Conservation Policies and Rural Livelihood in North Sichuan Tibetan Areas

Comparing three rural townships in Northern Sichuan, this paper analyses the challenges and the constraints associated with forest protection and biodiversity conservation programs in China. We highlight the importance of the local economic and institutional environment in the effectiveness of implementation of the national guidelines and the diversity in possible answers at the local level. The natural forest protection program and the sloping land conversion program analyzed in this paper, also stress the difficulty to implement effective and sustainable forest resources protection policies as well as the strategic role of the government in the implementation of such policies.