Agricultural source pollution emissions in China account for half of total pollution emissions

At present, agricultural source pollution emissions in China already account for half of total pollution emissions. The Ministry of Environmental Protection stated that this year it will continue to strengthen the contiguous environmental remediation of rural areas.

It is understood that at present nearly 90% of rural areas in China still face a situation of environmental “lack of governance.” Qiu Qiwen, deputy director of the Department of Ecology of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, introduced that rural environments in China face problems of insufficient governance and many outstanding debts, and this has become an obvious weak link in current social development.

Qiu Qiwen: There are 590,000 villages nationwide, less than 10% of sewage is treated, and household waste treatment is probably only about one third.

At present, Chongqing has launched contiguous environmental remediation in 900 rural areas, environmental remediation projects in Dalian and other places have begun to show results this year, and the sewage treatment rate has reached more than 60%. In Fuzhou, many villages and towns have built waste transfer stations, transporting compacted waste directly to designated urban locations for treatment.

Liu Yangfeng, secretary of the Party branch of Tingtou Village, Mawei District, Fuzhou City: After compaction inside, the sewage is also discharged into the sewage pipe network. Now not only our own village, but nearby surrounding villages also uniformly transport waste here, and waste transfer in surrounding waste villages has improved a lot.

Qiu Qiwen introduced that the Ministry of Environmental Protection will continue to advance the contiguous environmental remediation project in rural areas, especially strengthening environmental control of water source areas along the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, and safeguarding the water quality safety line.

Qiu Qiwen: This year, the water source areas of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, as well as villages along the water conveyance route, and the 20,000 to 30,000 villages that have a direct impact on water quality, will be the focus of remediation, with dragnet-style, full-coverage treatment.

At the same time, in response to the problem that completed projects in some places lack management and pollution control effects are difficult to sustain, the Ministry of Environmental Protection will explore the establishment of a long-term management and protection mechanism for rural environmental governance.

Qiu Qiwen: Achieve whole-line advancement, and consider sewage, waste, and livestock and poultry manure in a whole-line coordinated way.