Social Risk Assessment About Rural Land Integrated Consolidation

Rural land integrated consolidation is of great importance to dynamic equilibrium of total arable land, sustainable utilization of land resources as well as food safety in China. For the moment, however, farmers in some regions, whose rights and interests are jeopardized in the process of planning and implementation, object to it, trigger conflicts and social risks. The 18th CPC National Congress suggests that any major project needs to be evaluated in terms of social risks. So it has become research focus in related fields to evaluate and evade social risks brought by consolidation for the sake of effective protection for farmers’ rights and interests as well as smooth development of consolidation.The study of social risk assessment about rural land integrated consolidation is now still at a stage of exploration and trial, lacking relevant theoretical and practical guidance. Thus this research constructed a method system for social risk assessment systematically, which has a great theoretical and practical significance for the development of rural land integrated consolidation.This research, using domestic and overseas research findings for reference and in light of the related theories, specified the mechanism of social risks. In respects of its contents and features. It also constructed an index system for social risk assessment on the basis of social risk identification and built a mode by using the objective and subjective synthetic approach as well as fuzzy comprehensive evaluation. At the final part, an instance analysis of fertile farmland of the Ten-Thousand-Hectare Fertile Land Development Project in Jiangning District was introduced. Following conclusions could be drawn:(l)As the new urbanization strategy is put forward, rural land integrated consolidation will play a more important role in the balance between urban and rural development. The relative social risks become increasingly prominent and focus people’s attention. As a research hotpot, the social risk assessment of rural land integrated consolidation will enrich those existing evaluation studies of other major projects.(2)The social risks of rural land integrated consolidation have unique mechanisms involving interest demands, appeal channels, group behavior and collective extreme actions from anti-consolidation masses as well as outside trigger factors and social risk eruptions. By the method of social risk identification, all the factors can be categorized into the fields of environment, system, economy and society(narrow sense).(3) Using objective and subjective synthetic approach combined with the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, this research confirmed the weight of social risk factors and a case study of the social risks about the Ten-Thousand-Hectare Fertile Land Development Project in Jiangning District, drawing the conclusion that the overall social risk in project areas were between the third-class "middle risk" and "fourth-class low risk", being closer to the former. The empirical findings show that this evaluation method system has practical value in evaluating the social risks of rural land integrated consolidation and give a scientific all-round evaluation for social risks previously, which provides a references for relevant project.(4)In order to evade social risks as well as adjust and optimize related system and policies, this research held that four aspects including perfecting targets of consolidation, improving public participation mechanism, strengthening project supervision, assessing risks scientifically should be improved to encourage the sound and effective development of rural land integrated consolidation.