Land survey encounters forged data

Local governments told to provide accurate information to authorities

Authorities have found a series of problems while carrying out the third national land survey, warning local governments and natural resource departments to fulfill their responsibilities.

The problems were outlined on Friday by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the central government supervision team, and involved 20 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

In Qinghai province, for example, local natural resources department and supervisory teams were blamed for not taking the field surveys seriously, nor did they urge that uncovered problems be corrected in accordance with rules and regulations.

In Yulin, Shaanxi province, entities did not fully carry out the investigation responsibly, resulting in imprecise outcomes, and county-level authorities deliberately changed and forged mapping data.

"Those cases reflected problems, such as poor quality surveys and data accuracy. I hope that will be a warning for future work," said Wang Guanghua, vice-minister of natural resources.

He said the ministry will not tolerate the forging of data.

The third national land survey was launched in 2017 by the State Council, aiming to thoroughly check the status of the country's land use, collect accurate data, and improve the mechanism of surveys and statistics.

Survey items include cataloging the use of land resources, ownership, and natural and economic conditions. Permanent, basic farmland will be a focus in the survey, which is expected to be unveiled to the public in 2020.

Currently, all 2,873 counties in China have finished the field investigation and quality review for the first round of the survey. After September, the ministry will work with local natural resource departments to double check the results with updated information. The deadline for the final survey result is the end of the year.

According to Wang, data from 326 counties have been reviewed by the natural resources department at provincial level and are now under review at the state level.

Zhu Liuhua, deputy director of the State Council's supervision team on the third national land survey, said the survey is supported by advanced remote sensing technology to guarantee the accuracy of the results.

Zhu said satellite remote imaging with resolution higher than one meter has been introduced as the base mapping for the survey, and cloud computing will help to review the map with pictures being taken at all sites by local professionals.

China's second national land survey was conducted between 2007 and 2009. The country's first national land survey ended in 1996. According to the second national land survey, China has about 135 million hectares of arable land.