China Marks National Land DayChina marked Monday the first National Land Day in this century, with the theme given by the Ministry of Land and Resources to "Land Planning."China was the first country in the world to designate a National Land Day in 1991. Various campaigns of popularizing the rational use of land and the enforcement of concerned laws and regulations are carried out every June 25. China boasts massive land resources, but faces a shortage of arable land. The per-capita level of some 0.1 hectare of farmland is about 45 percent of the world's average amount. Officials with the ministry said the limited land is used to feed the growing population, to expand urbanization and to preserve the environment, which has required an advanced land planning. China has a verified arable land of some 130 million hectares. Losses in farmland have been increasing every year with a record set last year of 962,000 hectares claimed for construction and other non-farming purposes. |
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