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)