Evaluation of economic and social impacts of the sloping land conversion program: A case study in Dunhua County, China

Based on data from a household survey the objective of the study was to evaluate the economic and social impacts of the Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP). The results indicate that the program was, in general, inefficient because productivity and environmental heterogeneity were given scant consideration in Northeast China. While the program has made a clear attempt to retire plots that are susceptible to soil erosion, there is room for better targeting. Fifty eight per cent of the families involved in afforestation considered themselves worse off after participating in SLCP. The families who experienced a decrease in income were more likely to claim that SLCP was an action forcibly imposed by the government. Although 60% supported the project, a fair proportion (16%) plan to return to cultivating forested areas and grassland once the subsidies of the project end in 2018. The government should widen alternative non‐farm employment opportunities in order to ensure the sustainability of the program.