On December 22, 2025, the Ministry of Water Resources held a press conference on the reform and innovation achievements in soil and water conservation during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period. Mr. Zu Leiming, Vice Minister of Water Resources attended and briefed the press on the relevant matters.
Zu Leiming pointed out that during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, the Ministry of Water Resources has practiced President Xi Jinping’s water governance principles of “prioritizing water conservation, balancing spatial distribution, taking systematic approaches and promoting government-market synergy” and the spirit of important discourses on water governance. It has fully implemented the decisions and arrangements of CPC Central Committee and the State Council on comprehensively advancing river and lake protection and governance, and on strengthening soil and water conservation in the new era. Over the past five years, newly added soil erosion control area nationwide has exceeded 340 thousand square kilometers, with a net reduction of soil erosion area of approximately 116 thousand square kilometers. The national soil and water conservation rate has reached over 73%, providing strong support and guarantee for promoting harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.
First, the institutional mechanisms for soil and water conservation have been further improved. An inter-ministerial joint meeting mechanism for strengthening soil and water conservation has been established to enhance coordination and form synergies. The Ministry has coordinated inter-provincial cooperation, strengthened the inter-regional joint prevention, control and governance mechanism for soil and water loss, and intensified unified basin governance and management. By promoting government-market synergy, the Ministry has explored on setting up a circular investment mechanism for soil and water conservation. In collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources, a guideline has been issued to encourage and support private capital participation in soil erosion control. Together with the National Development and Reform Commission and the People’s Bank of China, a mechanism for realizing the value of soil and water conservation ecological products has been established to guide social funds into the construction and operation of soil and water conservation projects. Meanwhile, demonstration pilots on national soil and water conservation have been launched to lead the high-quality development in this field.
Second, significant progress has been made in soil and water conservation reform. In active implementation of the national climate change strategy, the Ministry of Water Resources, in collaboration with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, released the “China GHG Voluntary Emission Reduction Program (CCER program): Yudiba Dams Carbon Sink”. This methodology proposes, for the first time globally, a standardized calculation method for certifying voluntary emission reductions from Yudiba dams (“Yudiba” is the Chinese Pinyin of an erosion control engineering measure, which has been widely implemented in the Chinese Loess Plateau and plays an important role in reducing sediment discharge and increasing cultivated land area). It represents a significant Chinese contribution to global climate governance solutions. Relevant provinces have been guided to implement the guidelines on strengthening cultivated land protection, improving its quality, and balancing occupation and compensation. Based on local conditions, they are exploring the use of soil and water conservation projects—such as erosion gully control, collapsing hill management, small watershed comprehensive management, and Yudiba dams—to form cultivated land suitable for long-term stable use. The Ministry has been firmly practicing the concept of “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”, expanding pathways for realizing the value of soil and water conservation ecological products, guiding localities to carry out transactions involving the conversion of these ecological products, with revenue mainly used for soil and water conservation, increasing villagers’ income, and rural revitalization.
The Yudiba dams in Yulin, Shaanxi in northwest China [Photo / Yulin Agriculture and Rural Bureau]
Third, soil erosion in key areas has been effectively controlled. Focusing on the upper and middle reaches of major rivers, the Northeast Black Soil Region, the Southwest Karst Region, the South-to-North Water Diversion source regions, and the Three Gorges Reservoir area, central government investments supported the comprehensive implementation of small watershed management, treating 67 thousand square kilometers of soil erosion area. Soil erosion intensity in project implementation areas decreased by 15 to 20 percentage points, significantly enhancing ecosystem quality and stability. For example, nearly 7 thousand new and renovated Yudiba dams in the Loess Plateau region effectively improved water retention and soil conservation capacity, reduced sediment entering the Yellow River; 38 thousand erosion gullies were treated in the Northeast Black Soil Region, making important contributions to effectively improving farming conditions.
Fourth, human-induced soil erosion has been effectively prevented. A sound regulatory system for soil and water conservation has been established and improved. The administrative measures for soil and water conservation plans of production and construction projects have been revised. Systems and standards for soil and water conservation spatial regulation, credit evaluation, supervision of ministry-approved production and construction projects, and soil erosion prevention and control for agricultural and forestry development activities have been issued and implemented. Delineation of areas with severe soil erosion and fragile ecology were completed. Whole-chain supervision of production and construction projects was strengthened, with routine, full-coverage remote sensing monitoring for soil and water conservation, strictly investigating and dealing with violations. Inter-departmental coordinated supervision and joint law enforcement were enhanced, strictly pursuing ecological and environmental damage compensation liabilities. Typical cases of administrative public interest litigation regarding human-induced soil erosion were jointly released with the Supreme People’s Procuratorate.
Fifth, the management efficacy of soil and water conservation has been further enhanced. Monitoring and evaluation of soil and water conservation were strengthened. A monitoring system has been set up based on station monitoring, with routine dynamic monitoring as the mainstay and periodic surveys as supplements. National and key regional soil erosion models were improved, deepening monitoring evaluation, forecasting, and early warning. The project for optimizing the layout of national soil and water conservation monitoring stations was implemented. Construction of the digital twin system for soil and water conservation was advanced in a coordinated manner, upgrading the functions of the national soil and water conservation information management system. The Yudiba dam information management system was completed, developing and applying the four-sphere preparedness in forecasting, early warning, stimulation and emergency preplanning for Yudiba dams and releasing early warning information.
These achievements stand as vivid practices of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization in the field of soil and water conservation, and a concentrated reflection of the outcomes from the reform and development of soil and water conservation during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the Ministry of Water Resources will continue to drive a tangible and effective improvement in the functions of soil and water conservation and a reasonable quantitative growth in the capacity for ecological product supply, thereby providing strong support for making new and significant progress in building a Beautiful China.
(Source: INTCE, Chinese Ministry of Water Resources)
