The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Chinese
government yesterday signed-up to a new project that aims to find
solutions to problems over land rights, governance and public
services in rural China.
From China the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR), the China
Institute for Reform and Development (CIRD) and the China
International Centre for Economic and Technical Exchanges under the
Ministry of Commerce were involved.
Entitled "Revitalizing Rural China through Land Policy Reform
and Innovation in Rural Governance and Public Service Delivery" the
four-year project is designed to promote strategic policies and
legislative reforms to revitalize rural areas with particular
emphasis placed on issues related to land rights, access to public
services and local governance.
By improving growth, efficiency and equity in rural areas the
project aims to modernize development of the countryside and reduce
rural-urban inequalities, said Khalid Malik, UN Resident
Cocoordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in China.
"Securing rural land rights, stronger bargaining power for
farmers and sufficient compensation for land use have been
identified as keys to rural reform in China," Malik said.
With the country's rapid urbanization and industrialization the
demand for land has led to rampant illegal expropriation at local
level.
"As the pressure for urban expansion mounts around the country
stories abound of farmers being forced off their land with little
compensation and no means of recourse," Malik said. "Farmers who
have lost their land come to cities and cause new problems."
Huang Zongli, director-general of the Department of
International Cooperation, Science and Technology under the MLR,
said he hoped a new land acquisition policy in the country could be
explored through implementation of the project. "We want to build a
just and fair land management system to achieve clarity in land
transfers to ensure farmers' rights," Huang said.
The US$5 million project will include research on new procedures
concerning land rights and policies, Malik said.
Based on regional disparity, economic and urbanization
conditions pilot projects will be carried out in eight
provinces.
CIRD President, Gao Shangquan, said it was imperative to have a
clear understanding of farmers' rights to solve the problems. "Some
local governments acquire farmland in the name of building public
projects which end up as commercial ones," he said. "That brings
harm to farmers in a disguised way."
Gao also suggested exploring new ways to compensate farmers
who've lost their land. "We're thinking of a way to let farmers buy
shares in their land which can benefit them in the long term," he
said.
The MLR also issued a notice yesterday to press local branches
to strengthen their supervision of local governments' work to
re-cultivate the same amount of arable land approved for other
uses.
(China Daily December 21, 2006)