China, People's Republic of: Guangdong Rural Green Development Evaluation Indicators and Policy Integration Study

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural policy, institutional and capacity development - Rural water policy, institutional and capacity development

Guangdong is a major economic province in the country, and its total gross domestic product has ranked first in the country for 33 consecutive years since 1989. Being a forerunner in terms of economic development, Guangdong has suffered from environmental degradation and ecological imbalance due to high energy consumption and high emissions. Rapid industrialization and urbanization have also caused structural imbalances in Guangdong's economic and social development. Rural areas have borne the brunt of rapid urban industrialization and face greater urbanrural differences. Guangdong's rural industrial structure is characterized by low efficiency and has experienced serious labor losses due to migration to urban areas. There is an urgent need for the province to accelerate technological innovation and to promote green agriculture to achieve growth in rural industries, ecological livability, improved rural customs, effective governance, and prosperous lives of citizens. The three key challenges identified to promote Guangdong's rural green development are: (i) lack of evaluation indicators system for rural green development, (ii) inconsistency in some policies and regulations issued by government agencies at different levels, and (iii) a lack of green financing for rural development.

Guangdong has issued a series of fiscal, financial, and technological innovation policies to support rural revitalization and green development. However, fragmentation and inadequate coordination, as well as the lack of in-depth, modern research systems to support evidence-based decision-making constrains Guangdong's aim of having a high-quality rural green development evaluation system. There is lack of systematic research on the mode and path of how green development leads to rural revitalization, especially the lack of policy-oriented definitions and evaluation standards leading to high-quality green development in rural areas. The problem of access to financing of rural green projects is due to the lack of financing policy guidelines for financial institutions, unbalanced resource allocation, and inadequate financing models to support rural green development.

To this end, the TA aims to integrate the concept of green development into the rural vitalization strategy. The TA will help to establish a national rural high-quality green development demonstration zone through research in Guangdong province and propose an innovative model and path of coordinated green development in the developed areas of the Pearl River Delta, and less developed areas in the east, west, and north of Guangdong. The latter areas will be selected to carry-out research on mechanisms to determine evaluation standards, indicators, and methods for rural high-quality green development. The TA will identify key constraints and issues of rural green development in the rural vitalization. It is aligned with four of operational priorities (OP) of ADB's Strategy 2030.

Rural vitalization strategy mainstreamed in rural areas of Guangdong Province (National Strategic Plan for Rural Vitalization

Evaluation indicators and policy integration for rural green development improved

Capacity for rural green development strengthened

Evaluation system and indicators for green development proposed

Policy advice for rural green development finalized