Poverty and environmental deterioration are the two major problems that many developing countries face. Population growth and rapid economic development in China have been often accompanied by the irrational use of natural resources, environmental deterioration, and shrinking biodiversity. The conflict between the population and economy on the one hand, and resources and the environment on the other, is becoming increasingly prominent in rural areas in western China. The livelihood activities of the rural population in ecologically fragile areas are at the heart of the conflict, and are thus particularly worthy of attention. Just how to improve the living standards, to protect the local environment, and to promote the sustainable development of rural areas has always been a concern of government departments and experts and scholars. An effective mechanism dealing with both problems needs to be introduced, so as to promote sustainable livelihoods for farmers in ecologically fragile areas and at the same time protect local environments through policy interventions.
1.1 Background
1.1.1 An Overview of Poverty Alleviation Efforts in Rural China
Ever since the advent of the policy of reform and opening-up, China has vigorously promoted poverty alleviation and development and achieved world-renowned results. From a nation whose majority population lived in poverty to one that is basically lifted out of poverty, China has contributed to the global fight against poverty with its practices in tackling the problems of universal poverty and regional poverty. In this process, two documents are particularly worthy of attention: The 8-7 National Poverty Reduction Program (1994â2000) and The Outline of Poverty Alleviation and Development in Chinaâs Rural Areas (2001â2010), the implementation of which heralds a series of brilliant successes in this area. The size of the rural poor population has been greatly reduced, income levels have been significantly raised, and notable progress has been made in infrastructure and social undertakings. The Minimum Living Allowance System implemented allows poor rural residents to meet their basic needs.
- i. Poverty in Rural China
Since reform and opening up began in 1978, rapid economic growth and government-sponsored poverty alleviation programs have brought remarkable achievements in the area of poverty alleviation. If we are to use the international poverty line of USD1.25 per person per day, over 700 million people in China were lifted out of poverty between 1978 and 2014. If we use Chinaâs standard, the number of rural poor has decreased from 250 million in 1978 to 70.17 million in 2014, and the poverty head count ratio has decreased from 30.7 to 7.2 %.1 This makes China the first country in the world to achieve the Millennium Development goal of halving its poor population. According to official data, there were 14 contiguous areas in the country with a high concentration of poverty, 128,000 poverty-stricken villages, nearly 30 million poverty-stricken households, and 70.17 million poverty-stricken people in 2014.2 Out of the 680 counties in the 14 contiguous areas, 440 are classified as the national priority counties for poverty alleviation and development programs. They, together with another 152 such counties outside the areas, bring the total number of counties for priority actions to 592. These priority counties and other counties in the contiguous areas, adding up to 832, are currently the focus for poverty alleviation and development efforts in China. Of the poor population of 70.17 million, 42, 20, 10, and 8% are in such a situation due to illness, disaster, schooling, and lack of labor, respectively.3
Since 1978, rural China has undergone great changes which are reflected in the size, structure, and geographical distribution of the poor population, as well as the significant decline in the poverty head count ratio. In the past ten years, there have been significant changes in the regional distribution and demographic structure of the rural poor. First, in terms of regional distribution, the population has been further concentrated in the western regions and mountainous regions. The western regions of China, which span over five million square kilometers and account for 56.4% of the countryâs land area, include 12 provincial administrative divisions (Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang). While these areas are rich in natural resources and biodiversity resources, they are home to a large portion of Chinaâs poor population. Second, the remaining poor population tends to live in areas with harsh natural environments, remote areas, ethnic minority areas, and among disadvantaged groups that find it difficult to benefit from economic growth. Third, the poor, by definition, have low levels of income and wealth and typically face poor living environments and low-quality human resources. The greater the level of poverty and the longer one remains in poverty, the more pronounced such disadvantages become. Fourth, poor rural households tend to be large in size with a significant proportion of youngâold members and a heavy burden of labor. Fifth, illiteracy rates are high among poor rural adults, who lack work-related skills and education and thus have fewer employment options. Sixth, the majority of the poor population are from households whose income relies heavily on agriculture and is thus less stable and more likely to change. Seventh, poor households are financially vulnerable to the impact of external factors. Relapse into poverty may easily occur in the event of macroeconomic fluctuations or natural disasters. Eighth, significant year-to-year fluctuations in rural householdsâ income and expenditure makes it difficult for policymakers to precisely identify the poor population. At the same time, such fluctuations also call for the use of different measures to meet the specific needs of poor rural households.
- ii. The goals and plans for poverty alleviation efforts in accordance with The Outline for Poverty Alleviation and Development in Chinaâs Rural Areas (2011â2020) in the new era
According to The Outline for Poverty Alleviation and Development in Chinaâs Rural Areas (2011â2020), China has a large poor population, and the problem of relative poverty still stands out today. The problem of people lapsing back into poverty has occurred from time to time, and the development of poverty-stricken areas, especially those contiguous areas of extreme poverty, has been comparatively slow. The document sets out the need to raise the poverty line, increase investment, and focus on the contiguous areas of extreme poverty in the fight against poverty. Meeting the basic needs of the poor and reducing poverty is a top priority that must be achieved as soon as possible. We must follow the governmentâs leadership and the overall development plans, pay more attention to transforming the economic growth model, building the capacity of the poor and promoting equal access to basic public services, and focus on outstanding problems that hinder development. The 2020 goal for poverty alleviation efforts is to help the poor achieve food and clothing security and ensure their compulsory education, basic medical care, and housing needs are met. By that time, net income growth per capita for farmers in poverty-stricken areas will be higher than the national average, their shares of important categories of basic public services will be close to the national average, and the trend of a widening development gap will be reversed.4
The contiguous areas of extreme poverty as listed in the document include the 11 poverty-stricken areas (the Liupan Mountainous Area, the Qinba Mountainous Area, the Wuling Mountainous Area, the Wumeng Mountainous Area, the Yunnan-Guangxi-Guizhou Rock Deserfication Area, the West Yunnan Border Mountainous Area, the Greater Khingan Range South Mountainous Area, the Yanshan-Taihang Mountainous Area, the Luliang Mountainous Area, the Dabie Mountainous Area, and the Luoxiao Mountainous Area) and areas for which special support policies have been put in place (Tibet, Tibetan ethnic areas in the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, and Qinghai, as well as three regions or prefectures in south Xinjiang). The state will increase its investment and support, strengthen its guidance and coordination for inter-provincial planning, concentrate its efforts, and implement its poverty alleviation plans by phase.
The document has laid down the following principles: promoting development as the major way to fight against poverty, and effectively linking development-oriented poverty alleviation and the rural minimum living allowance system. It encourages the rural poor who are able to work to get out of poverty through their own efforts and requires help to be provided in this process. Continuous efforts will be made to improve the social security system which is designed to guarantee economic assistance for people in need.
- iii. The concept of âprecision-targeted poverty alleviationâ
The important concept of âprecision-targeted poverty alleviationâ (jingzhun fupin) emerged in 2013 when President Xi Jinping visited western Hunan. He proposed for the first time the important principle of âseeking the truth from the facts, adapting to local conditions, providing guidance depending on the situation faced, and promoting precision-targeted poverty alleviationâ.
In January 2014, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the guidelines for precision-targeted poverty alleviationâOpinion on Innovating Mechanisms and Vigorously Promoting Rural Poverty Alleviation and Development (Zhongbanfa 2013 no. 25). The document established for the first time precision-targeted poverty alleviation as one of six major mechanisms for poverty alleviation and development, thus aiding the implementation of the idea. During the âTwo Sessionsâ (sessions of the National Peopleâs Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese Peopleâs Political Consultative Conferences) in March 2014, President Xi Jinping attended a delegation deliberation meeting and emphasized that it is necessary for China to implement the concept of precision-targeted poverty alleviation and to focus on the specific circumstances of the poor when implementing the policy. In May 2014, the State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development issued The Implementation Plan for the Establishment of Mechanisms for Precision-Targeted Poverty Alleviation (Guokaifaban [2014] no. 30), which further elaborates on the concept.
In June 2015, President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of well-targeted measures for poverty alleviation during a visit to Guizhou. In October of the same year, he noted at the 2015 High-Level Forum on Poverty Reduction and Development that China would implement strategies for precision-targeted poverty alleviation, increase its spending in this area, and introduce various preferential policies and measures. China would give play to its institutional advantage, see to it poverty alleviation arrangements are precisely made in six aspects (âSix Precisionsâ), implement different policies in accordance with specific reasons and types of poverty, and involve the greatest possible number of actors in the process of poverty alleviation.
It was clearly stated at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee held in October 2015 that by 2020, all rural residents living below the current poverty line will have been out of poverty, and poverty is eliminated in all poor counties and regions. According to The Decision to Win the Fight Against Poverty adopted at the Central Poverty Alleviation and Development Work Conference in December 2015, achieving the rural poverty alleviation goal by 2020 would be the most difficult task in efforts to âbuild a moderately prosperous society in all respectsâ. It was further proposed that precision-targeted poverty alleviation needs to be made a basic strategy, and efforts need to be made to coordinate poverty alleviation with economic and social development, targeted assistance with the development efforts geared towards contiguous poor areas, development-oriented poverty alleviation with ecological protection and with social security. These will help guarantee the needs of the rural poor for food, clothing, compulsory education, basic medical care, and housing. The document also laid down the Five-pronged Poverty Alleviation Measures, namely, fostering local industries, relocation, ecological compensation, advancing education, and improving social security. According to Chinaâs poverty threshold, by the end of 2014 there would be 70.17 million rural poor people in the country. To achieve the goal of building a moderately prosperous society by 2020, the poor population would have to be reduced by some 11.7 million people per year or by an average of one million people per month. It is a tall order.
In July 2016, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at a Yinchuan seminar on poverty alleviation through eastâwest cooperation, laying out an important plan for the fight against poverty. He noted precision-targeted poverty alleviation was currently at the heart of the thinking on poverty eradication and the guiding principle for poverty alleviation in China. It played a decisive role in the fight against poverty.
Precision-targeted poverty alleviation is essentially about helping those truly in need, allowing the poverty relief measures to be effectively implemented in every village and to truly benefit the poor households. T...