Ministry of Water Resources: The intensity of soil erosion in China continues to experience a "double decline" in soil erosion | Annual | Ministry of Water Resources
On the 15th, the reporter learned from the Ministry of Water Resources that the recent national dynamic monitoring of soil and water loss organized by the Ministry of Water Resources for 2022 showed that the area of soil and water loss in China decreased to 2.6534 million square kilometers in 2022, a decrease of 20800 square kilometers or 0.78% compared to 2021. The interannual reduction and magnitude have both expanded compared to the previous year.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the national soil erosion has continued to show a good trend of "double decline" in area intensity and "double reduction" in water and wind erosion. The soil and water conservation rate has increased from 68.88% in 2011 to 72.26%, and the proportion of moderate and above erosion has decreased from 53.08% to 35.28%.
This monitoring shows that from the overall pattern, the area of soil erosion in the eastern, central, and western regions has decreased, with a significant decrease in the western region and a significant decrease in the central and eastern regions. The area of soil erosion in the western region is 2.2335 million square kilometers, a decrease of 13700 square kilometers or 0.61% compared to 2021. The area of soil erosion in the central region is 283900 square kilometers, a decrease of 4300 square kilometers or 1.48% compared to 2021. The area of soil erosion in the eastern region is 136000 square kilometers, a decrease of 2800 square kilometers or 2.03% compared to 2021.
From the perspective of major national strategic regions, the soil erosion situation in major national strategic regions such as the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Yellow River Basin ecological protection and high-quality development planning area continues to improve, and the annual reduction in soil erosion area is higher than the national average level. The interannual decline in the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region is 1.93%, which is nearly 2.5 times the national average decline. The reduction in the Yangtze River Economic Belt is 1.55%; The reduction in ecological protection and high-quality development planning areas in the Yellow River Basin is 1.03%, with a reduction of 1.48% in the Northwest Loess Plateau.
From the perspective of key areas of concern, the soil erosion area in the black soil area of Northeast China, the rocky desertification area of Southwest China, the Danjiangkou Reservoir Area and upstream areas, and the Three Gorges Reservoir Area has decreased by 1.18% to 1.53% compared to 2021. The reduction in soil erosion area in the high-altitude and high-altitude Qinghai Tibet Plateau and the Three Rivers Source National Park is 0.43% and 0.23% respectively, both of which have expanded compared to the previous year.