Community-based management of Tricholoma matsutake (S. Ito and S. Imai) Singer: a case study of South Korean mountain villages

Abstract

Tricholoma matsutake (S. Ito and S. Imai) Singer commercialisation provides significant economic benefits to rural communities, mainly in China, Japan and South Korea. Recently, a growing body of research has questioned the impact of commercialization on harvesting behavior and the supply of matsutake. One key question arising from this literature is whether or not community-based management (CBM) has a positive impact on matsutake supply. I surveyed nine mountain villages in Gangwon and North Gyeongsang provinces in South Korea. Four villages were found to have begun CBM of matsutake in the mid-1980s to early-1990s. All four villages continued to engage in CBM as of September 2013. Data suggest that CBM has had a positive impact on matsutake supply, although the exact magnitude and explanatory power of CBM is uncertain. Analysis of the nine villages suggests that CBM may not be a feasible strategy in all villages due to existing property rights regimes and that an external catalyst may be required in villages where harvesters do not perceive any economic benefit to CBM.