Evolutionary logic and effect inspection of China's cultivated land protection policies from the perspective of ecological civilization.

Cultivated land is the most precious resource in China, the lifeblood of food production, and the foundation of the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. Cultivated land protection policies play a vital role in ensuring national food security and promoting the sustainable and healthy development of agriculture. Based on the 22 'No. 1 central documents' and the relevant policy texts, this paper systematically explored the change process, evolution logic, and tool effectiveness of cultivated land protection policies from the perspective of ecological civilization from 2003 to 2024, utilizing grounded theory and policy tools. Through grounded theory analysis, it was found that the pedigree of cultivated land protection policy tools could be categorized into control-oriented policy tools, regulatory policy tools, guiding policy tools, and supervisory policy tools. The analysis of the effectiveness of policy tools showed that the effects of cultivated land protection policy tools achieved remarkable results, leading to the initial establishment of a 'trinity' cultivated land use system. However, the proportionate structure of policy tools was unreasonable, and their side effects needed improvement. Additionally, policy forms lacked effective cohesion, with a prominent separation of protection objectives. While regulatory policy tools continued to be improved, there was a need for social forces to innovate and guide the situation. This research deconstructed the governance paths and mechanisms of the cultivated land protection policy system through the pedigree division of policy tools and effectiveness analysis, revealing the profound changes in the internal and external environments of the cultivated land protection policy objectives, the growth and decline of the effectiveness of the continuous use of policy tools, and the hidden contradictions and side effects present in some policy forms. Based on the concept of ecological civilization, the following insights are offered: improve the legal system of cultivated land protection and strengthen the governance foundation of policy tools; optimize the structure of policy tools and systematically enhance their integration; develop a diversified participation and investment mechanism and innovate financial support policies; and harness the social and ecological value potential of cultivated land and balance the rights and interests of cultivated land protection and utilization subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]