Latest statistics released by the Ministry of Land and Resources show that in the last five years, due to rapid economic development and the frequent adjustment of the agricultural structure, cultivated land declined by 6 million hectares on the Chinese mainland, from 128.27 million hectares in October 2000 to 122.08 million hectares in October 2005, a net annual decrease of 1.23 million hectares. The per-capita cultivated land decreased to 0.093 hectares from 0.094 in 2004.
　　Currently, the Chinese population is increasing by eight per thousand annually, while the acreage of cultivated land is decreasing by three per thousand annually. If this scenario continues, the country’s food security and social stability will be threatened, experts warn.
　　In 2005, a decrease of a net 360,000 hectares of cultivated land took place, compared with the average over the past four years of 1.42 million hectares, which indicates that the rate of decline had been substantially reduced. That is because less cultivated land was returned to forest, grassland or lakes than in previous years. A total of 390,000 hectares of cultivated land were recovered for ecological preservation in 2005, which is 69 percent lower than the annual recovery of 1.24 million hectares in the previous four years. Construction projects acquired about 138,700 hectares of cultivated land in 2005, down about 4 percent from 2004.
　　Viewed from a regional perspective, in 2005, the eastern, central and western parts of China had a decrease in cultivated land of 243,000 hectares, 34,000 hectares and 85,000 hectares, respectively, accounting for 67 percent, 9 percent and 24 percent of the total decrease of cultivated land. The figures demonstrate that much of the cultivated land in the economically developed eastern part of the country is occupied. For the government, this poses the issue of how to properly handle the relationship between economic development and land preservation.
　　The years between 2001 and 2005 were a period when the Chinese economy boomed and there was a huge demand for land. From 2006 to 2010, the Chinese economy is expected to maintain a steady growth, with an average annual rate of 7.5 percent, according to the country’s 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) for social and economic development. As the campaign to revive the countryside goes into full swing, land watchdog agencies face the issues of how to preserve land, how to set the amount of cultivated land that should be returned to forest, how to strengthen the management of land used for construction and how to set the overall plans for construction.
　　
　　Protecting cultivated land
　　
　　According to the Ministry of Land and Resources, the per-capita cultivated land today is only 0.093 hectares, compared with 0.106 hectares nine years ago. In those 10 years, the amount of cultivated land decreased by 8 million hectares. If China is to maintain 120 million hectares of cultivated land in the next five years, the room for reduction is only 2 million hectares.
　　Faced with the daunting challenges, the 11th Five-Year Plan says that protecting the amount of cultivated land is everyone’s legal responsibility. Maintaining 120 million hectares of cultivated land, controlling the total population, protecting fresh water and other resources, preventing environmental degradation and reducing pollutant emissions are major economic and social development goals, which are to be realized in the 2006-10 period.
　　Ma Kai, Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the new Five-Year Plan emphasizes social and environmental development, indicated by the resource consumption and pollutant emission index.
　　“We use the two indexes to judge the input and output balance, which will show how much sacrifice we are making in resources and the environment while pursuing high economic performance,” Ma said. “If we only chase after high economic output and ignore the importance of environmental protection, we will have to pay more in the future for what we do today. That kind of growth is not a healthy or true growth. Or, it can be said that it is a mode of suicidal growth.”
　　According to Pan Mingcai, an official at the Land and Resources Ministry in charge of cultivated land protection, China failed to reach the target prescribed in the 10th Five-Year Plan, which said the cultivated land acreage should be maintained at no less than 128 million hectares in 2005.
　　
　　“In the 11th Five-Year Plan, I am glad to see that cultivated land protection is included in the social and economic development appraisal system as a compulsory indicator,” Pan said. “It shows that the country is determined to protect cultivated land. While we applaud the Central Government’s decision, we feel the responsibility and pressure are heavy.”
　　The compulsory indicators in the 11th Five-Year Plan, mainly concerning public welfare, refer to goals set by the Central Government in related fields.
　　It is stipulated that the goals will be shared by governments at all levels. The Ministry of Land and Resources has planned two campaigns during the 11th Five-Year Plan period, to scrutinize local governments’ implementation of the cultivated land preservation program. One of the appraisal criteria states that the acreage of cultivated land should be maintained in accordance with the State Council requirement. Those who do not meet the criteria will fail in their performance assessment.
　　“For those regions that fail to meet the criteria, the supervisory department of the Land and Resources Ministry will conduct a thorough overhaul of their examination and approval procedures for land use. Those found responsible for possible irregularities will be punished according to law,” said a ministry official.
　　
　　Preventing land misuse
　　
　　Wang Shiyuan, Vice Minister of Land and Resources, noted recently that while actively supporting the rural rejuvenation program, the ministry should be on high alert against the abuse of agricultural land.
　　Wang explained that land use faces three problems. One is that some local governments reduce the land price to unreasonably low levels so as to attract business investment. Second, some property developers tend to buy land use rights in the name of rent so as to avoid appraisal procedures for land used for construction, as well as to escape from paying fees for land transfer. Third, some places occupy land blindly and build many villas, which are a huge waste of land.
　　In order to crack down on those problems, the ministry will take firm measures to investigate typical cases, Wang warned.
　　On April 9, Li Haiyang, a senior official from the Ministry of Land and Resources, said on CCTV that in order to use the land more effectively and efficiently, one key issue is to readjust the land supply structure in the real estate industry.
　　“The government will supply more land used for small and medium-sized apartments for lower prices and restrict the construction of top-grade houses or apartments. China will make a clear definition of a villa. It is absolutely forbidden to build villas, which occupy a large land area with a low accommodation ratio,” Li said.
　　
　　Land Officials’ Views
　　
　　Wang Songlin (Director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Land and Resources): The per-capita land of Zhejiang is only 0.033 hectares, with few backup resources. Thus, we are faced with more difficulties and pressure with regard to cultivated land conservation.
　　Zhejiang is taking the following measures to protect cultivated land:
　　First, we will create more standard farmland. The provincial government is determined to create 1 million hectares of standard farmland and to ensure a food production capacity of 15 billion kg in the whole province. In this way, it will not be a problem to feed the 47 million people in the province. At the same time, we will build 11 basic farmland protection demonstration projects.
　　Second, when preserving the environment, we will further explore land resources and intensify reclamation of wasteland suitable for farming. Zhejiang Province has many hills and a vast mountainous region and we will make full use of the gentle slopes on the low hills, which account for one 10th of the total land area of the whole province. Another way out is to explore the mud flat area.
　　Third, we will use the land more economically and efficiently. The land area of Zhejiang Province is 10.54 million hectares, constituting 1.1 percent of the nation’s total. However, the GDP of Zhejiang in 2004 reached 1.12 trillion yuan, accounting for 8.24 percent of the GDP in China. In 2005, the GDP output per hectare was 1.42 million yuan, which is supposed to be increased to 2.02 million yuan by the end of 2010. It means that one third of the land will be saved.
　　Huang Fangfang (Director of the Department of Land and Resources of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region): It is the land watchdog agencies’ duty and responsibility to preserve 120 million hectares of cultivated land. Despite the heavy pressure, it is not a “mission impossible.” As for Guangxi, although the next five years will be a critical period for economic development, it is absolutely certain that we can preserve the cultivated land as long as we find the right way.
　　First, identify the government’s responsibility with regard to land preservation. In 2003, the regional government signed a land preservation responsibility pledge with the local governments at all levels so as to urge the local governments to protect land.
　　Second, avoid using cultivated land for construction projects. Guangxi teems with hills and upland, but with little cultivated land. Therefore, we propose to make full use of the hills and upland as well as woodlands. It is an order that construction must not occupy good cultivated land. As a result, many cities in Guangxi follow a curvilinear construction mode and are built along the slopes of mountains. In a word, if we cannot occupy farmland, we will choose to occupy the mountains. Half of the land used for construction every year in Guangxi is not cultivated land. In the future, we will stick to this policy.
　　Third, Guangxi has a 1,595-km coastline with a large amount of low beach and saline-alkali land, which is virgin undeveloped land. The regional government has proposed that under the condition of not destructing the marine ecosystem, the infrastructure in the coastal areas should be built up and the industrial bases transferred to coastal areas.
　　

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