Ecological Compensation-assisted Relocation in Extreme Poverty-stricken Counties in China’s Ecologically Vulnerable Areas: Taking Dongchuan District of Yunnan Province as an Example

Feng QIU, Zisheng YANG

Targeted Poverty Alleviation and Development Institute, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, Kunming 650221, China

Abstract Ecology-oriented poverty alleviation is not only a livelihood project that affects the vast majority of rural people but also a major project to win the fight against poverty. It is also an indispensable income component for the relocation of poor farmers. Dongchuan District, located at the intersection of Jinsha River and Xiaojiang River, is one of the key counties for poverty alleviation and development in China with a wide range of poverty and extreme poverty. The incidence of poverty reached 24.36%. The ecology is fragile, and earthquake outbreaks frequently. Dongchuan District is a national key monitoring and defense area for earthquakes. A large number of goafs, subsidence areas and geological hazard areas have been formed in the mining area. The number of dangerous houses is large, and "it has no way of supporting its own inhabitants" is the key point, difficulty and focus of the county’s poverty alleviation. Relocation is a must-have measure to move away from poverty. It is also complex system engineering, which is policy-oriented and difficult. Since 2017, Dongchuan District has regarded relocation has the top priority for poverty alleviation. It has strictly implemented national, provincial and municipal policies, focused on the overall goal of "moving, securing and getting rich", and strongly promoted the relocation work for poverty alleviation. Obvious social, economic and ecological benefits have been achieved. Successful relocation, combined with ecology-oriented poverty alleviation and other targeted poverty alleviation measures, Dongchuan District’s fight against poverty has achieved a decisive victory. At the end of December 2018, the incidence of poverty in the region fell to 1.09%, and 129 poor villages (including 86 extremely poor villages) had been successfully lifted out of poverty. This paper analyzes and condenses the specific practices, main achievements, benefits, successful experiences and implications of the region’s relocation combined with ecology-oriented poverty alleviation model, so as to provide necessary reference for the innovation of relocation in poverty-stricken counties of Yunnan Province and similar provinces (cities, districts).

Key words Ecologically vulnerable area, Poverty alleviation, Ecological compensation, Relocation, Dongchuan District

1 Introduction

At present, China is in a critical period of building a well-off society in an all-round way. It is also the decisive period for poverty alleviation[1]. In 2020, all the rural poor will realize poverty alleviation, and all the poverty-stricken counties will be lifted out of poverty, and the regional poverty will be solved[2]. Ecology-oriented poverty alleviation is one of the "five batches" of China’s targeted poverty alleviation strategy. TheGuidingOpinionsoftheCPCCentralCommitteeandtheStateCouncilonWinningtheThree-YearCampaigntoFightAgainstPovertyissued in August 2018 requires to innovate ecology-oriented poverty alleviation mechanism and increase the ecological protection and restoration of poverty-stricken areas, achieving a win-win situation for ecological improvement and poverty alleviation[3]. In recent years, Yunnan Province has implemented the ecological compensation mechanism in the fields of forests, wetlands, biodiversity conservation and water environmental protection, and has made progress in stages. But overall, the scope of compensation for ecological protection in the province is still small, the sources of compensation funds and compensation methods are still single, the compensation support system and technical service support are still insufficient, the system of benign interaction between protectors and beneficiaries is imperfect, and the contradiction between economic development and environmental protection is increasingly prominent[4]. The report of CCP’s 19th National Congress not only points out that it is necessary to resolutely win the battle against poverty and ensure that the rural poor will realize poverty alleviation by the current standards of China by 2020, but also focuses on the construction of ecological civilization[5]. Ecological compensation-assisted poverty alleviation have achieved an effective combination of ecological compensation and targeted poverty alleviation. Although China’s ecology-oriented poverty alleviation at the policy level has achieved certain practical performance, the combination of ecological protection and targeted poverty alleviation and corresponding policy measures have not been fully integrated, the poverty alleviation model of ecological compensation is not sound, and the corresponding mechanism has not been fully established. In China, poor areas have a high degree of overlap in spatial layout with ecologically vulnerable areas, restricted or prohibited development zones and national key ecological functional zones. "Dual County" is not only a national key ecological functional zone but also a key county for national poverty alleviation work. The spatial distribution of the poor in China presents a concentrated and contiguous spatial pattern, and 80% of poverty-stricken counties and 95% of poor people are located in areas with fragile, and sensitive ecological environment, and need to be protected[6]. Therefore, the combination of relocation and ecological compensation is a "win-win" approach to improving the ecological environment and getting rid of poverty and getting rich.

Relocation has played an important role in China’s anti-poverty progress. Only during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, with the support of the central government and local finance, there were 11.71 million people who had improved their living conditions through relocation. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, nearly 10 million rural poor are planned to achieve poverty alleviation through relocation. Relocation is of great significance for achieving the goal of targeted poverty alleviation. It fully reflects China’s institutional advantages in combating poverty. Relocation is a complex system project that requires a lot of capital investment. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, each migrant population is given with more than 60 000 yuan[3]. Compared with other regions, poverty in the vulnerable ecological environment is even more severe. Dongchuan District is not only China’s famous ecologically vulnerable area and mudslide disaster area but also one of the extreme poverty-stricken counties in China, with backward economic development. Severe poverty and ecological fragility have a negative interaction effect. Coupled with a series of natural disasters caused by the deterioration of the ecological environment, the people in the region are more impoverished. Ecological compensation-assisted targeted poverty alleviation has become one of the important ways to help the poor in ecologically fragile areas[7]. In the process of relocation for poverty alleviation, how to give poor households effective assistance to ensure their sustainable development has become the focus of the relocation for poverty alleviation. The implementation of relocation is mainly due to the fact that the natural environment where poor people live is very fragile and bad, or threatened by natural disasters, and has been not suitable for human survival,i.e., it has no way supporting its inhabitants. Such a harsh natural condition has promoted a poverty alleviation model for the integration of relocation and ecological compensation.

2 Overview of study area

Dongchuan District is located on the northern edge of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. It is an excessive part of the Sichuan-Yunnan meridional tectonic belt and the northeastern structural belt of Cathaysian. The highest altitude in the territory is 4 344 m (the highest in Kunming), and the lowest altitude is 695 m (the lowest in Kunming). The difference between the two is 3 649.1 m. There are 107 mudslide gullies. In the intersection of Jinsha River and Xiaojiang River in Dongchuan, the mountains are high, the valleys are deep, the gullies are vertical and horizontal, the terrain is steep, and the peaks are stacked, constituting the geomorphological features of the mountains and valleys in the whole territory. It covers an area of 1 865.8 km2, governing six towns, one street and one township, including 130 village committees and 33 community neighborhood committees. The total population is 320 000. The ethnic minorities living in the county mainly include Yi, Hui, Buyi and Miao. The maximum longitudinal distance between the north and the south is 84.6 km, and he maximum horizontal distance between the east and the west is 51.2 km. More than half of the population in the region work and live in the range of 2 600-4 000 m above the sea level. The annual average temperature in Dongchuan District is 14.9℃, with extreme maximum temperature of 42℃ and extreme minimum temperature of -7.8℃. The average annual precipitation is about 1 000.5 mm, with maximum monthly rainfall of 208.3 mm and maximum daily rainfall of 153.3 mm. The rainfall is mainly concentrated in May-September. Coupled with the differences in soil, vegetation,etc., a typical three-dimensional climate of "one mountain at four seasons, weather differing within 10 km" is formed[8]. The land in Dongchuan District is seriously desertified and soil erosion is frequent. Desertification has become a prominent geographical feature of Dongchuan District. Due to scarce cultivation land, widespread mountains and scarce water resources, the development of agriculture cannot be scaled, and the degree of organization is not high. Poor ecological environment is not conducive to agricultural production. The output of the scarce cultivation land is extremely unstable, leading to the phenomenon that people in the region live at the mercy of the elements to a large extent. In addition, a small number of people with weak labor or need to take care of their family members cannot go out to work, but it is more difficult to provide them with jobs within the region. Migrant workers are highly mobile. Most of them are mainly engaged in odd jobs and casual work, and employment income is not stable. Among the eight poor towns (streets) in Dongchuan District, seven are extreme poverty-stricken towns (streets). Among the 165 villages (communities), 146 villages (communities) have poverty alleviation tasks. Of these, 129 are poor villages (86 extremely poor villages). At the same time, the mining of copper mines in the past millennium has led the emergence of "goafs, subsidence areas and hidden danger areas of geological hazards". This situation can be explained by the fact that more than 70% of the people in Dongchuan District have moved to cities. Affected by special historical, geographical and social environment, Dongchuan District has faced a severe situation in which poverty range is large, poor population is large, and poverty is extreme over the years.

3 Specific practices of combination of ecology-oriented poverty alleviation and relocation

3.1 Implementation of the ecological compensation policySince 2017, Kunming municipal-level returning farmland to forest funds has been integrated with national-level funds for returning farmland to forests. The subsidy for returning farmland to forests will amount to 30 000 yuan per farmer. According to the forestry ecological compensation fund comparison data of 2017, the subsidy for returning to farmland to forests is an important part of the income of farmers in mountainous areas. In 2017, the district had paid a total of about 18 million yuan in subsidies for returning farmland to forests. First, the national subsidies for returning farmland to forest project of 4 087 400 yuan had been allocated, including 1 048 900 yuan for 559.43 ha of farmland of registered poor farmers. The per household income of the 2 924 registered poor households was increased by 359 yuan, and the per capita income was increased by 94 yuan. The second was to disburse the national new round of returning farmland to forest project subsidy of 1.5 million yuan in 2014, involving 916 600 yuan for 203.69 ha of farmland in registered poor households. The per household income of the 580 registered poor households (including 2 298 persons) was increased by 1 580 yuan, and the per capita income was increased by 399 yuan. The third was to disburse the 2016 national new round of returning farmland to forest project subsidy funds of 12.5 million yuan, of which 6.4 million yuan was for 853.33 ha of farmland. The per household income of the 2 139 registered poor households was increased by 2 992 yuan, and the per capita income was increased by 762 yuan. Subsidized funds for returning farmland to forest projects were all disbursed to the Huinong cards through the district financial system after the township forestry station reported the data to the local financial office. In 2018, 3 753.33 ha of farmland was returned to forests. Considering 1 200.00 ha in 2017 and 266.67 ha in 2018, a total of 5 220.00 ha of farmland had been transformed into forests.

In 2018, the total amount of subsidies for returning farmland to forests was 135 074 600 yuan, which was all issued through the "One-Card". Among the poor households, the subsidy funds for some of them reached more than 16 000 yuan. In response to the reality of the deteriorating ecological environment in Dongchuan, efforts have been made to implement the policy of returning farmland to forests and ecological compensation. In 2018, a new round of returning farmland to forest project of 3 753.33 ha was implemented. Taking the previously issued subsidies for returning farmland to forests, the total subsidy fund for the whole district in 2018 was 101 million yuan. In addition, Dongchuan District also hired 411 people from poor households as ecological forest guards in 2018. The annual per capita income increased by more than 8 040 yuan.

From the perspective of the 2018-2020 plan, ecology-oriented poverty alleviation is relatively strong, and a total of seven types of ecology-oriented poverty alleviation will be implemented. (i) Returning farmland to forest projects. About 19 149 ha of returning farmland to forest project will be implemented. It is estimated that the investment will be 118.14 million yuan from 2018 to 2020, and approximately 53 386 people benefit every year. (ii) Returning farmland to grassland project. About 200 ha of returning farmland to grassland project will be implemented. From 2018 to 2020, it is estimated that 3 million yuan will be invested, and about 3 722 people will benefit each year. (iii) Ecological vegetation restoration project. A total of 32.87 ha of ecological vegetation restoration will be carried out. It is estimated that the investment will be 739 350 yuan from 2018 to 2020, and approximately 239 people benefit each year. (iv) Ecological ranger subsidy. A total of 14.54 million yuan will be issued to 5 783 ecological rangers from 2018 to 2020, benefiting 15 640 people every year. (v) A total of 12 forest fire prevention ecological public welfare posts will be provided. From 2018 to 2020, 156 000 yuan will be invested to benefit 36 people each year. (vi) A total of 700 ha of walnut forest was improved in 2018, requiring investment of 1.05 million yuan, and about 2 352 people benefited. (vii) In 2018, 333.33 ha of low-efficiency forest reconstruction project were implemented, with a total funding of 1 million yuan. It was expected to benefit 1 793 people.

3.2 Implementation of relocation project for poverty alleviation in different placesIn view of the fact that Dongchuan is a resource-exhausted city, with poor ecological conditions and a weak transportation infrastructure, relocation is the "first-class project" and the top priority for poverty alleviation so as to solve the problem that the region has no way of supporting its inhabitants. The number of relocations in the whole district was locked to 18 136 people. Coupled with 13 094 people relocated synchronously, a total of 31 230 people were relocated. The relocation involved 280 villager groups in 68 administrative villages in seven townships (streets) and 15 settlements (13 centralized settlements and 2 scattered settlements). The EPC general contract model was adopted to promote the construction of two settlements for poverty alleviation in Duimenshan and Qiga. The total land use was 24.2 ha, and the total number of residential households was 5 731. The EPC general contract covers the entire life cycle of building products. The whole process of the project is put under unified management, and full-process services integrating design, procurement and construction are provided. In the design phase, building difficulties, process flow and engineering costs are considered comprehensively, conducive to the reasonable connection of work at all stages, better reducing project costs and shortening the construction period. In the EPC model, the contractor is the sole responsible party responsible to the owner, improving project quality and work efficiency.

3.2.1Locking relocation object targetedly. The total number of registered poor people to be relocated was 18 112. In combination with the actual situation in Dongchuan District, the final number of registered poor people to be relocated was 18 136. A total of 13 094 people were relocated synchronously. Thus, a total of 31 230 people had to be relocated. The relocation involved 251 villager groups in 68 administrative villages in 7 townships (streets). There were 15 relocation sites, including 13 centralized relocation sites and 2 scattered relocation sites. The projects have been completed, and the people have moved in.

3.2.2Formulating subsidy policy reasonably. A subsidy policy was formulated for house construction and procurement of poor people. The self-raised funds of the registered poverty-stricken population were 3000 yuan per capita. The district government subsidized 20 000 yuan to each of them. The reward to the poor population that had signed the old house demolition agreement and removed timely was 6 000 yuan per capita. If all the money was used for housing construction, additional 20 m2of housing would be rewarded. The rest of the building funds were raised by the government. Building subsidies and incentive funds for poverty-stricken households shall not exceed the cost of building construction standards. The self-raised funds shall not exceed 10 000 yuan per household. For the synchronously relocated households, 15 000 yuan was subsidized to each of them. The self-raised funds were 14 000 yuan per capita (if it was impossible to be raised, a 20-year loan could be issued to the farmers, and interests were assigned in accordance with the regulations). Addition at 20 m2of housing was rewarded to each of the households. The rest of the building funds were raised by the government.

3.2.3Strengthening organizational leadership and establishing a sound organization. In June 2017, the relocation headquarter of Dongchuan District was established. The relevant departments sent a total of 20 people to concentrate on the office. The sub-headquarter set up three inspection teams to conduct weekly inspections and supervision. The situation of the promotion of the relocation project, the targeted locking on the relocation object, the collection of self-raised funds by the masses, the regulation of file accounting data, the industrial development plan and the employment resettlement plan were investigated and supervised, and the existing problems were promptly reported and coordinated. The sites of relocation were located around the industrial park, and labor-intensive enterprises were introduced actively to absorb the employment of relocated households. After the relocation, the farmers participate in the land development and management of the original land by means of land contractual management rights and forest rights transfer, cooperation and shareholding, and the income from the land management rights of the original land is increased. Simultaneously, poverty alleviation programs around developing industries, promoting employment, improving education, ecological compensation and improving healthcare are formulated. For the mountainous poor people living in the places that had no ways of supporting their inhabitants, on the basis of extensive and in-depth research and full listening to opinions, total 8 754 households with 32 227 people (including 18 388 people from 5 047 registered poor households and 13 839 people from 3 707 synchronously relocated households) were decided to be relocated one time, accounting for 77.6% of the relocation tasks in Kunming. The urbanization resettlement rate reached 95.67%. The project was launched in October 2017 and the three-year tasks of 2016, 2017 and 2018 were implemented. Up to now, all relocated houses have been completed, and they have all been moved in. A total of 19 020 people were resettled in two large resettlement sites in the urban area, with a land area of 24.2 ha. The per capita land area was 12 m2(including infrastructure), greatly saving the cost of construction land. The resettlement sites were centralized with supporting hospitals, property management houses, farmers’ markets, home care service centers, public toilets and other infrastructure and public service facilities, greatly convenient for the work and life of the masses. From industry, employment, education, health, social security, transition management, elections, party building and land increase and decrease linking and other three aspects, specific measures were clarified in the process of relocation and later, ensuring that the masses can move out, be stable, and gradually become rich. The model of "service window+labor service+enterprise (cooperative, poverty alleviation workshop)+relocated masses" was adopted. Labor intermediary enterprise was introduced to manage the relocated personnel unifiedly and organize their employment. Through the construction of "one-stop, multi-functional and modernized" employment and entrepreneurial service base and building an employment and entrepreneurship service platform, at least one member of each of the 8 754 relocated households had the ability to work and the willingness to work.

3.3 Ecology-oriented relocation for poverty alleviation to develop sustainablyIn order to solve fundamentally the practical difficulty that one place has no way of supporting its inhabitants and ensure that the relocated households in the areas are targeted, relocatable, stable and developable, according to the requirements of the national "pilot for ecological relocation", combined with the poverty alleviation in Dongchuan District, 28 714 people in 8 021 households were relocated to the city for resettlement. The cultivated land left after the relocation has been returned to forests in accordance with the requirements of "return as required". Returning farmland to forests is to protect and improve the ecological environment. The sloping land that is likely to cause soil erosion is terminated from farming in a step-by-step manner. In accordance with the principle of planting trees in appropriate land, forestation was carried out in accordance with local conditions, and forest vegetation was restored. In addition, the four principles of organization and implementation were adhered to.

3.3.1Adhering to the principle of adapting to local conditions, concentrating and neighboring, planning comprehensively, highlighting key points, and advancing steadily. According to the area and distribution of sloping farmland, natural conditions, ecological status, socio-economic development status and walnut planting effectiveness of each township (street) in recent years, the task of returning farmland to forests was arranged in the village groups, major traffic areas and water source areas where walnut, pepper,etc. had achieved good quality and high yield, enthusiasm of masses was high and land was concentrated and contiguous.

3.3.2Adhering to the principle of balancing ecological, economic and social benefits. Under the premise of ensuring the realization of the goal, through scientific planning and rational layout, returning farmland to forests was combined with walnut cultivation, rural industrial structural adjustment and peasants’ getting rid of poverty and getting rich to ensure returnable, stable, still and able to get rich.

3.3.3Adhering to the principle of combining active guidance and farmers’ free will. The wishes of the masses were respected. Through guidance by policies, farmers have been made to truly realize that returning farmland to forest is an urgent need to improve survival and production conditions, is an inevitable choice for adjusting the planting structure and increasing economic income, and is in line with the fundamental interests of the peasants, thereby making returning farmland to forests a conscious action of farmers.

3.3.4Adhering to the principle of ensuring the quality of construction relying on scientific and technological progress. In accordance with the principle of adapting to local conditions, planting trees for specific land and paying attention to practical efficiency, practical planting techniques are promoted actively to increase the survival rate, preservation rate and management level of afforestation, and the training and guidance of farmland-returning farmers on planting techniques of walnut and pepper have been strengthened. The implementation of the project of returning farmland to forests will effectively avoid the abandonment of cultivated land, effectively use the surplus value of cultivated land, further increase the economic income of farmers after the relocation, consolidate the effectiveness of poverty alleviation, solve the worries of the relocated households, and let the relocated households devote their energies to the construction of new business and new homes. According to the actual situation of the townships (streets) involved in the relocation for poverty alleviation, the project of returning farmland to forests was organized and implemented, the coordinated development of the three major benefits of ecology, economy and society was promoted, the investment and development of characteristic superior industries was further increased and the ability of social capital to participating in the financing of the project of returning farmland to forests was enhanced, realizing the combination of returning farmland to forests and industrial development, effectively increasing forest vegetation, controlling soil erosion, improving the ecological environment, adjusting the rural industrial structure and assisting poverty alleviation.

4 Main achievements of ecological compensation-assisted poverty alleviation model after relocation

4.1 Basic effects of implementation of relocation project for poverty alleviationIn recent years, Dongchuan District has relocated 31 230 people in 8 818 households, including 18 136 people in 5 105 registered poor households and 13 094 people in 3 713 synchronously relocated households. Affected by the adjustment of regional planning of two districts in Kunming City and delayed arrangement of planned tasks in 2016 and 2017, the overall construction progress of the relocation project in Dongchuan District in 2016 and 2017 was seriously delayed. Dongchuan District undertook 77.6% of the relocation task of Kunming City. In the face of the status, Dongchuan District has taken action immediately, innovated boldly, taken multiple measures and pushed forward strongly to make the relocation work in Dongchuan District bounce back, presenting the following major highlights.

4.1.1Significantly increased urbanization rate. Combined with the actual situation, Dongchuan District has promoted the relocation as an important starting point for promotion urbanization. In the urban areas, two large settlements, namely, Qiga and Duimenshan have been set up. They cover an area of 24.2 ha and accommodate 22 771 people. The urbanization resettlement rate has reached 95.67%. The per capita land area is 10 m2(including infrastructure). Relocating urbanization has not only greatly reduced the cost of construction land but also fundamentally changed the production and living conditions of the poor and gradually turned the peasants into residents. The space where the poor lived originally has been released, the ecology has been gradually restored, and the intergenerational transmission of poverty has been blocked.

4.1.2Innovation of construction mode of settlement. In order to solve the problem of heavy work and time constraints in relocation work, Dongchuan District has innovated approach and adopted the design and construction general contract (EPC) model to promote the construction of the two large resettlement sites. Unified organization has been performed for design, and the optimal plan has been selected. In terms of procurement, the organization has been unified to reduce the process. In construction, organization has been unified to speed up the progress. Through integrating design, procurement and construction, a reasonable connection between the various stages of work has been achieved, the project costs have been minimized, and the construction period has been shortened.

4.1.3Optimization of planning and design of built-up area. Dongchuan District is a nine-magnitude earthquake-resistant area, and the complexity of geological conditions ranks first among residential projects, so that many technical measures have no basis for references. In order to make the project meet the requirements of earthquake resistance and the needs of ordinary people, based on the existing topography and geomorphology, the construction party optimized the design after repeatedly discussion and finally determined the design resistant to (9+1)-magnitude earthquake. The rate of shareholding s controlled at 17%, the design of the unit is compact and reasonable and the public service facilities are fully constructed. There are 50 high-rise buildings of (17+2), about 550 000 m2of resettlement housing construction project.

4.1.4Improved follow-up support measures. In order to achieve the goal of "willing to move out, able to stabilize, and able to get rich", the planning is coordinated. Follow-up assistance measures are cleared from the aspects of industry, employment, education, health, social security, transition management, elections, party building, land increase and decrease linking,etc. to help poor people develop industries, increase employment, and increase income. Simultaneously, more than 760 jobs have been developed at the resettlement sites and surrounding areas, and priority is given to the relocated people. The farmers’ markets, shops and other assets have been rationally utilized. And the proceeds are used to subsidize the relocated people.

4.2 Poverty alleviation effect of relocation assisted by ecological compensationEcological restoration has become the most realistic demand and the most fundamental development foundation of Dongchuan. But in Dongchuan, afforestation has encountered the most unsuitable conditions: thin soil layer and bare gravels. Most of the suitable forest land has become a desertification, rock desertification or mudslide area, which not only has a large annual evaporation but also encounters drought and water shortage in successive years[9]. However, Dongchuan District did not retreat in the face of such a natural foundation. Instead, through the joint efforts of the government and the people, the ecological environment has gradually improved, and various ecological projects have been carried out smoothly. In 2018, the new round of returning farmland to forests in the settlement households in Dongchuan District was carried out. The farmland with a slope greater than 25° was returned as it should, and the farmland land with a slope of 15°-25° was returned as it was returnable. The seven townships (street offices) involved in the relocation plan to return 1 276.14 ha of farmland to forest (including 282.33 ha in Tangdan Town, 452.85 ha in Yinmin Town, 318.32 ha in Tongdu Street, 38.00 ha in Awang Town and 184.64 ha in Hongtudi Town). In 2018, 374.31 ha of farmland was returned to forest (including 157.54 ha in Tongdu Street, 109.39 ha in Shekuai Township, 19.91 ha in Hongtudi Town and 87.47 ha in Yinmin Town), and the remaining task of returning farmland to forests is to be completed in 2019.

4.2.1Ecological compensation strongly promoting relocation. Dongchuan District involves a total of 3 771.53 ha of land for relocation. It has returned 2 425.80 ha of farmland to forests and plans to return 1 397.60 ha of farmland to forests. The masses have returned 27.8 ha of farmland to forests independently. It is necessary to transfer 1 029.67 ha at the bottom. After the relocation, it is planned to develop planting and aquaculture. At the same time, 39.53 ha of land that is not suitable for developing industries are returned to forests. The area of land transferred is 30.00 ha. A total of 26.80 ha of land have been used for developing planting and aquaculture. In the three years, the accumulative investment in ecological construction projects was 377.24 million yuan. Projects such as returning farmland to forests, ecological compensation for public welfare forests, ecological forest guards, and grassland ecological protection compensation have been implemented. The "three-year action" on forestry ecological construction has been implemented. Since 2012, a total of 16 400 ha of barren hills have been afforested, with average annual afforestation of 2 466.67 ha; a total of 13 600 ha of farmland has been returned to forests; and walnut base covering an area of 16 333.33 ha has been constructed. Since 2016, a total of 293 million yuan of ecological compensation funds have been redeemed, of which 227 million yuan has been subsidized for returning farmland to forests, 35.34 million yuan has been subsidized for public welfare forests, 23.98 million yuan has been subsidized for forest guards, and 5.92 million yuan has been subsidized for grassland ecological protection. The ecological compensation funds involved a total of 25 850 registered poor households with 83 417 people. The income of the registered poor households was increased by 137 million yuan, the household income of the registered poor households was increased by 5 302.67 yuan per household, and the per capita income was increased by 1 643.24 yuan. The third is to promote the ecological industry. An ecological industry of market leading enterprises, enterprises leading bases and base connecting farmers has been established. A total of 16 333.33 ha of walnuts and 1 333.33 ha of fresh fruit have been planted. Forest economy has been developed vigorously, and a total of 1 200.00 ha of medicinal herbs were planted. In 2018, the cash compensation for forestry ecology totaled up to 156.08 million yuan. Except for the monthly payment for forestry staff, a total of 108.61 million yuan of forestry ecological compensation funds has been disbursed to all townships (streets) as of 2018.

4.2.2Industry development increasing the income of poor households. For the 15 333.33 ha of walnuts, the quality improvement and efficiency improvement have been conducted year by year. Oil crops such as pepper have been developed vigorously. In addition, forest economy such as medicinal herbs, fungi and rearing have also been developed vigorously. While developing the forest economy, the cultivation of new forest management entities such as forest-related enterprises and professional cooperatives is increased effectively to let more forest-related enterprises participate in poverty alleviation and increase the income of poo households. Currently, there are four provincial forestry leading enterprises (Kunming Jingtian Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Kunming Linmao Technology Co., Ltd., Kunming Juxing Agriculture and Forestry Technology Development Co., Ltd. and Yunnan Evergreen Forest Planting Co., Ltd.), four forestry economy demonstration bases (Kunming Jingtian Traditional Chinese Medicine Co., Ltd., Kunming Xiangshuihe Agricultural Products Planting Professional Cooperative, Kunming Kaihuang Agricultural Development Technology Co., Ltd. and Dongchuan District Fir Dongbai Planting Professional Cooperative), and nine forestry-agriculture professional cooperatives (Dongchuan Fir Dongbai Planting Professional Cooperative, Kunming Xiangshuihe Agricultural Products Planting Professional Cooperative, Dongchuan Longhui Chinese Herbal Medicine Planting Professional Cooperative, Dongchuan Dongshan Oil Tea Planting Professional Cooperative,etc.).

4.3 Benefit survey of combination of ecology-oriented poverty alleviation and relocation in typical resettlement sitesTaking the resettlement site of Duimenshan as an example, the benefits of the combination of ecology-oriented poverty alleviation and relocation were surveyed. The resettlement site is located in Xianghe Community, Tongdu Street, with a total of 8 331 people in 2 041 households. It belongs to the central urban resettlement project in 2017. It adopts the design and construction general contract (EPC) model and started to be constructed on October 17, 2017. Currently, all involved farmers have been moved in. Total 50 relocated households were selected from the resettlement site to conduct household surveys, and the data on the ecological compensation income of the 50 households in 2018 were obtained (Table 1). As can be seen from the basic situation and income composition of the 50 typical households, the poverty alleviation effects on relocated farmers are mainly reflected in the following three aspects.

Table 1 Income of typical relocated households from ecological compensation in 2018

HouseholdcodeHouseholdpopulationHouseholdnetincomeyuanHouseholdpercapitanetincomeyuanNumberoflabortransferredafterrelocationAreaoflandreturnedfromfarmlandtoforest∥haNetincomefromreturningfarmlandtoforest∥yuanAreaofpublic-welfareforest∥haNetincomefrompublic-welfareforest∥yuanProportionofecologicalcompensationinhouseholdnetincome∥%01518892.363778.4711.689612672.07.2601089.072.8402213040.006520.0010.19711478.43.630544.515.5103518000.003600.0011.26729504.03.630544.555.8304121600.0021600.0010.18301372.86.050907.510.5605452050.0013012.5021.02407680.04.840726.016.1506548281.009656.2021.793313449.63.630544.528.9807436360.009090.0001.479711097.66.050907.533.0208525000.005000.0010.85766432.04.840726.028.6309352050.0017350.0001.13668524.81.210181.516.7310248281.0024140.5000.93186988.83.630544.515.6011316000.005333.3301.16748755.26.050907.560.3912632000.005333.3311.04197814.41.210181.524.991329000.004500.0000.40193014.46.050907.543.5814448281.0012070.2521.20709052.84.840726.020.2515224500.0012250.0001.12518438.46.050907.538.1516532520.006504.0020.71945395.26.050907.519.3817318303.786101.2600.48133609.63.630544.522.7018523393.664678.7311.04457833.61.210181.534.2619423530.005882.5001.337610032.07.2601089.047.2620322409.007469.6701.00357526.47.2601089.038.4521415000.003750.0010.65154886.49.6801452.042.2622345200.0015066.6700.27392054.44.840726.06.1523626000.004333.3311.19948995.27.2601089.038.7924325420.008473.3300.51583868.87.2601089.019.5025453200.0013300.0011.31589868.81.210181.518.8926567780.0013556.0010.94727104.04.840726.011.5527330800.0010266.6711.13158486.44.840726.029.9128229400.0014700.0000.58504387.23.630544.516.7729533240.006648.0021.23529264.04.840726.030.0530322800.007600.0010.75145635.26.050907.528.7031519400.003880.0010.93316998.46.050907.540.7532110000.0010000.0000.22781708.86.050907.526.1633211400.005700.0000.46983523.24.840726.037.2734415000.003750.0000.76675750.44.840726.043.1835426300.006575.0011.16748755.24.840726.036.0536118100.0018100.0000.0602451.26.050907.57.5137424100.006025.0010.71555366.41.210181.523.0238127080.0027080.0000.18561392.09.6801452.010.5039224300.0012150.0000.17411305.62.420363.06.8740520000.004000.0010.82696201.62.420363.032.8241532400.006480.0021.708812816.04.840726.041.8042416000.004000.0011.561611712.06.050907.578.8743222630.0011315.0001.05737929.63.630544.537.4544727100.003871.4311.27239542.44.840726.037.8945378550.0026183.3300.89606720.04.840726.09.4846325000.008333.3311.900814256.06.050907.560.6547621000.003500.0011.405410540.86.050907.554.5248315600.005200.0001.15078630.49.6801452.064.6349120600.0020600.0000.73095481.62.420363.028.3750462036.0015509.0021.557811683.23.630544.519.71Mean3.628059.809676.300.714.20007119.774.800747.831.67

4.3.1Farmers participating in the relocation have increased their income significantly. In 2018 after the relocation, the average per capita income of these 50 households was 9 676.30 yuan, which was significantly improved compared with the per capita net income of 6 340 yuan in 2017 before the relocation. The net increase rate was 53.62%. Combined with field research and analysis, the increase in per capita net income was mainly reflected in the increase in transfer income, as well as the increase in the price of odd jobs and the increase in employment opportunities brought by improved labor skills in the resettlement site with better economic conditions. Before relocation, the lives and property of the people were always threatened by landslides and mudslides. After the implementation of the project, the people’s lives and property have been secured, the people’s hearts have been stabilized, and they have more time and energy to invest in production and operation. After the relocation, the farmers have started a new life, the infrastructure conditions have been greatly improved, and basic facilities such as water, electricity and road have all been completed. The houses are neatly arranged with nice environment. The people’s education and health are guaranteed, and their quality of production and cultural life has been greatly improved, living a life of peace and contentment. The masses have established confidence in self-reliance and determined to get rid of poverty and become rich, thereby laying the foundation for poverty alleviation and prosperity.

4.3.2Labor transfer and labor skills have been improved. After the implementation of the relocation project, 0.7 people have been transferred from each household to employment. The surplus labor force has also achieved greater value in the process of relocation. After the relocation, due to the widening of the choice of work and the improvement of labor skills, most of the labor force has been transferred into new groups with higher incomes. Usually, most of the planned farmers lived in remoted mountainous areas, with extreme poverty and outdated concepts. They had low acceptance to new technologies for agricultural production and new industries. Therefore, labor output was mostly based on physical output. In order to adapt to the new lifestyle after the relocation, update the labor concepts of the masses, improve the overall cultural quality and truly achieve poverty alleviation, labor skills training is required. Free vocational training, job recommendation and other services are provided to relocated farmers. Enterprises have also been contacted actively to develop jobs, expand employment channels and effectively help relocated farmers to be employed and change their jobs. Most of the households have 1-2 people going out to work. The net income of migrant workers is 1 500-2 000 yuan/month per person to guarantee their lives. As the living environment changes, the living habits and ideological concepts of the masses have also undergone significant changes after the relocation. The awareness of science and technology has increased, the spirit has been renewed, the science and cultural education has been consciously accepted, the scientific and technological knowledge has been actively mastered, the seeking and desire to work hard to get rich is growing stronger, and a good atmosphere of being polite, pursuing science and emphasizing education has been gradually formed among the relocated people.

4.3.3Ecological compensation income accounts for a large proportion of per capita net income. Because most of the relocated farmers have been resettled in the city and their farmland has been basically involved in ecological projects such as returning farmland to forests and public welfare forests, the income from ecological compensation accounts for a large proportion of per capita net income. Among the 50 households surveyed above, there were 20 households in which the income from ecological compensation accounts for 0%-25% of the per capita net income; there were 23 households in which the income from ecological compensation accounts for 25%-50% of the per capita net income, there were five households in which the income from ecological compensation accounts for 50%-75% of the per capita net income; and in the rest households, the income from ecological compensation accounts for 75%-100% of the per capita net income (Fig.1). In terms of the average of the 50 households, income from ecological compensation accounted for 31.67% of per capita net income. It indicates that ecological compensation system is very important for the per capita net income of farmers participating in the relocation project. Implementing the projects of returning farmland to forests and natural forests protection will contribute to maintaining the ecological environment of the region, thereby reducing soil erosion, further increasing the coverage of vegetation and forests and enhancing the ability to resist natural disasters. In general, in recent years, based on the reality of extreme poverty, Dongchuan District has grasped the major contradictions and the main aspects of the major contradictions and formulated scientific poverty alleviation strategies with unprecedented determination and confidence to win. Through the means of relocation and ecology-oriented poverty alleviation, Dongchuan District, a combination of "old revolutionary area, ecologically vulnerable area, geological hazard area and old industrial area", has achieved remarkable poverty alleviation results. By 2018, the incidence of poverty in the whole region dropped to 1.09%, suggesting that Dongchuan District had been lifted successfully out of poverty and achieved the goal of winning the fight against poverty.

Fig.1 Distribution of proportion of ecological compensation in per capita net income of relocated households

5 Successful experiences in combination of ecology-oriented poverty alleviation and relocation

5.1 Organic combination of relocation and ecology-oriented poverty alleviationThe planning of relocation needs to adapt to the mobility of immigrants. On the basis of urban and rural planning, a relocation mechanism is established and the compensation for ecological assets of immigrants is increased. Under the policy framework of relocation, immigrants receive financial supports from the government in land, housing, community infrastructure construction and employment. These supports are based on poverty alleviation rather than ecological compensation. The original land, homesteads and forest of the immigrants have been mostly transformed into ecological use to provide ecological services. Support for immigration development should shift from poverty alleviation to ecological compensation. Ecological compensation is provided based on the calculation of the value of ecological services. Ecological compensation can increase the economic assets of immigrants, which will help them better integrate into the production and life of the city after relocation. Ecological compensation can cover all immigrants, while poverty alleviation should only target poor households in immigrants. Through ecological compensation, the original assets of the immigrants are revitalized. This has a positive effect on their stable development after relocation.

5.2 Choice of resettlement mode according to local conditionsThe overall relocation method is combined with other relocation methods. The use of scattered relocation is reduced. The resettlement mode that suits Dongchuan’s own situation is chosen. There are two types of area of origin. One is an area that cannot be used for any production or life at all, such as reservoir inundation area or high risk area of geological hazards. The population needs to be completely relocated, and these places need to take measures for overall relocation. The other is an area that has undergone years of ecological protection and ecological restoration. Such areas are not completely unsuitable for human habitation. The population pressure in some of such areas is too high, resulting in resource constraints and degradation of ecological environment. It is therefore necessary to migrant some of the population to alleviate population pressure. Or for policy reasons, some of these areas need to be relocated, such as key area of ecological protection. Transportation in some of these areas is inconvenient, and the cost of providing public services is too high. In such areas, it is not necessary to relocate the entire population, and it is even more unnecessary to relocate everyone at the same time. If the overall relocation method is adopted, it will not only cause waste of relocation funds but also cause relocated residents to fall into poverty again in the new environment due to lack of employment opportunities. The role of existing villages and towns should be maximized, especially for immigrants entering cities. In the process of urbanization of immigrants, it is necessary to take social policy as the guide and actively promote the development of urban and rural integration. The poverty alleviation and social security for immigrants are now based on immigrant villages. It is difficult for immigrants who leave the immigrant villages or who do not have a household registration in the immigrant villages to get help from poverty alleviation and social security. To solve the problem that the existing immigration policy does not adapt to the mobility of immigrants, it is necessary to take into account the social security and industrial development support of immigrants, and establish a social security system that integrates urban and rural areas and different areas. In particular, considering the poor employment stability of immigrants and the frequent changes in their work, it is more needed to establish a social security system that covers immigrants with strong mobility.

5.3 Adopting a more flexible relocation policyFor those poor people who have difficulty increasing their income through going out to work, projects of ecological protection and ecological construction will be implemented, and agricultural employment opportunities will be increased through land transfer to increase their income. For example, many poor people over the age of 50 are difficult to find employment in non-agricultural sectors after relocation, but hey can participate in ecological protection and ecological construction in their hometowns or engage in agricultural production. Flexible relocation policies can provide different options for different farmers. In general, the poverty alleviation measure of relocation needs to be accurate to households, rather than villages. Different measures are taken based on the conditions of different households. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, it is necessary to actively explore new relocation modes to make relocation better serve the overall situation of national poverty alleviation work.

6 Implication and reference from the combination of ecology-oriented poverty alleviation and relocation

Although Dongchuan District has achieved great results in implementing the project to promote poverty alleviation in different places, many difficulties have been encountered in the implementation process. Through unremitting efforts, the problems have been solved. The practice of combing the ecology-oriented poverty alleviation and relocation is Dongchuan District shows that ecological compensation is an important part of the income of poverty-stricken people in ecologically vulnerable areas. It is an effective way to ensure that the poor people can continue to get rid of poverty and become rich and prosperous. The combination of ecology-oriented poverty alleviation and relocation adopted in Dongchuan District can effectively promote vegetation restoration and soil and water conservation in ecologically vulnerable areas and promote urbanization and poverty-stricken farmers to escape poverty, enabling the poor people to transform from the situation that "one place has no way of supporting its inhabitants" to poverty alleviation, solving the problem of extreme poverty, guaranteeing the goal of realizing "clear water and green hills" in Dongchuan District and innovating the model of relocation mode for poverty alleviation, which is a vivid practice of winning the fight against poverty in the new era.

6.1 The gap in relocation funds is large, and the funds are raised through various partiesThe geological conditions of Dongchuan District are special. Degradation of regional ecological functions has led to frequent occurrence of various geological disasters such as landslides and mudslides. In order to completely solve the problem of the safety of life and property of the people living in the hidden areas of geological disasters, Dongchuan District has currently constructed 13 centralized resettlement sites for poverty alleviation. The pre-relocation work, civil air-defense construction fee and land cost of each resettlement site is borne by the county, requiring about 201.35 million yuan. The funds were difficult to be raised, but through the efforts of many parties, it has been in place, ensuring the smooth implementation of the project.

6.2 The task is heavy and the construction period is tight, so strong measures are taken to ensure the completion of the project within the warranty periodThe task of relocation for poverty alleviation in the Dongchuan District has been greatly adjusted. Since the start of the project in March 2016, a total of 4 474 people from registered poor households had been lifted out of poverty till 2016. In January, August and October of 2017, the provincial and municipal governments made three large-scale adjustments to the relocation plan (2016-2017) of Dongchuan District. Finally, in October 2017, it was clear that the relocation task in 2016, 2017 and 2018 was 6 243, 5 465 and 5 593 people, respectively. On July 4, 2018, it was clear that the second batch of relocation and reconstruction mission in the Dongchuan District in 2018 was 811 people. Thus, the task index of the relocation and reconstruction of Dongchuan District was finally determined as 18 112 people. Dongchuan District’s relocation responds to the central government’s requirements for urbanization. The rate of urbanization of relocation reached 95.7%. The two large-scale resettlement sites of Duimenshan and Qiga in the urban area are constructed using the EPC general contract model in the form of 17-floor high-rise residential houses, equipped with supporting facilities such as schools, health centers, home care centers and farmers’ markets. Dongchuan District has strictly followed the provincial and municipal time nodes (the relocation targets of the 2016 and 2017 were all relocated before the end of September 2018, and the registered relocation targets of the whole district were relocated before the end of the December 2018), taken strong measures, organized a strong construction team, formulated a work plan for each of the resettlement sites, clarified the responsibility of each people and accelerated the construction of the project to ensure that the resettlement houses and supporting facilities were fully completed on time. The 1 467 sets of houses for accommodating 5 465 people were fully completed on time, and the relocation task of 2018 was fully competed before December 30 of the year.

6.3 The masses are difficult to be relocated, so publicity is strengthened to mobilize farmersRelocation is not a simple spatial displacement of the population, but a relocation of a small society. The relocated people have concerns about the integration to new environment, cultural practices, changes in production methods and adaptability. Since the start of the relocation work, the relocated people reflected the problems of relocation policies, housing construction, follow-up assistance measures and some people’s self-raised funds. By further increasing publicity, trough TV publicity, village group broadcasting, SMS push, WeChat public number, issuing booklets about poverty alleviation policies and promoting the poverty alleviation and relocation policies to households, specific measures have been determined from the aspects of industry, employment, education, health, social security, transition management, elections, party building, land increase and decease linking and so on. The townships (residential districts) developed the moving plan and refined the handling methods for furniture, food, poultry,etc. of the masses. For the inability to transfer, the government unified the arrangement of vehicles for the transfer. The moving time schedule was formulated to organize the relocation in orderly manner. The officials had launched the masses, organized the masses, persuaded the masses, and improved the initiative of the masses to understand and relocate, thus creating a strong atmosphere for the promotion of poverty alleviation in the whole region. After the resettlement sites reached the conditions of occupancy, the people were organized and relocated in time, ensuring that all the people moved in before the end of December 2018.

6.4 Improving ecological compensation policies and strengthening positive interaction between ecology-oriented poverty alleviation and relocationFirst, in accordance with the provisions of relevant documents, in accordance with the requirements of intensive, large-scale and industrial development, social capital can be introduced to participate in a new round of returning farmland to forests and grassland projects. The policy subsidy funds can be directly cashed to various implementing entities such as enterprises, professional cooperatives, large households and farmers according to the proportion agreed in the contract or agreement, and then the various implementing entities will drive the masses to participate, thereby promoting the masses to increase their income. Second, the employment of the afforestation project is not fixed. Most of the workers are temporary workers and have strong mobility, making it difficult for poor households to increase their income from going out to work. The district-level barren mountain afforestation gap has reached 15.50 million yuan (including 3 million yuan in 2017 and 12.50 million yuan in 2018), about 30%-40% of which is to be issued to afforestation laborers. To a certain extent, this has seriously affected the income of the poor. By increasing the number of fixed rangers, the income of farmers participating in afforestation will be guaranteed.

6.5 Continuing to strengthen the "deep processing" of the ecological compensation system and further promoting the increase in income of relocated farmers

6.5.1Vigorously developing the forestry industry. In accordance with the requirements of "ecology becoming beautiful, and masses getting rich", forestry industries such as economic forests and economic fruits can be developed vigorously. The quality and yield of the walnut forest need to be improved. Pepper, as well as oil olive, mulberry trees andFructusphyllanthican be introduced. Funds can be provided to promote the development of forestry.

6.5.2Vigorously developing the forest economy. Economic cultivation of medicinal herbs (particular alpine medicinal herbs with good efficacy good quality and high price), flowers and fungi can be developed vigorously. Funds can be provided to promote forestry development.

6.5.3Vigorously developing new farmers’ cooperative organizations and demonstration bases. Without changing the use and ecological functions of forest land, the contractors in the whole village can be encouraged to lease their respective contracted forest land management rights to large professional households, forestry-agriculture professional cooperatives and forestry leasing enterprises, forming the economic chain of "company (cooperative)+base+farmer" and developing to intensification, scale, standardization and industrialization. The development of leading enterprise clusters should be promoted to strongly drive farmers to increase their income.