In China 10 years have passed since the national project of Ecological Migration started officially in 2001. Ecological Migration as an Environmental Policy is based on 2 sets of regulations: One is the Program for Rural Development in China (2001-2010), and the other is the Conversion of Cropland to Forest Regulations. According to these regulations, the targets for Ecological Migration Policy are areas that are extremely poor because of the paucity of the natural environment, and very fragile lands where human habitation would make the land condition worse. Also included are designated areas such as natural or cultural heritage sites. In actuality, a wide diversity of cases have been implemented. However, no research has clarified these diversities. Now, as of 2010, some administrators have recognized that these projects have already ended. With the termination of these policies, it is all the more important to do after-surveys and assessments. Towards that end, in this article the authors, based on their own field work and a literature survey of typical case studies, point out the challenges of policy and research on ecological migration in China.
