Projects:  ‘Recentralized Forest Devolution’ in southern China: two decades of forest governance dynamics

In my PhD project I investigate the dynamics of reforming property rights over forestland in southern provinces of China. Two important governmental policies during the dynamics have been Collective Forest Tenure Reform and Ecological Civilization. The main storyline of my analysis focuses on the decentralization and recentralization during the dynamics. Keywords include property rights, downward accountability, environmental justice, and policy impacts. I try to reveal what is the current mode of recentralization, how the recentralization could occur, what have been the environmental justice for local people during the dynamics, and what have been the impacts of the dynamics on forests. To achieve this, I have visited Fujian province and Yunnan province in China. I systematically collected policy documents and conducted semi-structured interviews with forestry departments, rural community leaders, rural community members, and relevant forestry business actors. This analysis could provide knowledge and implications for forest governance in China and relevant contexts.

I have an educational background in mathematics, economics, and policy science. I enjoy conducting research in FNP every day.