The Effects of the Sloping Land Conversion Program on Poverty Alleviation in the Wuling Mountainous Area of China

The Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) is an important part of the Chinese 'Priority Forestry Programs' which has special effects on mountainous areas, ecologically and economically. This study was carried out in the Wuling mountainous area in Hunan Province of China. Based on data collected in a household survey of a sample of 375 households, a quantile regression model, Tobit regression model and weighted least square model were used to analyze the influence of participating in the SLCP on farmers' sources of income (especially the poorest farmers), and the influence of forest type in SLCP land on farmers' incomes. It was found that: (1) participating in the SLCP reduced farmers' crop production income, but increased their forest income and subsidies; (2) participating in the SLCP increased farmers' total income on average by 11.7 % and that of the poorest farmers by 24.7 %; and (3) choosing economic forest in the SLCP land increased farmers' forest income, although its influence on total income was not statistically significant. These findings indicate that the SLCP has a positive effect on poverty alleviation in the Wuling mountainous area in the short run. However, the poverty alleviation effect is still unclear in the long run because the effect of the SLCP on changing farmers' income structures is not obvious by observation, the subsidy term will have expired in 5 or 8 years and the forest revenue from the SLCP is low.