This article analyses a project concerned with the conversion of agricultural land into forests and the impact on local communities in the upper Min River Basin in China. The aim of the project, called “Grain for Green” (Tui Geng Huan Lin), is to improve watershed conditions, enhance biodiversity, and conserve natural resources. Results from a participatory socioeconomic survey showed that the basic living standards of farmers were guaranteed by government subsidies because some of their cultivated land was converted into protected forest. The common perception is that although farmers were happy to participate in the project because they became less dependent on agriculture and were able to diversify their income, they were worried about their future after 8 years of government subsidies and preferred to plant forests for economic rather than ecological reasons. There is also a fear that if subsidies end, farmers may turn forestland into sloping cultivation land. To guarantee sustainable implementation of the Grain for Green Project, farmers discussed options with local government officials. In face-to-face interviews, they discussed issues such as basic cropland protection, educational investment, out-migration of the workforce, hydroelectricity exploitation and tourism development.
