Top Legislator Stresses Soil and Water ConservationChinese top legislator Li Peng Thursday stressed that as China is facing shortages of both arable land and water resources, soil and water preservation has become more important than ever.Speaking at a meeting hosted by the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee under the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC) and the Ministry of Water Resources, the Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee said that the protection of water and land resources is vital for preserving quality living conditions for future generations. Li said that the Law on Soil and Land Conservation is a prelude to the country's sustainable economic development strategy. China should adopt all possible means to carry out comprehensive treatment of the soil erosion. He said that soil erosion has caused devastating sandstorms and is becoming one of the major restrictive factors to the country's sustainable growth. The scale of dust, sand and wind storms has increased since the start of the 1990s. Li said that the ongoing project of returning farmland to forest and grassland is of vital importance to fight the disasters. He asked the officials to strictly carry out the environmental project with priority given to the river source areas. He said that the State Council has worked out a series of policies and regulations on water and soil protection. The work has been reinforced in the country's strategic plan to develop the vast western areas. He pointed out that high technology should be introduced in the agriculture production in dry land, which is expected to help combine the work on preventing desertification with poverty- elimination projects. Buhe, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, delivered a report on violations of the environmental law at the meeting. |
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