China's soil erosion area accounts for 30% of its landmass, with one million mu of farmland lost every year

The first national-level soil and water conservation plan has been approved. Recently, the State Council issued the "Reply on the National Soil and Water Conservation Plan (2015-2030)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Reply"), in principle agreeing to the "National Soil and Water Conservation Plan (2015-2030)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). This is China's first national-level soil and water conservation plan.

It is understood that the "Plan" is an important milestone in soil erosion prevention and control, and serves as a development blueprint and important basis for China's soil and water conservation work in the coming period. The "Plan" requires that by 2020, the country will add 320,000 sq km of newly treated soil erosion area, with an average annual reduction of soil loss of 800 million tons.

A reporter from National Business Daily has learned that as one of the countries with the most severe soil erosion in the world, the lack of a national-level plan in the field of soil and water conservation has long been a hot topic in the industry. In the coming period, China's soil and water conservation may enter a new era.

Soil erosion area accounts for 30% of the landmass

Soil erosion causes enormous damage to farmland, ecology and more, and has become an issue that cannot be ignored.

Liu Zhen, Director of the Department of Soil and Water Conservation of the Ministry of Water Resources, said that the First National Water Census showed that China's soil erosion area is 2,949,100 sq km, 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 shows that due to soil erosion, the country loses an average of 1 million mu of farmland each year. In the severely affected 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 completely eroded away. Among these, the First National Water Census conducted by the Ministry of Water Resources from 2010 to 2012 showed that the number of erosion gullies in the Northeast black soil region has reached 295,663.

Liu Zhen said that soil erosion is a major ecological and environmental problem at present, and large-scale development and construction is the main cause of man-made soil erosion.

Ma Jun, Director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told a reporter from National Business Daily that overall, China's soil erosion problem is very prominent, and the most important factor is related to severe vegetation destruction. Especially in some mountainous areas, once vegetation is destroyed, soil erosion becomes very severe.

In fact, as early as the beginning of 2009, E Jingping, Vice Minister of Water Resources, publicly stated that China loses about 1 million mu of farmland each year due to soil erosion. During the "10th Five-Year Plan" period, more than 15,000 sq km of new soil erosion area was added each year due to production and construction activities, with an increase in soil erosion of more than 300 million tons.

With the soil erosion problem being prominent and the situation for soil and water conservation being urgent, Liu Zhen introduced that the Ministry of Water Resources, together with relevant departments, over 4 years, combining "top-down" and "bottom-up" approaches, completed the compilation of this national-level "National Soil and Water Conservation Plan."

The "Plan" clearly defines the governance goals: by 2020, a comprehensive soil erosion prevention and control system will be basically established, with 320,000 sq km of newly treated soil erosion area nationwide, and an average annual reduction of soil loss of 800 million tons; by 2030, a comprehensive soil erosion prevention and control system will be established, with 940,000 sq km of newly treated soil erosion area nationwide, and an average annual reduction of soil loss of 1.5 billion tons.

Divided into 23 prevention zones and 17 governance zones

The "Plan" requires that, based on the national soil and water conservation zoning, prevention and protection shall be comprehensively implemented, with emphasis on strengthening soil erosion prevention in river source areas, important water source areas, and water-wind erosion interlaced zones, giving full play to natural restoration; comprehensive governance shall be carried out with small watersheds as units, strengthening soil erosion governance in key areas, sloping farmland and erosion gullies.

It is understood that the "Plan" divides 23 national-level key prevention zones and 17 key governance zones. The key prevention zones are divided into three categories. Among them, important river source areas involve 32 rivers including the Yangtze River and the Yellow River; important water source areas include 87 water sources such as the Danjiangkou Reservoir Area and Miyun Reservoir; in water-wind erosion interlaced zones, large-scale closure and governance will be implemented to reduce wind and sand hazards and ensure regional agricultural and livestock production.

At the same time, according to the "Plan," in key governance zones, small watershed comprehensive governance of 76,400 sq km will be implemented in the near term; through converting sloping farmland to terraces, 1.6 million hectares will be treated; in areas with relatively severe soil erosion such as the Northeast black soil region, the Northwest Loess Plateau, and the Southwest karst region, 46,200 erosion gullies will be comprehensively treated to reduce sediment entering rivers. A number of demonstration areas with promotional and driving effects will also be built across the country to improve governance levels and benefits.

It is worth noting that although the base of soil erosion area is large, in recent years, soil erosion governance has also been continuously accelerating.

In March of this year, Liu Ning, Vice Minister of Water Resources, pointed out in his speech at the 2015 Soil and Water Conservation Work Video Conference that in 2014, the country comprehensively treated 54,000 sq km of soil erosion, converted 4 million mu of sloping farmland, and built more than 300 ecologically clean small watersheds. At the same time, it was required to ensure that in 2015 the country completes more than 50,000 sq km of comprehensive soil erosion treatment area and implements the target task of 4 million mu of comprehensive soil erosion treatment on sloping farmland.

At the same time, data from the Ministry of Water Resources shows that during the "11th Five-Year Plan" period, China invested 9.863 billion yuan in vigorously carrying out soil and water conservation work, with a cumulative newly treated comprehensive soil erosion area of 230,200 sq km. The Ministry of Water Resources set the target for the "12th Five-Year Plan" as ensuring the achievement of 250,000 sq km of newly treated soil erosion area by 2015.

Ma Jun introduced that in recent years, the intensity of soil erosion governance has been continuously increasing, with much effort made in afforestation, including returning farmland to forest and returning grazing land to grassland.