对贫困与土地退化关系主流观点的反思

Reflection on Mainstream Viewpoints of the Interactions between Poverty and Land Degradation

首先审视了关于"贫困导致土地退化"的主流观点,通过对其理论基石——环境库兹涅茨曲线(EKC)的反思,对相关的一些假设提出了质疑,认为EKC有其特定的应用前提和固有缺陷,主流观点夸大了两者的联系,更多源自地方层面的实证研究使其适用性受到局限。其次,从贫困概念的界定、财富增长与土地退化、人口增长与土地退化以及穷人的话语权等方面对贫困与土地退化之间的关系进行了研究。最后,研究表明KFC存在诸多局限,经济层面的贫困仅仅是导致土地退化的诸多因素之一,富人在经济发展中同样加剧了土地退化,但由于穷人话语权的严重缺失,因此主流观点可能虚拟了贫困与土地退化的循环圈,土地制度、国际贸易与分工以及国内相关法律与政策等在该过程中起到了至关重要的作用。

This paper examines the mainstream viewpoint that poverty leads to land degradation, through reflection on the theoretical foundation of the Environmental Kuznets＇ Curve （EKC）. Some of its assumptions are questioned, and we suggest that EKC has inherent flaws and limited application, and that the mainstream viewpoint tends to exaggerate the relationship between poverty and environmental degradation. Since the EKC is based on local-level empirical research, the applicability is limited. We also research the relationship between poverty and land degradation based on definitions of poverty; the relationship between wealth, population growth and land degradation; poor people＇s right to speech; and evidence from China. Research shows that the EKC concept has many limitations. In fact, even after the curve＇ s peak, in the absence of effective interventions, damage to the environment and land degradation will not automatically make a turn for the better. Economic poverty is merely one of many factors which cause land degradation, while a lack of rights, institutions, cultural awareness, and technology may also be responsible for land degradation. Wealth also exacerbates land degradation through economic development, and thus should bear more of the social responsibility for protection of the environment and land resources. The right to speech of the poor is seriously lacking, and an irrational land system, international trade, and division of labor, as well as relevant domestic laws and policies, lead some to imagine a feedback cycle between poverty and land degradation. Poverty is not the leading cause of China＇ s land degradation, with factors such as natural conditions, institutional arrangements, and flaws in land ownership arrangements as well as market and policy failures having more explanatory power. Economic development reaching the EKC inflection point is a necessary but not sufficient condition for improved management of environmental and land resources. Protection of these resources has to rely on state laws and policies for effective regulation, coupled with economic, administrative, technical and other methods. Due to the lack of more detailed data, this paper only presents preliminary thinking on the relationship between economic growth and land degradation in China, which is extremely complex, and provides a foundation for the next stage of analysis. This study combines two major problems of poverty and environment that China is facing, and discusses multiple dimensions of the issues. As China confronts its resource limitations, it is very important for the Chinese government to adopt the appropriate actions for implementation of sustainable development.