Combining private and common property management: The impact of a hybrid ownership structure on grassland conservation

Abstract

This study finds that a hybrid property structure, where private ownership and communal ownership coexist, outperforms pure private or pure public ownership in terms of grassland conservation after a grassland tenure reform in China. The tenure reform of privatization replaced public ownership gradually and led to a significant 5.4% increase in grassland quality on average. The grassland quality increase is twice as large for private grassland with additional access to public grassland compared to those without such access. Interestingly, public grassland quality did not decline, indicating sustainable utilization by herders. These findings are consistent with the literature which suggests that a properly structured hybrid ownership arrangement could benefit from the positive effects of grassland privatization while mitigating the negative impacts of natural disasters. We further provide empirical support and show that the gains from public grassland access are substantially larger when there are adverse climatic shocks. Our study provides important policy implications for property rights and sustainable grassland management under more frequent climate events.