Forest Management and Terraced Agriculture

This case study of the Hani of China brings out the importance of forests in providing various local ecological services that are essential for the system of terraced agriculture. The paper investigates local people's knowledge of forest-based ecological services, including water regulation and nutrient recycling, and gender differences in the local knowledge of these services. The paper notes that the Hani have maintained the forest condition quite irrespective of its tenurial status. The reluctance to 'eat the state forest' is attributed to the local understanding that the forests comprise 'critical natural capital' on which their very survival depends.