The country lost 4.6 million mu (307,000 hectares) of arable land between October 2005 and October 2006, bringing it a step closer to the critical 1.8 billion mu warning level, the Ministry of Land and Resources said yesterday.

A statement issued by the ministry showed that the country had 1.83 billion mu of arable land at the end of last October, or 1.39 mu per capita.

The country lost land to construction or other purposes, natural disasters and reforestation.

Premier Wen Jiabao stressed in his government work report last month that the country must ensure that its arable land never shrinks to less than 1.8 billion mu.

Despite the decline, the statement released yesterday said the results showed that the country's efforts to manage its land were taking effect.

During the period covered by the statement, the country used 4.93 million mu for new construction, which is 25 percent less than the average level during the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05).

"This is the result of active macro-adjustments, tight control of the land approval process and the constant promotion of the conservative use of land," the statement said.

More than half of the land used for construction during the period had actually been set aside and approved for construction prior to the period covered by the statement, it said.

The statement said most of the arable land lost during the period was used for reforestation.

The illegal acquisition of arable land by local governments remained rampant during the period, with 550,000 mu illicitly approved for construction, the statement said.

Rapid urbanization and the country's burgeoning economic expansion have sped up the loss of arable land.

The authorities have taken a series of measures this year to curb both investment in the overheated fixed-assets sector and the rampant expropriation of illegal arable land by local governments.

The ministry issued two catalogues last year specifying which projects were either restricted or banned. The construction of villas, golf courses and race tracks that take up large amounts of land are strictly barred on arable land.

Xu Jian, a researcher with the China Land Science Society, said local governments still have a lot of land to use that has already gained approval for construction.

"The key to protecting arable land lies in the management of land used for construction," Xu said.

"Most of our cities are mushrooming to enhance the land utilization rate and construction density, like Shanghai and Hong Kong," he said.

(China Daily April 13, 2007)