久久久无码人妻精品无码_6080YYY午夜理论片中无码_性无码专区_无码人妻品一区二区三区精99

National

Regional

Taiwan, HK, Macao

Special Coverage

Focus

Society

Profiles

Land protection work under scrutiny

By Xin Dingding (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-01 09:00

Inspection teams have been deployed across China to evaluate how well officials have been protecting the nation's 120 million hectares of farmland, it was announced Tuesday.

Stopping the erosion of arable land was made the remit of provincial governors last year, with staff from the Ministry of Land and Resources now collecting data on how successful they have been and reporting any "inappropriate use" of land.

The findings, to be released by November, will be used to help the State Council craft the land use plan for 2010, said Vice-Minister Gan Zangchun Tuesday.

Provinces found not up to standards will face punishments, such as a smaller quota of farmland approved for construction next year, reported Xinhua News Agency.

Related readings:  Farmland disappearing more slowly: Ministry  Illegal land grabs, farmland misuse falling  China to protect farmers from malpractice in farmland transfers  China gives green light for farmers to subcontract farmland

"Implementing the governor accountability is key to safeguarding arable land at a time when boosting domestic demand is the government's primary task," said Gan, who is also the ministry's deputy land inspector-general.

Governors should keep in mind it is of equal importance to realize the preset gross domestic product growth rate and keep the total amount of arable land above the red line of 120 million hectares, he said.

Xinhua reported the land watchdog is under heavy pressure, with maintaining the minimum level of arable land crucial to China guaranteeing enough food for a population of 1.3 billion.

According to a statement on Monday, the total amount of arable land was 121.7 million hectares by the end of last year, a reduction of 18,500 hectares. However, this is good news when compared to the average annual decrease of 755,000 hectares between 1997 and 2007.

The major causes of erosion include agriculture and farmland exploitation projects, railway and highway construction and urban development, according to a three-year study by the Ministry of Water Resources.