Two Departments Urge Effective Work on Safe Use of Polluted Cultivated Land to Ensure the Accomplishment of Tasks of the "Action Plan for Soil Pollution Prevention and Control"
The General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs ("MARA") and the General Office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment ("MEE") have recently issued the Circular on Ensuring Further Effective Work on the Safe Use of Polluted Cultivated Land (the "Circular").
The Circular calls for efforts to ensure accomplishing the "421" tasks (referring to the goal of the safe use of slightly or moderately polluted cultivated land of 40 million mu, the restoration of such land of 10 million mu, and the structural transformation for plants on heavily polluted cultivated land of 20 million mu or the conversion of such land into forestry) outlined in the Action Plan for Soil Pollution Prevention and Control, achieving safe use of approximate 90% of the polluted cultivated land, stabilizing the overall conditions of soil environment of cultivated land nationwide, and witnessing a significantly stronger capacity to shore up grain production and sustainable development of the agricultural sector, by the end of 2020. To this end, the Circular lays down several tasks which include "assigning and accomplishing tasks regarding safe use of the polluted cultivated land" and "establishing zones where intensive progress will be made in safe use of the polluted cultivated land". In addition, the Circular underscores the need to institute a green-ecology-oriented agricultural subsidy system as soon as possible, encourage all regions to make overall arrangements for agriculture-related funds, incorporate the safe use of polluted cultivated land into such tasks as the plantation structure transformation, and offer stronger financial support. The Methods for Calculation of the Safe Use Rate of Polluted Cultivated Land (for Trial Implementation) are distributed together with this Circular.