Comparison of the Forest Tenure in Brazil and China

Brazil and China both have extensive forest areas in the world, making important contribution to reversal of the worldwide decline in forest. And as the world’s leading importers and exporters of timber and timber-based products, sustainable forest management for both countries are crucial for global economy and environment, so there is an intense international interest in their sustainability and well-being. Tenure arrangements functioned as powerful tools of forest policy, is not only important for economic growth, social cohesion, poverty reduction and environmental protection - it is also essential for climate change mitigation. This paper is to present and analyze the state of forest tenure in Brazil and China; then followed by a brief comparison of these two countries in terms of changing trends and reform impacts; Furthermore, it identifies some of the main challenges to the reform and points our several opportunities for extending the future forest tenure reform especially for mitigating climate change, and finally making a conclusion to widen the reach of local community tenure and to deepen the exercise of tenure rights.