Legislative Progress on Soil Contamination Prevention and Control in China
At present, China is plagued by serious soil contamination. Specific legislation to deal with the problem is soon to be promulgated. Although much progress has been made on legislation for contamination prevention and control, there are still many gaps in
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1 The Status Quo of Soil Contamination The Status of the World’s Soil Resources produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concludes that the majority of the world’s soil resources are in fair, poor or very poor condition and that conditions are getting worse. In particular, 33 % of land is moderately to highly degraded, due to soil erosion, salinization, compaction, acidification, and chemical pollution of soils soils (United Nations 2015). The outlook for China’s soil contamination is also not optimistic. From April 2005 to December 2013, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Ministry of Land and Resources carried out the first nationwide investigation on soil contamination, covering all farmland and a portion of forest land, grassland, unused land and construction land totaling 6.3 million square kilometers. On April 17, 2014, the Ministry published the Report on National Soil Contamination Investigation,1 which showed that 16.1 % of China’s soil was polluted, among which the slightly polluted, mildly polluted, moderately polluted and heavily polluted accounted for 11.2 %, 2.3 %, 1.5 % and 1.1 %, respectively. Inorganic pollution contributed the most, accounting for 82.8 % of all pollution; organic pollution was second; and
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“Ministry of Environmental Protection and Ministry of Land and Resources issued a national survey report of soil pollution” (2014). http://www.zhb.gov.cn/gkml/hbb/qt/201404/t20140417_ 270670.htm. Accessed 15 May 2016. T. Qin (*) • F. Dong Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing AG 2017 H. Ginzky et al. (eds.), International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy 2016, International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42508-5_22
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compound pollution only constituted a relatively small share.2 The soil condition across China is rather disturbing in general. The Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and the traditional Northeast Industrial Bases are the most seriously polluted regions. Farmland quality is deteriorating and pollution from mining and industrial waste is high. From 1999 to 2014, the China Geological Survey, together with the Provincial People’s Government and its respective Department of Land and Resources, with the support of the Ministry of Land and Resources and Ministry of Finance, carried out a nationwide geochemical investigation of farmland. On June 25, 2015, the Geological Survey published the Report on the Geochemical Survey on China’s Farmland.3 According to the results, 2.5 % of the land was moderately or heavily polluted or beyond the threshold for heavy metals, and 5.7 % of the land was slightly or mildly polluted or beyond acceptable levels.4 It revealed that 29.3 % of China’s farmland is becoming more alkalized, compacted and less fertile, making it difficult for crops to absorb nutrients. Additionally, 21.6 % is highly acidified, which not only reduces soil quality but also adds to the
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