China suffers land loss from pollution

Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/cnforbiddennews Like us on FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/chinaforbiddennews Soil pollution is a prevalent issue in China, and high levels of heavy metals have been detected in rice and vegetables. China's land survey results have long been a "state secret", and many people are suspicious that soil contamination levels in China may be more severe than recently reported. China's Deputy Minister of Land and Resources revealed the national land survey results during Monday's State Council press conference, a first since 1996. The official said some 50 million mu (8.2 million acres) of soil is medium to heavily polluted and unfit for farming, but he left out many further details. Mainland Chinese media reported that the official didn't elaborate on the 50 million mu of polluted soil and provided no comparable figure, but indicated heavy metals as the main pollutants in industrial and mining areas in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and the old industrial bases in northeastern China. Wall Street Journal says that the pollution figure equals about 2.5% of China's total arable land in 2012. Meaning heavy pollution has made 2.5% of China's arable land unfit for farming. This figure does not include mildly contaminated soil that could also harm crops. A book published by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection in 2013 titled, Soil Pollution and Human Health, says 20 million hectares of arable land is heavy-metal polluted, accounting for one sixth of the total cultivated area. That equates to 13 million tons of heavy metal contaminated foods and crops per year. Scholars say soil pollution is especially acute in Hunan Province, which is known as China's rice bowl. Among the heavy metals, cadmium is considered to be the most harmful. The New York Times reports that according to one market research company, Hunan produced 17 million tons of rice in 2012, "16 percent of the national total". Huang Yuming, associate environmental sciences professor at Taiwan National Chung Hsing University: "Cadmium is toxic even at low levels and poses greater risk of toxicity, as crops absorb it more easily. The tainted rice will lead to nerve pain, kidney failure, and osteoporosis. China cannot avoid the issue of food safety." Experts say that soil pollution in China is mainly caused by wastewater discharges, accumulated industrial solid waste, pesticides, and excessive use of fertilizers. Huang Yuming: "Industrial wastewater must be strictly controlled, because polluted water leads to soil pollution and the further spread of pollutants. Some factories have no ethics. Their randomly disposed industrial waste spreads the pollutants. Fertilizers are also one of targets that need to be controlled. Taiwan has banned some of the fertilizers but the Chinese mainlanders continue using them." The Land bureau also said that the land problem stems from pollution and industrialization. The total arable land figure went down about 0.2% from 2006 to 2009. China's stock of arable land has fallen to 1.52 mu per capita and is less than half the world average per capita. In the past 13 years, 41.78 million mu (6.9 million acres) of high-quality arable land have been urbanized. Huang Yuming: "The arable land should be avoided in urbanization. The urbanization of China's farm land has been scary. They occupy huge areas whenever a new city is developed. You can imagine how much farm land has been lost." The Land Ministry says an initiative to treat tainted soil and convert degraded farm lands into forest and grass lands with annual budget of tens of billions will be launched. But there are criticisms that the massive soil contamination and arable land loss is caused by local governments condoning industry activity on pollution issues and making profits through arable land grabs in the name of raising GDP. Without correcting these problems, yet engaging in the expensive recovery of tainted soil, the true intentions of the authorities are abundantly clear. 《神韵》2014世界巡演新亮点 http://www.ShenYunPerformingArts.org/