Changes of Resource Use Patterns and State Policies since 1978: A Political Ecology of the Rural Beijing City, China

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to illustrate the changing relationship between resource use patterns and state policies in the rural area of Beijing City from the viewpoint of political ecology in China's rapid economic growth. Since the reforms initiated in 1978, local government such as at village and township levels have enlarged the decision making power of agricultural production in accordance with the measures suited to local conditions in Beijing City. Policies of state and local government have lead to diversified resource use patterns on farmland in Beijing City. Local peasants also adapted to changing state policies by modifying the use pattern of re gional resources. Relations between the state policies and the natural environment of Beijing City differ from other rural cases. The change of state policies has not damaged local natural envi ronment, it has been somehow improved in the past twenty years. Thus different agricultural pro duction policies were applied to each agricultural region, differentiating the crop production pat terns.

Changes in Medicinal Crop Production in the Urban Shadow of Beijing Metropolis under Agricultural Structure Adjustment: A Case Study of Zhengzhang Village, Hebei Province, China

“…Thus, the reorganization of regional agriculture was introduced to improve profitability. In urban inner fringe areas, the land that had been cultivated with food crops was exchanged for more profitable horticulture such as vegetables and flowers (Wang 2000(Wang , 2006. In urban shadow areas, based on the Regulation on Protection to Basic Farmland,4 farmland was strictly prohibited to be used for commercial or industrial purposes.…”

“…Wang (2000) proved that changes in inner fringe areas of Beijing City were not only caused by external factors such as policy adjustment, but also by internal reasons. Wang (2006) illustrated the relationship between resource use patterns and government policies in the rural area of Beijing City from the viewpoint of political ecology in China's economic growth. But these two studies both analyzed external affects brought to rural areas by modifications in government policies.…”