Minister vows toughest steps to protect arable land

Wang Guanghua, minister of Natural Resources, said during the two sessions on Sunday that the ministry has been taking the strictest measures to protect arable land.

He said to keep areas of arable land from decreasing, the ministry will promote restoring lost high-quality arable land in some southern provinces by rewards and punishments.

Occupation of cultivated land for construction or agricultural restructuring must be controlled.

The move will relive the situation of transporting northern grain to the south, he said.

The ministry encourages the use of underground space to improve grain input and output per unit area.

The ministry will also focus on promoting the establishment of new national parks such as the Yellow River Estuary and Qinling Mountains.

It will continue to protect and restore coastlines and coastal zones, focusing on major problems such as the degradation and invasion of alien species.