20 Years Endeavor Resulted Clear-cut National Land Resources

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 22, 2001

20 Years Endeavor Resulted Clear-cut National Land Resources

National land resource survey was brought to a consummation a few days ago through an arduous endeavor of some 20 years. At the meeting of appraisal, experts say this has filled up the vacancy in which the country failed to have a clear account of land resources as to their areas, rights and jurisdictions in the long past.

The national land resource survey was carried out under the advocacy of the State Council aiming at making a clear account of land resources in the country. The survey has now indicated that the administrative land area of China come to a total of 9.6 million square kilometers, in which the arable land accounts for 13.7 percent, forest takes up 23.9 percent and 28.0 percent belong to pastureland. The survey also shows the country still has 4.3903 million square kilometers of land owned collectively by peasants and another 5.0548 million square kilometers owned by the state and the rest finds no definite ownership.

The national land resource survey is a systematic project of a complicated and huge scale. From the preparatory stage to the great consummation it has lasted almost 20 years with an investment of RMB 1.3 billion yuan and a workforce of over two million. And we've achieved an ample result in having a clear account of land rights and jurisdictions, including dimensions and usage of land areas in the countryside as well as the types, numbers, layouts, exploitations and rights and jurisdictions of land in certain townships, counties, prefectures, provinces or municipalities. In addition we've also worked out detailed and reliable diagrams, data and written materials by resorting to advanced means in technology.

The materials obtained from the survey have already been used and applied in many such aspects as government planning, land planning and administration, general survey in agriculture, survey of administrative boundaries and construction and great development in the west as well as returning cultivated lands to forests or pasturelands, etc. These materials have been put into following special collections as "Land Resources in China", "Technology used in the survey of land resources in China" and "Data collection in the survey of land resources in China". Aside from the above-mentioned, some regional maps are drawn on a scale of 1:0.5 million, national map on a scale of 1: 2.5 million and another type of 1: 4.5 million indicating the land use in the country. According to experts this is the most systematic, complete and correct national condition and strength so far obtained from the survey and the result has on the whole reached the world advanced level.

By PD Online Staff Han Rongliang

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