The system creates a disincentive for even short term commune investments, because land be claimed on short notice by the Board. Sometimes the Board claims land for forest planning that is already planted with crops, forcing villagers to harvest prematurely. The villagers and commune leadership representing them would like to develop barren sloping land, out of the flood plain, with agroforestry plots and indigenous tree species, in order to improve livelihood prospects, decrease risks from flooding and stabilize the hillsides, simultaneously. The loss of paddy and garden land near the river during recent floods has only made this possibility more enticing in the eyes of the villagers and their leaders. These plans will not for forest land development is devolved from the central level.