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Soil Conservation Projects in Seven Major River Valleys Launched
Currently, China has launched soil conservation projects in seven major river valleys, namely, the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, the Huaihe River, the Haihe River, the Pearl River, the Songhuajiang River and the Liaohe River, and the Taihu lake.
News from the Ministry of Water Resources shows that by the end of 1999, China had brought a total area of 830,000 square km hit by soil erosion under comprehensive treatment, over 900 counties are conducting soil erosion control and more than 20,000 small valleys have been harnessed or are presently in the progress of control.
By means of the soil conservation project, the soil erosion in the arsenic sandstone area on the middle reaches of the Yellow River, which is called the "Cancer of the Earth", has been brought under effective control. The forecasting system of landslide and mud-rock flow on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River has successfully forecasted over 100 landslides, thus protected the safety of people's lives and property and reduced over 100 million yuan worth of economic losses.
After 11 years of control and development in the key soil erosion prevention and control area on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, more than 8 million farmers in this area have bidden farewell to poverty. Through comprehensive treatment of soil erosion, the proportion of poor families in the southern part of Gansu Province has decreased from 66 percent to 24 percent and from 15 percent to 5 percent in Sichuan Province.
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