Studies of land use policies are commonly based on the environmental impacts or on people’s direct
responses to the policies. However, research on the impact of policy implementation on people’s livelihood
and activities and the subsequent economic development of an area is incomplete. We selected
Yanchang County as an example to track land use changes and their effects on the livelihood of the
local population following the implementation of a new land use policy known as the Grain for Green
Project (GGP). The data were collected from statistical yearbooks, questionnaire surveys, and satellite
imagery from 1990, 2000, and 2008. We found that dramatic land use changes have occurred in Yanchang
County. The vegetation coverage improved significantly from 1990 to 2008, as the grassland and
forest areas increased from 44.1% to 60.1% and from 17.7% to 18.4% of the total land area, respectively. The
cultivated land declined from 37.3% to 20.7%. With the agricultural area and grain production decreasing
from 64
× 103tons to slightly over 20 × 103tons per year, an increasing number of local people sought
employment in towns and cities. The non-farm income increased, and the local income structure shifted.
Migrant and orchard worker income contributed the most to the balance of the total household income.
We narrowed our focus to discuss how the GGP accelerated the changes in the participants’ lifestyles and
what might be done to sustain the long-term effects of the GGP. While the GGP has brought about considerable
environmental benefits, a comprehensive study of environmental–social systems is still needed
to achieve a more efficient land use policy. The research results presented in this paper demonstrate that
changes in land use and people’s activities were triggered by policy changes. We aim to pave the way for
studies on the “policy-land-use-social development” chain and to provide references for new policies.
© 2013 Elsev