The total amount of arable land in the country has increased net for two consecutive years (according to authoritative departments). Protection of arable land
On July 11th, the State Council Information Office held a series of themed press conferences on "The Beginning of Authoritative Department Talks". Minister of Natural Resources Wang Guanghua and others introduced the relevant situation of "building a modern harmonious coexistence between humans and nature" and answered questions from reporters.
Annual assessment of the implementation of the responsibility system for farmland protection and food security
To ensure that 1.8 billion mu of arable land is truly deserved, the Ministry of Natural Resources strictly adheres to the bottom line of resource security. "Focusing on food security, we will strictly regulate the balance of arable land occupation and replenishment, steadily and orderly implement the balance of arable land in and out, freeze and supplement the quota of illegally occupied arable land, and promote the total amount of arable land not to decrease. We will continue to carry out inspections and law enforcement of arable land protection with the 'long teeth' hard measures, and publicly investigate and deal with major illegal typical cases." Wang Guanghua introduced that the total amount of arable land in China has achieved a net increase for two consecutive years. In the first half of this year, the number of illegal land cases discovered decreased by 64% year-on-year, and the area decreased by 80.5% year-on-year.
How to promote the implementation of the shared responsibility of the Party and government in protecting farmland, and tighten the main responsibility of local party committees and governments at all levels, is the key to maintaining the red line of farmland protection.
It is reported that at the beginning of this year, the central government has issued the assessment methods for farmland protection and food security, which have comprehensively stipulated the assessment objects, assessment content, assessment steps, and application of assessment results. The overall institutional framework for assessment work has been basically established. Implement the principle of equal responsibility between the Party and government, clarify the implementation of the responsibility system for farmland protection and food security by the state in each provincial Party committee and government, and implement an annual assessment; Highlighting the key points of assessment and clarifying the implementation of a "one vote veto" on major issues such as breaking the red line of cultivated land; Standardize assessment procedures, establish provincial-level self inspection, on-site spot checks and other assessment processes to ensure objective and fair assessment results; Strengthen the application of results, clarify that the assessment results will be used as important references for comprehensive evaluation, performance evaluation, audit accountability, and other aspects of leadership cadres. Economic rewards and punishments will also be implemented based on the completion of farmland protection goals in various regions.
"Next, we will actively cooperate with relevant departments, accelerate the introduction of assessment work rules, assessment scoring rules and other supporting system regulations, promote the implementation of assessment methods as soon as possible, and effectively implement the requirements of equal responsibility between the Party and government for farmland protection and lifelong accountability. We will firmly hold the red line of 1.8 billion mu of farmland and ensure the stability of the Chinese people's own rice bowls," said Liu Guohong, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources.
Building a convenient living circle that is livable, suitable for business, tourism, education, and maintenance
"The Ministry of Natural Resources has conscientiously implemented the deployment of building a regional economic layout and a national spatial system with complementary advantages and high-quality development, deeply promoted the 'multi planning integration' reform, and formed an overall national spatial planning system." Wang Guanghua introduced that in the second half of last year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued China's first national spatial planning outline, approving the results of the red lines for protecting farmland and permanent basic farmland, ecological protection, and urban development boundaries. The overall planning of national land and space at the provincial, municipal, and county levels has been fully prepared and is being reviewed and approved gradually.
The national spatial planning integrates the planning of main functional areas, land use planning, and urban-rural planning, and is a new plan that integrates multiple plans. Zhuang Shaoqin, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources, stated that "integrating multiple plans into one" not only involves handling the contradictions and conflicts of different existing plans, integrating the advantages of existing plans, but also based on the new development stage, implementing the new development concept, better supporting the construction of a new development pattern, and promoting high-quality urban-rural development. For example, the integration of multiple regulations has the advantages of systematic and source governance. In the overall and detailed planning of national land space, communities can be used as the basic unit to optimize the service functions and spatial structure of cities, build a convenient living circle that is livable, suitable for business, tourism, learning, and care, promote the governance of urban diseases through this "cell therapy" of cities, and effectively enhance the sense of gain, happiness, and security of the people.
How to deepen the "multi regulatory integration" reform? Zhuang Shaoqin stated that in the future, the national spatial system will be further improved, the system of main functional zones will be further improved, the supervision system for planning implementation will be further improved, and the construction of the planning support system will be further strengthened. "On the basis of completing the overall planning of land and space at all levels, accelerate the preparation of special land and space planning across administrative regions and river basins such as urban agglomerations, metropolitan areas, and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and more effectively support the construction of a new development pattern."
Implement 51 integrated protection and restoration projects for mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and sands
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to accelerate the implementation of major projects for the protection and restoration of important ecosystems, with a focus on national key ecological functional areas, ecological protection red lines, and nature reserves. The Ministry of Natural Resources actively promotes green and low-carbon economic and social development around high-quality development, and focuses on improving the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems.
Coordinate the implementation of major ecological protection and restoration projects. "We have planned and implemented 51 integrated protection and restoration projects for mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and sands, and coordinated various ecological elements. With the watershed as the main unit, we have implemented systematic, comprehensive, and source control, and have completed a total of 80 million mu of ecological protection and restoration." Wang Hong, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Director of the National Oceanic Administration, introduced that it is expected to complete ecological protection and restoration of more than 30 million mu by the end of the 14th Five Year Plan; Implement ecological restoration projects for mines, completing a restoration area of 2.8 million acres; Implementing marine ecological protection and restoration projects, completing the remediation and restoration of 400 kilometers of coastline and 300000 acres of coastal wetlands.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of the implementation of the "Three North" project. Guan Zhiou, Director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and Director of the National Park Management Bureau, stated that after several generations of continuous struggle and unremitting efforts, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the construction of the "Three North" project has achieved significant achievements that have attracted worldwide attention. A total of 480 million mu of afforestation has been completed, 500 million mu of desertified land has been treated, and 1.28 billion mu of degraded grassland has been treated. Especially in key areas, a historic transformation has been achieved from "sand advancing and people retreating" to "green advancing and sand retreating".
Establishing a national park system is a major institutional innovation in China's ecological civilization system reform. Guan Zhiou introduced that in the already issued National Park Spatial Layout Plan, 49 candidate areas for national parks have been laid out, accounting for 10.3% of the land area. Among them, there are more than 5000 terrestrial vertebrates and 29000 species of higher plants distributed, protecting more than 80% of the nationally protected wildlife species and their habitats.
Implement a new round of breakthrough mining strategy actions
Mineral resources are an important material foundation for economic and social development, and the construction of a modern industrial system also relies on the efficient utilization and development of mineral resources. The Ministry of Natural Resources is based on promoting domestic exploration and development of important energy and mineral resources, as well as increasing reserves and production. Following the ideas of consolidating basic work, prospering the mining market, and strengthening technological support, it carefully organizes and implements a new round of breakthrough mining strategy actions.
Conduct a national survey on mineral resources. A survey was conducted on all 163 types of minerals and over 45000 mining areas with confirmed resource reserves nationwide, comprehensively understanding the quantity, quality, structure, spatial distribution, and development and utilization of various minerals in China. Since the 14th Five Year Plan, 124 prospecting scenic spots have been preliminarily delineated and 102 prospecting target areas have been submitted, providing guidance for commercial exploration by social funds.
Strengthen support for the supply of mineral resource exploration and development policies. Improve the management system for the collection of mining rights transfer profits, changing the collection method from one-time collection to mainly based on annual collection of sales revenue during mining production. This not only protects the national owner's rights and interests of mineral resources, but also effectively reduces the burden on enterprises. Improve the registration and management of mineral resource exploration and mining, activate the secondary market of exploration rights, lift the restrictions on the transfer period of exploration rights obtained through bidding, auction, and listing, and allow the circulation of exploration rights. Simplify the application requirements and approval process for mining rights registration, and improve approval efficiency.
In the first half of this year, the investment in solid mineral and oil and gas mineral exploration in China increased by 17.2% and 7.5% year-on-year; 242 new exploration rights have been established nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 25.4%, and major breakthroughs have been made in mineral exploration such as the Laizhou gold mine in Shandong and the Zhaotong phosphate mine in Yunnan.
"Next, we will continue to optimize and improve relevant policies with relevant departments to create a good environment for various social entities to invest in mineral exploration and development. For example, we will guide local governments to promote the transfer of 'clean ore', improve service efficiency by strengthening the preparatory work for the transfer of mining rights, strengthen the guarantee of land use, forestry and grass; accelerate the approval of key mining projects, promote domestic demand and steady growth, and solidly promote a new round of strategic action for mineral exploration breakthrough with powerful measures," said Wang Guanghua.
