China will begin its mammoth second national land survey on July
1st in order to update its land date and improve related
policy-making, the State Council has announced.
The survey should be wrapped up by local authorities before the
end of June 2009 prior to being submitted to the Ministry of Land
and Resources on Oct. 31, 2009, said a circular issued by the State
Council on Thursday.
The circular revealed that the teams would rely on advanced
remote imaging technologies to survey different land usages:
farmland, forests, industry as well as infrastructure and
development parks. Acreages and their precise nationwide
distribution would be accurately recorded.
Every plot of land will be surveyed to determine the ownership
and its current use, as well as noting the extent of land owned by
the state and by rural collectives.
Specific attention will be paid to the situation of basic
farmland, widely seen as being vital to China's continuing food
security, the circular announced.
During the survey, a new electronic database will track the
latest findings and develop statistical and monitoring methods to
analyze changes in land resources and provide rapid information
updates.
The circular revealed that the survey would be part of China's
efforts to build a resource-saving and environmentally-friendly
society and to maintain sustainable economic growth. It will be of
great help to the government in carrying out effective scientific
land planning, use and protect land effectively, and introduce
tough measures to protect arable land.
China's first national land survey took place in 1996, but 11
years on has been made quasi-obsolete by the country's rapid urban
and rural changes.
(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2007)