Exploration on the Path of Whole-region Comprehensive Land Consolidation under the Background of Rural Revitalization

Xueli CAI, Shiqin YANG

Institute of Land &Resources and Sustainable Development, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, Kunming 650221, China

Abstract Based on the specific concept of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation and the development history of land consolidation in China, the internal relationship between rural revitalization strategy and whole-region comprehensive land consolidation is clarified from the perspective of historical development, and the problems faced by whole-region comprehensive land consolidation, such as rural "hollowing out", weak linkage between execution departments and neglect of ecological restoration, are deeply analyzed. Furthermore, some new paths for whole-region land consolidation are put forward, such as strengthening the top-level system design, handling the relationship between stock and increment, evaluating the potential of rural land consolidation, coordinating the win-win cooperation between middle-level executive departments, encouraging the innovation at the bottom and enhancing the comprehensive management of ecological environment.

Key words Rural revitalization, Whole-region comprehensive land consolidation, Path, Exploration

1 Introduction

TheStrategicPlanforRuralRevitalization(2018-2022) pointed out that comprehensive land consolidation should be placed in an important strategic position, and all parts of the country should actively respond to the call for rural comprehensive land consolidation. By the end of 2022, nearly 1 000 demonstration villages (towns) of comprehensive land consolidation had been built, which will provide basic knowledge and example models for the establishment of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation governance system and relevant research[1].

The aim of rural revitalization strategy is to build a system of comprehensive development of population, land, industry and other factors. The whole-region comprehensive land consolidation focuses on the combination of connotation and extension of land consolidation. By renovating inefficient or idle land and repairing damaged land, it achieves the goals of increasing the utilization rate of cultivated land, putting existing construction land to good use, accurately allocating urban and rural land for production and living, systematically restoring rural residential environment, and optimizing the spatial distribution of "production-living-ecology". Thus, a new pattern of comprehensive land consolidation with full factors, full space, full interest subjects and full cycle is created to promote the comprehensive revitalization of rural appearance[2].

2 Overview of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation

2.1 Connotation of whole-region comprehensive land consolidationUnder the premise of scientific policy planning, the whole-region comprehensive land consolidation is a systematic project of the overall spatial consolidation aimed at the inefficiency of rural production and life and ecological degradation, with the overall urban and rural development as the demand-oriented and relying on the comprehensive management system of multiple factors including "landscapes, rivers, forests, fields, lakes and grasses" by means of overall planning, comprehensive management and intensive utilization[3]. The concept of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation is an extension of the connotation of previous land arrangement and land consolidation. China’s land consolidation has mainly experienced four historical stages of "land arrangement", "land consolidation", "comprehensive land consolidation" and "whole-region comprehensive land consolidation"[4].

2.2 Historical overview of the development of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation

2.2.1Embryonic exploration stage (before 1999). China’s land consolidation has experienced a long historical process from the chaotic and disordered development in the early stage to the comprehensive land consolidation involving all elements and multi-field stages. The square-fields system of the Western Zhou Dynasty was a preliminary exploration of land arrangement in ancient times. Since then, the succession of emperors in successive dynasties had been accompanied by large-scale land consolidation and reallocation of land rights[5]. In the early days of the People’s Republic of China, there were a lot of things to be done. China implemented the policy of "land to the tiller" and changed the feudal land ownership into farmer land ownership by means of reform, so that the land was firmly in the hands of farmers. This initiative greatly increased the enthusiasm of farmers, and the total area of arable land in China reached a historical high in 1957[6]. With the increasing exploration of land consolidation in various regions, a large amount of industrial, transportation and construction land encroachment on cultivated land had brought about a series of problems such as substantial reduction of cultivated land, environmental pollution and so on. In this regard, theLandManagementLawcame into being at the historic moment, and was officially effective from January 1, 1987, which provided a legal basis for the development, utilization, protection and management of land. At this stage, land consolidation was in the embryonic exploration stage focusing on the construction of irrigation and water conservancy and other infrastructure[7].

2.2.2Perfection and standardization stage (1999-2006). In 1999, China proposed for the first time that "the state encourages land consolidation". Since then, many concepts related to land consolidation emerged one after another, and the most widely accepted ones included land development, land reclamation and land consolidation. Yang Zisheng[8]particularly defined the concepts and relationships of the three in his bookLandResourceScience, providing a reference and guidance for relevant departments to carry out land consolidation work. This stage was marked by the implementation of "land development and consolidation" work, while the three aspects of land development, consolidation and reclamation work went hand in hand. In 2000, China established the basic institutional framework system of land consolidation step by step, taking the opportunity of theCodeforPlanningandDesignofLandDevelopmentandConsolidationProjectsand other relevant documents[9]. In 2006, the establishment of 116 national basic farmland protection demonstration zones declared that the development of land consolidation in China had changed from the previous embryonic stage that only paid attention to the quantity of cultivated land, regardless of the quality of cultivated land to the perfection and standardization stage of comprehensive consideration of the quality of new cultivated land and the improvement of consolidation mode[10].

2.2.3Comprehensive regulation stage (2006-2019). In this stage, land consolidation gradually shifted from focusing on agricultural land consolidation to comprehensive consolidation focusing on ecological functions and taking land reclamation as the main means. During the 13thFive-Year Plan period, theNationalLandConsolidationPlan(2011-2015) advocated a combination of comprehensive land consolidation and "green" development. In the land comprehensive consolidation area, the land development, reclamation and consolidation of farmland, rural construction land, urban construction land, ecological land and unused land can be combined with a variety of land elements to take comprehensive consolidation measures[11]. In 2017, the rural revitalization strategy was put forward for the first time, and the land and resources departments at all levels in all provinces had successively issued a series of land consolidation policies. The comprehensive consolidation of rural land can promote the coordinated and integrated development of urban and rural areas, narrow the development gap between urban and rural areas and regions, optimize the structure of rural land use, and make up for the weak links in agriculture and rural areas, thus providing a strong rural force for rural revitalization.

2.2.4Comprehensive land consolidation stage (2019 to present). The document on the pilot work of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation was promulgated in 2019. The research in this stage involves political, economic, cultural and ecological aspects. Based on the national land spatial planning system[12-13]and the background of rural revitalization strategy[14-17], many scholars have better integrated the direction of comprehensive land consolidation with China’s policy-oriented objectives, and explored a new path of comprehensive land consolidation that suits the development needs of the new rural reality in the new era. From the perspectives of village layout[18], village planning[19]and village development[20-21], the whole-region comprehensive land consolidation explores various development directions, focuses on the internal logic of comprehensive land consolidation and "production-living-ecological space", and explores the governance path of rural production-living-ecological space in the new era[2, 22], in order to effectively release the potential of village space and promote village sustainability and rural revitalization. Xie Jialinetal.[23]started from the stakeholders involved in the whole-region comprehensive land consolidation and provided new ideas for the smooth development of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation by balancing the conflicts of interest among multiple stakeholders.

Zhou Xiaopingetal.[24], Zhou Yanni[25], Mao Yanghuanetal.[26], Dong Zuoji[27], Wu Jialongetal.[28]analyzed the problems of land fragmentation and low efficiency, insufficient resource and environmental carrying capacity, ecological quality decline and uncoordinated urban and rural development in current land consolidation from the perspectives of metropolises, urban suburbs, pilot areas in Zhejiang Province and carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, and built a new path of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation by combing land consolidation with multi-subject and ecological consolidation and acquiring experience from comprehensive land consolidation in the new period. In view of the problems arising from land consolidation, Liu Yansui[29]also proposed to deeply explore the mode system of regional differentiation, urban-rural integration, "one consolidation three returns" and overall coordination and decision-making of land consolidation.

3 Inner relation between whole-region comprehensive land consolidation and rural revitalization

3.1 Connotation of rural revitalizationRural regional system is a comprehensive, complex and dynamic regional system formed by the interaction of structure and function of population, economy, resource, environment, culture, ecology and other factors. The issue of "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" has always been a key area and a key link in the hearts of Chinese people. In the process of China’s high-speed and high-quality economic development, there have been the problems of uncoordinated development between urban and rural areas, significant wealth gap between urban and rural areas, and incomplete and inadequate rural development for a long time. The rural revitalization strategy adheres to the principle of giving priority to the development of agriculture and rural areas, and aims at the overall requirements of thriving industries, livable ecology, civilized village style, effective governance, and a prosperous life. Based on the new era and new background, it is a major national strategic deployment to solve the problems of "agriculture, rural areas and farmers", promote the sustainable development of rural areas and realize the accelerated realization of the process of agricultural and rural modernization, constantly improving the management system, mechanism and related supporting policies that adapt to the current coordinated and integrated development of urban and rural areas, and comprehensively realizing rural revitalization[30].

3.2 Whole-region comprehensive land consolidation helps boost rural revitalizationTheNoticeoftheMinistryofNaturalResourcesonCarryingoutPilotWorkofWhole-regionLandConsolidationclarified that the main task of whole-region land consolidation is to coordinate the improvement of agricultural and construction land and the improvement and restoration of rural ecological environment, taking towns and villages as the basic units. Land consolidation has always been a hot topic in the field of research. With the continuous acceleration of China’s urbanization and the continuous advancement of ecological civilization construction, the problem faced in each stage of land consolidation is gradually transformed from single repairing and supplementing cultivated land into a connection with the aspects of industry revitalization, cultural industrialization, ecological restoration, spatial layout and value transformation. More noteworthy is that the whole-region comprehensive land consolidation involves multiple factors, departments and fields. First, measures such as gathering fragmented land and revitalizing existing land can be taken to improve the utilization rate of rural land and promote the development and revitalization of village industries. Second, the difference and diversity of village style and appearance is recognized, and village style culture is carried forward through beautiful village construction and other measures. Third, the whole department should participate in the rural land consolidation work, and respect the independent will of farmers, and cooperate among all departments to build a rural governance system suitable for the village, so as to create a rural landscape satisfied by farmers, promote agricultural and rural modernization, and gradually realize rural revitalization (Fig.1).

Fig.1 Whole-region comprehensive land consolidation helps boost rural revitalization

4 Problems and solutions of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation

Whole-region comprehensive land consolidation plays an important role in rural revitalization, but from the national strategic level, the whole-region comprehensive land consolidation from the perspective of rural revitalization strategy still faces many practical problems and dilemmas[31]. The coupling of rural elements, village planning, permanent basic farmland, increase and decrease connection of urban and rural construction land, ecological restoration, cultivated land protection, farmers’ principal position and other interrelated factors involving objectives, planning, ecology and humanity are also the basis and key contents to be grasped in the whole-region comprehensive land consolidation. By analyzing the current practical problems from the perspective of rural revitalization strategy, this paper discusses the effective paths to carry out the whole-region comprehensive land consolidation under the leadership of rural revitalization strategy, and provides some references for the construction of comprehensive land consolidation system and continuous promotion of rural revitalization.

4.1 Problems

4.1.1Rural brain drain causes rural "hollowing out". The constantly accelerating process of urbanization and industrialization leads to large-scale population outflow and forms rural "hollowing out"[32]. Rural hollowing is affected by multiple factors such as economic development, lagging policy implementation and unreasonable village planning, resulting in the fact that rural development gradually deviates from the good wishes of rural revitalization strategy and causing many problems that harm social economy and culture. First, fragmentation of fields and imperfect ditches have led to the abandonment of large amounts of arable land, low utilization rate of land resources and low level of agricultural industrialization. Second, the layout of the homesteads is chaotic, and the phenomenon of more than one house causes the homestead to be idle or even abandoned. Third, the traditional local culture is not sustainable; more and more traditional crafts are difficult to inherit; and traditional ancient villages with strong national style are also dying out.

4.1.2The linkage between executive departments is not strong, and the principal position of farmers is not obvious. The whole-region comprehensive land consolidation work is a systematic project involving multiple elements, departments and fields. In the implementation of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation work, it is necessary to give play to the leading role of government departments on the one hand, and coordinate the interest relations among various departments on the other hand, so that all departments form a win-win system of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation featuring full cooperation among multiple departments and coordinated interests with clear division of labor, full cooperation and no blank areas for consolidation under the unified national strategic goals. However, in the practical stage of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation, most of the executive departments in the middle-level implementation stage are at the same level, and there is not a relationship of the leader and the led. Each department carries out the consolidation work according to its own responsibilities, and there may be small overlaps in the scope of work. Coupled with the lack of communication and coordination among relevant departments and the lack of overall planning ability, the implementation effect of some projects is not satisfactory. For example, farmers, as the protagonists and ultimate beneficiaries of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation, are mostly passive participants in the implementation process of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation. As a result, the land consolidation projects fail to fully reflect public opinion and lack broad support from farmers, which further leads to the land consolidation work falling short of the expected ideal goals and fulfillments.

4.1.3Insufficient attention has been paid to ecological restoration. Due to long-term extensive management and low harvest, the economic structure is unreasonable, and traditional land use can not be fundamentally changed. In some areas, construction is still more important than protection, which leads to a series of ecological and environmental problems such as water pollution, soil erosion and biodiversity reduction. At present, the object of ecological restoration in the process of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation is still dominated by single element. Although lakes and water areas are also involved, the object of ecological restoration does not fully cover all elements of landscapes, forests, fields, lakes and grasses. Furthermore, engineering means are still the major ecological restoration means, and are not closely connected with other non-engineering measures[33].

4.2 SolutionsAs an important method to coordinate regional economic development and man-land relationship, the whole-region comprehensive land consolidation should be adapted to regional natural ecological conditions and social and economic development stage, explore new paths of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation suitable for the region according to local conditions, and effectively integrate with rural revitalization strategy.

4.2.1Strengthening the top-level system design and promoting the two-way flow of talents. Reasonable and effective top-level system design is to make the whole-region land comprehensive consolidation to the actual place, to the details, to the depths, and to effectively link up institutional guarantees for rural revitalization. The system design should be adapted to local conditions, link with local traditional national culture, and strengthen the inheritance and development of traditional excellent culture, so that the whole-region comprehensive land consolidation based on excellent traditional culture is easier to be accepted by farmers, easier to be implemented and supervised. In order to promote the high-quality and sustainable development of rural areas under the background of rural revitalization, it is necessary to implement, supervise and evaluate policies for all departments, elements and cycles involved in consolidation projects through whole-region planning and design, and coordinate various land resource-related plans to realize the integration of multiple plans. Talent is a breakthrough point of boosting rural revitalization and slowing down the process of rural hollowing. The rural areas should actively attract talents through industrial revitalization, retain talents through various preferential subsidy policies, and encourage talents with professional knowledge to join the land consolidation work, in order to stimulate the endogenous impetus of rural areas and make land consolidation work practical. To solve the hollowing out of rural areas, the spatial distribution of rural areas must be optimized, and high-standard farmland must be vigorously built, supplemented with rural infrastructure and land transfer service system construction. Moreover, the management and protection of cultivated land should be strengthened, and the utilization efficiency of cultivated land must be improved, to promote rural revitalization while increasing farmers’ income.

4.2.2Handling the relationship between "stock" and new "increment". The ownership of rural homestead-land-use-right must be clarified, and a sound homestead withdrawal system should be established, to make good use of the stock land and promote the reform of the homestead system. The vacated homestead can be used to promote the development of rural collective economy and develop rural economy to increase farmers’ income. The contiguous vacated homestead can be releveded and transformed into a village public living space such as activity center or pension center. Land suitable for re-use as cultivated land can also be reclaimed to restore production function. The planning of the increment of rural construction land should be linked with the increase and decrease of urban and rural construction land, so as to make the increment of land elements closely related to the stock and form a scientific way of land use.

4.2.3Assessing the potential of rural land consolidation. As the most convenient element to obtain and use, land not only is the most basic means of production for human beings, but also restricts the spatial development. It is an important operation step of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation to continuously tap the development potential of land consolidation of rural agricultural land, collective construction land, ecological service land and unused land, which plays an irreplaceable role in selecting potential areas for subsequent land consolidation work, replanning village layout, and promoting employment development of rural industries.

4.2.4Coordinating middle-level executive departments for win-win cooperation and highlighting the principal position of farmers. The rural comprehensive land consolidation is a systematic project involving finance, natural resources, water conservancy, agriculture and rural areas, transportation, urban and rural construction, ecology and other departments. It is necessary for the government to lead all departments in a unified manner, coordinate the interests of all departments, and establish an effective joint working group for whole-region comprehensive land consolidation under unified management, with clear rights and responsibilities, information sharing, and effective management. Specific scientific and reasonable implementation work and assessment system should be formulated according to the environment of the implementation region to ensure that each specific consolidation project is implemented. In the process of implementation, the opinions and needs of farmers should be fully respected, and their enthusiasm and participation must be fully mobilized. Farmers’ opinions and feedback on the consolidation work are collected through publicity and other ways, and the work content and implementation methods are timely adjusted to ensure that the middle-level implementation process can effectively achieve the goals of whole-region land comprehensive consolidation work.

4.2.5Encouraging innovation at the bottom and strengthening ecological restoration functions. On the basis of the implementation of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation, the rural complex has multiple functional attributes such as population, resources, economy, culture and ecology, and different regions have unique historical, cultural and ecological values. The whole-region comprehensive land consolidation work solves the degradation of rural ecological quality and other problems by protecting and restoring the ecological environment and regulating village appearance, which greatly improves the living environment and maintains the unique cultural features of the countryside. The concept of harmonious coexistence should always be maintained in the whole-region comprehensive land consolidation. Ecological restoration should be carried out on all natural elements such as landscapes, forests, fields, lakes and grasses in the consolidation area through various projects such as treatment of soiled land, restoration of mines and prevention and control of geological disasters. The ecological protection of rural areas should be carried out from the perspective of the whole region by combining engineering and non-engineering means of ecological restoration, so as to realize the organic integration of comprehensive land consolidation and ecological civilization construction. By protecting and restoring the ecological environment and renovating the village appearance, it greatly improves the living environment and solves the degradation of rural ecological quality while maintaining the unique cultural features of the countryside.

5 Conclusions and discussion

The whole-region comprehensive land consolidation is an important focus for China to continue to promote the rural revitalization strategy under the work of leading the new era, and its meaning is the extension and new exploration of the connotation of land arrangement and land consolidation. The whole-region comprehensive land consolidation measures can effectively serve the rural revitalization strategy. All departments work together and make continuous efforts to activate the potential of rural development by using whole-region comprehensive land consolidation measures, so as to provide inexhaustible support and impetus for the high-quality development of rural areas in the future. In the implementation stage of whole-region comprehensive land consolidation, it is necessary to firmly grasp the major policy direction, strictly follow the principles of resource integration and overall planning and coordination, formulate scientific, reasonable and feasible consolidation measures and supporting systems and policies according to local conditions in specific regions, and organically combine economy, resources, ecology and farmers’ life, thereby promoting rural development and construction to the greatest extent.

Under the reality that China’s high-quality economic development is not coordinated with urban and rural development, and rural development is inadequate, the whole-region comprehensive land consolidation project is an important means to coordinate urban and rural development, stimulate rural development potential, and promote the construction of rural culture. However, the work involved in whole-region comprehensive land consolidation project is more comprehensive and professional, and has higher requirements for the comprehensive quality of talents, so it is necessary to refine the implementation of responsibilities and innovation system of various works.

Rural area, land resources and ecological environment are complex comprehensive systems, with the characteristics of multi-disciplines and multi-factors. The whole-region comprehensive land consolidation is also a new concept and system derived from the new era, which involves a large number of elements. The relevant problems, policies, measures and implementation paths encountered in the whole-region comprehensive land consolidation process are still in the exploratory and summary stage, and it is necessary to promote the whole-region comprehensive land consolidation more systematized, normalized and standardized through theories, systems and innovations, so as to realize a new pattern of sustainable development of rural economy, society and ecology.