Integrating food, environment, and land: A systematic policy mapping of China’s food security framework

Summary

This systematic policy mapping review documents China's evolution toward integrated food security governance that balances production with environmental sustainability from 1971 to 2025. The analysis reveals a progressive embedding of environmental protection (water, soil, biodiversity conservation) and land-use optimization into food security policy, facilitated by expanded cross-sectoral coordination among policy actors. The findings suggest China's transition toward holistic food systems governance that reconciles production and environmental goals, with potential relevance for other countries pursuing similar integrated policy frameworks.

Regional applicability

This study examines China's national food security policy framework and is not directly applicable to United Kingdom policy contexts, which operate within different institutional, geographical, and climatic conditions. However, the systematic approach to policy mapping and the conceptual framework for integrating food security with environmental protection and land-use management may offer methodological and strategic insights relevant to UK food security and land-use policy integration efforts.

Key measures

Policy measures and governance frameworks extracted from 1971 to 2025; integration patterns of food security with environmental protection and land-use management; spatial optimization and cross-sectoral coordination mechanisms

Outcomes reported

The review analyzes the evolution of China's food security policy framework from 1971 to 2025, documenting how environmental protection and land-use management have been systematically integrated into governance structures. It identifies key policy transitions toward sustainable food systems, including the rise of grassland agriculture, embedding of environmental priorities (water, soil, biodiversity), and spatial optimization principles.

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