Urgent need for investment in water and soil protection

Central government should step up investment in national water and soil conservation, an official said on Thursday, as the country rolled out a national guideline for the prevention of soil erosion before 2030.

Erosion remains one of the most severe challenges faced by the country with more than 294.9 square kilometers, or 30.7 percent of national territory, faced with water and soil loss, said Zhang Xinyu, an official with the water and soil conservation department under the Ministry of Water Resources.

"Current investments are still far from adequate to meet the targets set by the national guideline," he said, adding that more difficult conservation projects have been left behind.

The central government said on Sunday that it approved a national guideline for water and soil conservation which aims to reduce the area of land faced by soil erosion by 940,000 square kilometers by 2030. It also aims to reduce the amount of soil lost due to erosion by 1.5 billion tons per year by the same date.

Source areas of 32 rivers, including the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, will be key for the effort. The guideline has also determined 87 water source areas for key target areas of soil erosion prevention.

Erosion is faced in the rich black soil of Heilongjiang province and also farmland in the country's south, he said.

More than 40 percent of China's arable land is suffering from degradation, Xinhua News Agency reported last year.