Toward-a-Sustainable-Utilization-of-Land-Resources

PERSPECTIVETowardaSustainableUtilizationofLandResourcesinChina:Problems,Policies,andPracticesWuyangHong,FeixueLi,ManchunLi,FangfangZhang,LihuaTong,QiuhaoHuangReceived:19June2013/Revised:23September2013/Accepted:10October2013/Publishedonline:29October2013AbstractChina’seconomyisgrowingexplosivelywithdouble-digitratesofgrowth.However,behindthescenesofthiseconomicmiracle,adarkunderbellyexists.Thepotentialimpactoftheunsustainableuseoflandresourcesisincreasing.Eachparceloflandhasastationarygeo-graphiclocation,whileitsutilizationisoptional.There-adjustmentandoptimizationoflandusepatternsoughttobeencouraged.Spatialreconstructionreferstothecombi-nationofvariouslandelements,whichcanpromotetherationalandefficientallocationoflandresourcesthroughafour-layeractionframework:thedevelopmentofunusedland,urbanrenewal,ecologicalreconstruction,andspatialdisplacement.ThefeasibilityandvalidityofthesemethodsareillustratedbypracticalcasesindifferentprovincesinChina.Wethusproposethatpursuingsustainabledevel-opmentandbuildinganecologicalcivilizationwillbenecessaryforChinainfuturedecades.KeywordsSustainablelanduseSpatialreconstructionUrban–ruraldevelopmentLandusepolicyChinaINTRODUCTIONSustainabilityhasbecomethethemeofourtime(Wu2010).Inessence,sustainabilityreferstomeetingtheneedsofthepresentgenerationwithoutcompromisingtheabilityoffuturegenerationstomeettheirownneeds(Brundtland1987).Theviewof‘‘humanpredicaments’’proposedbytheClubofRomedeeplyshooktheworldandgraduallypromptedpeopletoconsidersustainabledevelopment.Extendingsustainabledevelopmenttheorytothedomainoflandmanagement,anewrelationshipbetweenpeopleandland—sustainablelanduse—hasbeenconceptualized.In1990,theIndianAgriculturalResearchInstitute,UnitedStatesDepartmentofAgriculture(USDA),andtheUnitedStatesRodaleInstituteputforththeconceptofsustainablelandutilizationforthefirsttimeatthelandusesymposiumheldinNewDelhi.Theconceptwascomposedoftwoparts:thehuman–landrelationshipandhuman–humanrelationshipgeneratedbyland.Awidelyaccepteddefini-tionofsustainablelandmanagementwasproposedbytheUnitedNationsFoodandAgricultureOrganization(FAO)in1993.Itinvolvesthesimultaneousachievementofthefiveobjectivesofproductivity,security,protection,via-bility,andacceptabilitycombinedtechnologies,policies,andactivitiesaimingatintegratingsocio-economicprin-cipleswithenvironmentalconcerns(SmythandDumanski1995).Inthatway,sustainablelandutilizationcanbemanifestedashowtheoptimalsolutionforthetrianglemodelissoughtbasedontheunificationofsocialeconomyandenvironmentaleffects(Yangetal.2009).Landisanessentialresourceforhumansandourmeansofproductionforexistenceanddevelopment.TheefficientuseoftheEarth’sfinitelandisbecomingamatteroflifeordeathforhumankind.Sincethe1990s,thesustainableutilizationoflandresourcesandresearchonthistopichavebeenaddressedcontinuouslyinmostcountries,particularlydevelopingones(ZinckandFarshad1995;delaRosaetal.2009).Forexample,theInternationalSymposiumonSustainableLandUtilizationEvaluationinDevelopingCountrieswasheldinChiangMai,Thailand,andthe21st-CenturyInternationalSymposiumonSustainableLandUseManagementwasheldinLethbridge,Canada.Bonn,Ger-manyandBeijing,Chinalaunchedrelevantinternationalconferences.Theseseminarshavepushedsustainablelandutilizationtothepeakofglobalstrategicresearch(Daietal.2002).TheWorldBankalsoregardedsustainablelandmanagementasanimportantinvestmenttarget.Cur-rently,sustainablelandutilizationhasattractedbroad,RoyalSwedishAcademyofSciences2013:825–835DOI10.1007/s13280-013-0464-9intenseinterestallovertheworld(KrajncandGlavicˇ2005;Luoetal.2010).Developedcountriespaidmoreattentiontotheimprovementoflifequalityandemphasizedenvi-ronmentalbenefits,whiledevelopingcountriesfocusedontheecologicalbalanceonthepremiseofeconomicinterest(SchootUiterkampetal.2011).SUSTAINABLELANDUTILIZATIONISSUESINCHINAChinanowistheworld’ssecondlargesteconomy,anditsGDPpercapitaisapproachingtheworldaverage.Asaresult,Chinaisbeginningtoencountercertaininevitableproblems.Fromamacropointofview,thereareconflictsamonglanddemandsforfoodsecurity,urbanization,andecologicalprotection,whichhavethreatenedtheuseoflandresourcesforfuturegenerations.FarmlandProtectioninChinaIsFacingDifficultChallengesThe‘‘red-line’’limitofcultivatedlandisoftenbreached,andfarmlandprotectionentailssecurityrisks(inChina,theredlinereferstothelowestallowableareaofregularfarmingland,whilethegreenlinereferstoasufficientareaofreservecultivatedlandresources,wheresomecouldbeconvertedtocultivatedlandundercertainconditions).Thecompetitionbetweenusinglandforeconomicdevelopmentandusinglandforgrainproduction—agameinwhichonesidewinsandonesideloses—isfierce.First,itisdifficulttoadheretotheredlineof121.2millionhaofcultivatedland(Gongetal.2007).From1998to2010,thecultivatedlandpercapitadecreasedfrom0.26to0.22acre,andtherehasbeenanetdeclineofapproximately8.01millionhaofcultivatedland(Fig.1).ThecultivatedlandpercapitainChinawasequivalenttoonly1/34ofAustralia’s,1/20ofCanada’s,and1/8ofAmerica’sin2010.Second,thegreenlineofreservecultivatedlandresourcescon