Local interests or centralized targets? How China’s local government implements the farmland policy of Requisition–Compensation Balance

Shen, Xiaoqiang; Wang, Liping; Wu, Cifang; Lv, Tiangui; Lu, Zhanyuan; Luo, Wenbin; Li, Guan

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.06.012

Cited by 70 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 52 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…To maintain food security, the Chinese government ascribes immense importance to the protection of arable land. The land management law of China stipulates the implementation of the requisition-compensation balance of farmlands (RCBF) and declares to adopt the most stringent farmland protection policy in the world to "protect farmland just like pandas" [2]. One of the most important objectives of China's implementation of RCBF is to ensure grain security, which is the same as food security defined by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, Rome, Italy).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Arable Land Alone Ensure Food Security? The Concept of Arable Land Equivalent Unit and Its Implications in Zhoushan City, China

Tan

et al. 2018

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The requisition-compensation balance of farmlands (RCBF) is a strict Chinese policy that aims to ensure food security. However, the process of supplementing arable land has substantially damaged the ecological environment through the blind development of grasslands, woodlands, and wetlands to supplement arable land. Can arable land alone ensure food security? To answer this question, this study introduced the concepts of arable land equivalent unit (ALEU) and food equivalent unit (FEU) based on the idea of food security. Zhoushan City in Zhejiang Province, China was selected as the research area. This study analyzed the ALEU supply and demand capabilities in the study area and presented the corresponding policy implications for the RCBF improvement. The results showed that the proportion of ALEU from arable land and waters for aquaculture is from 46:54 in 2009 to 31:69 in 2015, thereby suggesting that aquaculture waters can also be important in food security. Under three different living standards (i.e., adequate food and clothing, well-off, and affluence), ALEU from arable land can barely meet the needs of the permanent resident population in the study area. However, ALEU from aquaculture waters can provide important supplementation. Therefore, we suggest that food supply capability from land types other than the arable land be taken seriously. Furthermore, RCBF can be improved with ALEU as core of the balance.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Arable Land Alone Ensure Food Security? The Concept of Arable Land Equivalent Unit and Its Implications in Zhoushan City, China

Tan

et al. 2018

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The local government is responsible for pollution control and law enforcement [35], while as the highest regulatory authority for air pollution in China, the Ministry of Environmental Protection oversees and manages air pollution control and governance by local governments at all levels and directly accepts air pollution whistleblowing through hotlines, WeChat, and online platforms [36]. According to common practice in academia [37][38][39][40][41], and also because the local governments at all levels in China generally have the same benefits and costs when they are supervised by the central environmental protection department [42][43][44][45][46], this paper has made "the local government" one single player in the three-party evolutionary game model, and does not distinguish local governments by their administrative levels in China (i.e., province-level, city-level, county-level, district-level, etc. ).…”

Section: Game Agent Analysis and Assumptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Whistleblowing Work for Air Pollution Control in China? A Study Based on Three-party Evolutionary Game Model under Incomplete Information

Yang

2019

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During China's air pollution campaign, whistleblowing has become an important way for the central government to discover local environmental issues. The three parties involved in whistleblowing are: the central government environmental protection departments, the local government officials, and the whistleblowers. Based on these players, this paper has constructed an Evolutionary Game Model under incomplete information and introduced the expected return as well as replicator dynamics equations of various game agents based on analysis of the game agents, assumptions, and payoff functions of the model in order to study the strategic dynamic trend and stability of the evolutionary game model. Furthermore, this paper has conducted simulation experiments on the evolution of game agents' behaviors by combining the constraints and replicator dynamics equations. The conclusions are: the central environmental protection departments are able to effectively improve the environmental awareness of local government officials by measures such as strengthening punishment on local governments that do not pay attention to pollution issues and lowering the cost of whistleblowing, thus nurturing a good governance and virtuous circle among the central environmental protection departments, local government officials, and whistleblowers. Based on the study above, this paper has provided policy recommendations in the conclusion.

show abstract

“…The purpose of China's central government proposed the ALRB policy is to maintain the total amount of arable land and to ensure food security by reclaiming the same area of land to replenish arable land losses caused by urbanization. While local governments have limited incentives to preserve natural resources [52], they rely on the conversion of arable land to construction use to attract investment, fuel fiscal revenue, and achieve fast economic development [53]. Therefore, local governments continue to expropriate arable lands near cities for urbanization on a large scale, including many high-quality lands [8], and to seek replacements in border and less developed areas to meet the mandatory requirement, regardless of the location of reclaimed lands and regardless of whether they will be utilized.…”

Section: Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Patterns and Mechanisms of Reclaimed Arable Land Utilization under the Requisition-Compensation Balance Policy in Wenzhou, China

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Arable land in China is undergoing significant changes, with massive losses of arable land due to rapid urbanization and the reclamation of arable land from other lands to compensate for these losses. Many studies have analyzed arable land loss, but less attention has been paid to land reclamation, and the utilization of reclaimed land remains unclear. The goal of our study was to characterize the patterns and efficiency of the utilization of reclaimed land and to identify the factors influencing the land utilization process in Wenzhou using remote sensing, geographic information systems and logistic regression. Our results showed that only 37% of the total reclaimed land area was under cultivation, and other lands were still bare or had been covered by trees and grasses. The likelihood that reclaimed land was used for cultivation was highly correlated with the land use type of its neighboring or adjacent parcels. Reclaimed land utilization was also limited at high elevations in lands with poor soil fertility and in lands at a great distance from rural residential areas. In addition, parcels located in the ecological protection zone were less likely to be cultivated. Therefore, we suggest that the important determinants should be considered when identifying the most suitable land reclamation areas.

show abstract

Local interests or centralized targets? How China’s local government implements the farmland policy of Requisition–Compensation Balance

Cited by 70 publications

References 52 publications

Can Arable Land Alone Ensure Food Security? The Concept of Arable Land Equivalent Unit and Its Implications in Zhoushan City, China

Can Arable Land Alone Ensure Food Security? The Concept of Arable Land Equivalent Unit and Its Implications in Zhoushan City, China

Does Whistleblowing Work for Air Pollution Control in China? A Study Based on Three-party Evolutionary Game Model under Incomplete Information

Exploring the Patterns and Mechanisms of Reclaimed Arable Land Utilization under the Requisition-Compensation Balance Policy in Wenzhou, China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About