China unveils plan for pollution treatment in rural areas

BEIJING - China unveiled a plan on Thursday to resolve crucial environmental problems in rural areas to foster sound ecological environment.

Jointly released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the plan aims to facilitate green development, improve the ecological environment and strengthen environmental supervision in rural areas.

The plan listed several measures of rural pollution control by 2020.

It called for more efforts on drinking water protection in the countryside through accelerating research, monitoring and assessment of drinking water and identifying relevant reserves.

Household garbage and wastewater should be treated to ensure a clean, neat and orderly countryside environment, said the plan.

It is also required by the plan to reduce the use of chemical fertilizer and pesticide in farming and overall agricultural water consumption.

Besides pollution control, the plan also advocated the improvement of agricultural waste recycling, environmental supervision and rural residents' participation of environmental protection.