China to strengthen prevention, control of soil pollution sources

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) — China has revealed an action plan to strengthen the prevention and control of sources of soil pollution from now until 2027.
The plan was jointly issued by authorities including the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the National Development and Reform Commission. It underlines efforts to improve the quality of the ecological environment of soil, as well as efforts to promote the country’s high-quality economic development.
By 2027, significant progress will have been made in the prevention and control of soil pollution sources. Work to detect and rectify hidden dangers in key entities contributing to soil pollution will be improved, the safe use of polluted arable land will be enhanced, and the safe use of construction land will be effectively guaranteed, according to the plan.
The plan outlines efforts to prevent new pollution from industrial and mining enterprises, covering such areas as site selection and specific pollutant-collection measures. It also urges efforts to strengthen whole-process supervision to ensure the safe use of key construction land areas, and to effectively control the risk of groundwater pollution from high-risk chemical parks.
The plan stipulates that China will actively leverage social capital by utilizing special government bonds and a central government ecological and environmental protection fund, aiming to improve the policy system that would prevent and control the sources of soil pollution, and to build diversified ecological protection and restoration investment mechanisms. ■