Institutional transition and implementation path for cultivated land protection in highly urbanized regions: A case study of Shenzhen, China

Cultivated land is a key resource and environmental factor for human survival and development, and internationally, special protection is generally imposed on cultivated land. China conducts the most stringent cultivated land protection system worldwide, but the restraint mechanism of rigid control with pure administration cannot change the continuous decreasing trend in the acreage and quality of cultivated land. Shenzhen, which is the city with the fastest economic growth in China and a highly urbanized area with a non-agricultural population, has very serious issues regarding cultivated land encroachment, spatially fragmented distribution, and land abandonment, which has rendered cultivated land protection extremely difficult. In this article, the present cultivated land protection situation in China and other countries is summarized, and the acreage change, spatial distribution, and land abandonment of cultivated land in Shenzhen are summarized and analyzed. Then, we propose an institutional framework for the transition of cultivated land protection in Shenzhen, which includes spatial optimization, management innovation, and safeguard systems. The implementation path to the transition of cultivated land protection includes a basic farmland reformation project, spatial usage control and zoning of cultivated land, tender and bid management for cultivated land leasing, and management innovation for facility agricultural land. The pros and cons of how non-agricultural populations impact cultivated land protection and the compound benefits, including the political, ecological, cultural, and technical aspects, of cultivated land protection in highly urbanized areas are discussed. This article notes the potential risks in management innovation in facility agricultural land. The proposed institutional framework for the transition of cultivated land protection and its implementation paths provide a reference for cultivated land protection and utilization in highly urbanized areas and suburbs with a heavy contradiction between economic growth and cultivated land protection in developing countries.