A Reuters report this week noted that nearly 3.33 million hectares (eight million acres) of Chinese farmland are too polluted to grow crops. The article, which was re-posted by the state-run China Daily news site, quoted Wang Shiyuan, China’s vice minister of land and resources. Wang says that the government is determined to address the issue of polluted farmland, and will commit “tens of billions of yuan” each year to help return the land to a usable state.
Food security is a major concern for Chinese leaders, and worries over this issue already had the potential to severely slow down other planned reforms such as urbanization. The announcement on China’s pollution levels further complicates the balance of preserving farmland and speeding up urbanization. Wang Shiyuan noted that the amount of polluted land represents nearly 2 percent of the country’s arable land, which is not something the Chinese government can ignore. China’s per capita arable land area is already less than half of the world average — the country simply can’t afford to lose any more land to pollution.
China’s government wants to ensure enough arable land is left reserved for farming, and the large swath of polluted fields cuts into that amount. Xinhua reports that China’s arable land survey counted about 135.4 million hectares (334.6 million acres) of farmland — but after removing from that count land reserved for “forest and pasture restoration” as well as land too polluted for crop-growing, the “actual available arable land was just slightly above the government’s red-line” of preserving 120 million hectares (296 million acres) of usable farm land. In other words, pollution is presenting a dangerous threat to one of the government’s highest priorities.
This presents a tough choice for Chinese leaders: let the land lie farrow and risk disrupting food supplies, or allow crops to be grown on tainted soil. Wang’s remarks show the government is leaning towards the former. Tainted crops have already caused scares among China’s citizens. A report by Guangzhou in May found that nearly half the rice in the cities’ restaurants had excessive levels of the heavy metal cadmium. The city’s residents were outraged when the report was published. The rice in Guangzhou was linked to polluted plots in Hunan province, which produces 11 percent of China’s total rice each year. Caixin published an article arguing that cover-ups by both local and provincial governments allowed the problem to spread before it exploded into the public consciousness in late spring 2013.
In a way, Wang’s public report could actually be good news for environmental advocates. For one, it shows that the central government is taking the problem seriously, and might be taking steps to increase transparency in the tracking and reporting of soil and water pollution. Even more importantly, food security is a non-negotiable for China’s government and pollution becoming a serious impediment to ensuring a steady supply of crops. Now China’s leaders will be more willing to make the hard choices necessary to clean up the land and water pollution in China’s rural areas. This might mean setting strict new pollution limits for businesses, or even closing down factories that operate close to farmland.
Unfortunately, however, the food security crisis could also negatively impact the environment. Chinadialogue reported back in November that the government was letting reforestation subsidies (money paid to farmers who plant trees on their land) expire over food security concerns. Wang’s remarks seem to promise that some land is being kept in reserve for reforestation and the creation of pasture land. If China’s arable land continues to creep down towards the “red line,” it will be very tempting for the government to reclaim this land for agriculture — which Chinadialogue argues will speed up desertification, putting China at risk in other ways.
Makati1 on Fri, 3rd Jan 2014 5:15 am
3.33 million hectares are 12,500 sq. miles or roughly 1/10 the area lost to paving in the US. The Chinese can recover their lands but the US lands are gone basically forever as ‘recovering them’ can only be done by Gaia over centuries, not by technology and energy. Energy/technology does NOT make real topsoil, time and geology/biology does.
Makati1 on Fri, 3rd Jan 2014 5:19 am
BTW: If the soil in the US were tested, most would also be found to be toxic. Anything near a highway will have lead from vehicle exhausts, heavy metals from coal burning, toxic chemical residues from pesticides and herbicides, ALL in use for decades. Wells are polluted by excess chemical fertilizer use, now fraking and who can guess what else.
No, China admits their problems. The US covers them up as it would cut profits if they were known.
Norm on Fri, 3rd Jan 2014 6:34 am
Can you waterski on that lake? Or will your engine exhaust set the water on fire? 🙂
Feemer on Fri, 3rd Jan 2014 4:01 pm
This is why America doesn’t need to worry about China, they pay no attention to their environment and have open pit mining and open landfills full of toxic chemicals and heavy metals and so much coal burning and hardly have any environmental regulations. Every economy depends on the environment and if you don’t take care of it, your economy will crash. They have to many people, and to much pollution. China is to big and to polluted. Whenever you think that the EPA goes to far, just ask yourself; would you like the food you eat to be contaminated with lead or mercury? Or laws like the mining reclamation act (1977) so that our streams aren’t full of sulfuric acid and heavy metals, or sediments. Civilizations that don’t take care of their environment (and climate) collapse.
Makati1 on Sat, 4th Jan 2014 2:08 am
Feemer, China is the US 50 years ago. If you think your food and water is pure, I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale cheap…