Policy context
Soil & water conservation policy: implementation, impact and effectiveness
| Authors: | Hong Hu Liu |
| Coordinating authors: | Constantinos Kosmas, Ruta Landgrebe, Sandra Nauman |
| Editors: | Alexandros Kandelapas, Jane Brandt |
Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D142-7.
The general objectives of the Soil and Water Conservation Law are the prevention of soil erosion; changes in the landscape of mountainous, hilly, or sandstorm areas; governance of rivers; reductions in water, drought, and sandstorms; establishment of a good ecological environment; and development of agricultural production. It is the legal basis for combating desertification, and the law provides instructions on some specific permissions. Amendments of the law address soil erosion and its consequent environmental issues, impacting the development of the national economy and security.
As early as 1957, China issued the PRC Interim Soil and Water Conservation Program, and promulgated the Regulations on Soil and Water Conservation in 1982. Thereafter, the State Council and relevant departments and local governments also developed a number of specialized soil and water conservation requirements, specifying soil and water conservation tasks, measures, and organizational management.
The Ministry of Water Resources is directly responsible for soil and water conservation policy. It organizes national soil and water conservation; studies and proposes measures for soil and water conservation project planning; and organizes and monitors prevention and control of soil erosion. The Ministry of Water Resources was established in 1949 and reorganized in 1988 and has been mainly occupied with hydropower and irrigation facilities. Little attention had been paid to agricultural non-point source pollution and soil erosion caused by production and construction projects. Basin-wide flooding in 1998 caused the MWR to begin focusing on water and soil conservation and to start comprehensive soil erosion control within small watershed units. Local institutions for watershed management and specific policy enforcement were also set up.
Water Resources Departments have also been established in the provinces. Soil and water conservation monitoring stations have been set up for investigation, evaluation, and primarily for implementation and effectiveness of soil and water conservation policy.
The Hydraulic Research Institute is responsible for providing technical support and the professional interpretation of policy and regulation.
In this process, many people engaged in the agricultural production and construction may be involved, including roads, railways, power generation, transmission, well mining, open-pit mining, etc. If an activity is likely to cause soil erosion, it will likely be subject to oversight and approval.
Although there are a lot of soil and water conservation administrative policies, the content always stems from the Soil and Water Conservation Law.
Currently, policies and systems of soil and water conservation contain:
- Regularly national surveys of soil erosion by the State water administration department;
- Prevention and control of soil erosion measures at national, provincial, municipal, and county levels;
- Unified coordinated planning for delineated regions;
- According to regional development priorities and principles, protection of water conservation planning.
Soil and water conservation planning overlaps with other policies in the implementation process.