Download
Farming of contaminated arable land almost the size of Belgium has been halted and the land will be rehabilitated to ensure food security, a senior official said on Monday.
A soil survey by the Ministry of Environmental Protection found that pollution affects about 3.33 million hectares, Wang Shiyuan, vice-minister of land and resources, said.
"This finding is similar to the geographical environmental study by the Ministry of Land and Resources," Wang added.
Arable land in China totaled 135.4 million hectares at the end of last year, 15 million hectares more than the bottom line set by the government to ensure food security, Wang said at a news conference, citing the results of the second national land survey released on Monday.
However, the amount of stable cultivated land will drop to 120 million hectares, as some farmland will be converted to forests, grasslands and wetlands, while pollution will leave some land unusable, Wang said.
A nationwide survey on soil pollution was carried out between 2006 and 2010, led by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Land and Resources, but the results were never made public.
Bai Chengshou, deputy head of the nature and ecology conservation department at the environmental protection ministry, said results will be published in future, with more data included.
Wang said the swaths of polluted farmland are concentrated in developed eastern and central regions and in the northeastern industrial belt.
Answering a China Daily question on whether the tainted land is still being farmed, Wang said no further planting will be allowed on it, as food safety is a top concern for governments at various levels.
Wang said he does not think there are any efficient and quick solutions to soil pollution, as the popular method of using plants to trap heavy metals in the soil usually takes more than a decade to work.
"One of the most practicable plans may be to replace crops with other plants such as trees," said Wang, head of the Institute of Environmental Engineering Technology at the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences.
About the broadcaster:
Anne Ruisi is an editor at China Daily online with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor and reporter. She has worked at newspapers in the U.S., including The Birmingham News in Alabama and City Newspaper of Rochester, N.Y.
带点口音把话说"酷" 专家为雅思考生出妙计
雅思口语话题二月最新汇总
雅思口语考试7分经验总结
雅思口语的五个台阶
雅思口语考试万用模板分享
口语2个月从5.5到6.5分感想
雅思听力中的地道口语
雅思口语练习必备经典句子
雅思口语教师的几点建议
雅思口语之年龄问题解析
雅思口语黄金素材:Sport(上)
雅思口语得高分须注意细节
百变时尚女最爱说的十句英文口头禅
雅思口语的三个阶段
雅思口语学习方法:模仿
雅思口语考试全面解析
雅思口语考试前考试中应做的
2005雅思写作备战指南(下)
雅思口语考试考官常使用的套话
高分来自少犯错误
雅思口语词汇:租房、看病词汇
雅思口语黄金素材:Films(上)
雅思口语分类词汇大全2
2005雅思写作备战指南(上)
详解雅思口语话题:媒体
雅思口语词汇:爱好、购物词汇
热门美剧透视地道口语表达
龙睿:雅思口语题目解析—Hotel
专家谈雅思面试高分技巧
雅思口语范文:Life style
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |