How should soil erosion be prevented and controlled in the future?

Interpreter: Liu Zhen, Director General of the Department of Soil and Water Conservation of the Ministry of Water Resources. Interviewer: Reporter Zhao Yongping

The State Council recently officially approved the National Soil and Water Conservation Plan (2015—2030). This is China's first national-level soil and water conservation plan, an important milestone in soil erosion prevention and control, and an important basis for soil and water conservation work in the period ahead.

Soil erosion affects one third of the country's land area, with large-scale development and construction as the main cause

What is the national soil erosion situation?

Liu Zhen, Director General of the Department of Soil and Water Conservation of the Ministry of Water Resources, said that according to the results of the First National Census for Water, China's soil erosion area is 2,949,100 square kilometers, accounting for 30.72% of the total land area. It can be said that we are one of the countries with the most severe soil erosion in the world.

Data show that due to soil erosion, the country loses an average of 1 million mu of cultivated land each year. In the severe areas of the Loess Plateau, more than 1 cm of topsoil is lost each year; the black soil of Northeast China is becoming thinner, and in some places the black soil layer has been almost completely lost. Severe soil erosion threatens national ecological security, flood control security and food security.

Why issue a national-level plan?

At present, more than 70,000 small watersheds across the country have been comprehensively treated, and more than 800,000 square kilometers have been placed under closure and protection. Liu Zhen said that soil erosion is a major current ecological and environmental problem, and large-scale development and construction is the main cause of human-induced soil erosion. Preventing and controlling soil erosion involves work in all localities and by all departments in every respect, requires overall deployment, regional prevention and control, and rational layout, and urgently needs a unified plan formulated at the national level. The Ministry of Water Resources, together with relevant departments, spent 4 years and combined a “top-down” and “bottom-up” approach to complete this national-level National Soil and Water Conservation Plan.

Implement comprehensive preventive protection and strictly control human-induced soil erosion at the source

What tough measures will there be in the future?

Liu Zhen introduced that the plan determines that prevention shall be the main approach and protection shall be given priority, and comprehensive preventive protection shall be implemented on all land. Key prevention shall be implemented in river source areas, important water source areas, and areas where water erosion and wind erosion alternate; production and construction projects and activities shall be strictly controlled; and behavior such as overgrazing, disorderly mining, deforestation for cultivation and grassland reclamation shall be prohibited, so as to strictly control human-induced soil erosion and ecological damage at the source.

In soil erosion areas, comprehensive treatment shall be carried out according to local conditions. In important water source areas, clean small watershed construction shall be promoted, and special comprehensive treatment shall be carried out in areas with concentrated sloping cultivated land and areas with dense erosion gullies.

The plan sets clear treatment targets: by 2020, an additional 320,000 square kilometers of soil erosion treatment area nationwide, with an average annual reduction in soil loss of 800 million tons; by 2030, a comprehensive soil erosion prevention and control system compatible with economic and social development shall be established, with an additional 940,000 square kilometers of soil erosion treatment area and an average annual reduction in soil loss of 1.5 billion tons.

How will follow-up supervision be carried out?

Liu Zhen introduced that the plan clearly provides for establishing a series of systems including supervision and management of production and construction projects and monitoring and evaluation, so as to curb additional human-induced soil erosion. At the same time, for soil erosion caused by production and construction projects, full coverage of dynamic monitoring shall be achieved, and an information service system oriented to the public shall be established. This means that in the future, whoever touches the “red line” of soil and water conservation ecology will be strictly held accountable.

23 key prevention areas and 17 key treatment areas, emphasizing natural restoration and implementing treatment by category

The plan divides 23 national-level key prevention areas and 17 key treatment areas, emphasizes natural restoration, and implements soil and water conservation treatment projects by category.

Liu Zhen introduced that the key prevention areas are divided into three categories. Among them, important river source areas involve 32 rivers including the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, and focus on closure and protection and ecological restoration, supplemented by comprehensive treatment, to build ecological barriers; important water source areas include 87 water sources such as the Danjiangkou Reservoir Area and Miyun Reservoir, and through comprehensive treatment measures ensure water quality safety at the source; areas where water erosion and wind erosion alternate will implement large-scale closure and prohibition treatment to reduce wind and sand hazards and safeguard regional agricultural and livestock production.

The plan determines that in key treatment areas, in the near term, comprehensive small watershed treatment of 76,400 square kilometers shall be implemented; through converting sloping cultivated land to terraces, 1.6 million hectares shall be treated; in areas with relatively severe soil erosion such as the black soil region of Northeast China, the Loess Plateau of Northwest China, and the karst region of Southwest China, 46,200 erosion gullies shall be comprehensively treated to reduce sediment entering rivers; and a number of demonstration areas with promotional and driving effects shall also be built across the country to improve treatment levels and benefits.