Summary

 

In 2005, under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, adhering to the scientific development outlook in commanding the overall work situation of land and resources, the Ministry of Land and Resources ( MLR ) studied and implemented the spirit of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the CPC, deeply promoted the activities of "improving the system of organization and raising the quality of personnel", made marked progress in transforming conceptions, functions and working style and achieved new success in protecting resources, safeguarding people's rights and interests and serving society.

 

The MLR put into practice the scientific development outlook in an all-round way and strengthened, improved and participated in the work of macro-regulation. It worked out the program of the 11th Five Year Plan of Land and Resources, made specific plans for different sectors, energetically carried forward the economical and intensive use of land and resources, and made great efforts to build up a society that economizes on resources. While carrying out the initial work of amendment to the overall land-use plan, the MLR further intensified the protection of cultivated land, especially capital farmland; established a series of new measures such as promoting farmland protection by farmland construction; continued to strictly control the supply of land; and consolidated the achievements of land market rectification. The MLR also fully improved and regularized the development order of mineral resources and comprehensively strengthened geological work. A group of important results was scored in geological investigation and mineral resources exploration. Prevention and control of geological hazards produced a remarkable effect. Monitoring of geological environment was pushed forward vigorously. Scientific and technological innovation and informatization of land and resources were constantly promoted. International cooperation and exchange were intensified. The first-phase construction of the Golden Land Project was formerly launched. The management of marine resources and the protection of marine environment were improved persistently. The administration level and service standard of surveying and mapping were enhanced steadily.

 

I           Land and Resources

 

According to the results of the land-use change survey, China had 122.0827 million hectares of cultivated land, 11.5490 million hectares of garden land, 235.7411 million hectares of forestland, 262.1438 million hectares of pastureland, 25.5309 million hectares of land for other agricultural use, 26.0151 million hectares of land for residential and industrial/mining sites, 2.3085 million hectares of land for transport and communications and 3.5987 million hectares of land for water conservancy facilities. The rest was unused land. By comparison with 2004, the cultivated land in 2005 declined by 0.30%, the garden land rose 2.31%, the forestland increased 0.30%, the pastureland dropped 0.21%, the land for residential and industrial/mining sites went up 1.11%, the land for transport and communications grew 3.37%, and the land for water conservancy facilities was up 0.26%.

 

The net area of reduced cultivated land in China in 2005 amounted to 361,600 hectares, of which 138,700 hectares of cultivated land were used for construction. In addition, it was found that 73,400 hectares of cultivated land had been used for construction but their variation reports were not submitted; 53,500 hectares were destroyed by natural hazards; 390,400 hectares were turned into ecological preservation land; 12,300 hectares were reduced due to agricultural restructuring; and 306,700 hectares of cultivated land were newly added by land consolidation, reclamation and development. The area of the added land was equivalent to 144.56% of that of the cultivated land occupied by construction.

 

The newly added land for construction in 2005 totaled 432,000 hectares, of which 151,100 hectares were used for industrial and mining purposes (including various economic development zones and parks), 98,200 hectares were for urban construction, 66,600 hectares for rural construction, and 107,600 hectares for communications, water conservancy and other infrastructures.

 

The protection of cultivated land, especially capital farmland, was conscientiously strengthened. The Measures on the Assessment of Provincial-level Governments' Responsibility Targets for Farmland Protection issued by the State Council stipulated that the governments of various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government would be responsible for the reserves of farmland and the area of protected capital farmland. The MLR, together with the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Water Conservancy and the State Forestry Bureau, worked out and issued the Opinions on Further Improving the Work Related to Capital Farmland Protection; distributed the Notice of Establishing Demonstration Areas of Capital Farmland Protection to bring into full play the role of models and comprehensively raise the work level of capital farmland protection; circulated the Notice of Strengthening and Improving the Work of Land Development and Consolidation; and promulgated the 2005 Guide to State-invested Projects of Land Development and Consolidation. In 2005, 1,326 State-invested land development and consolidation projects were put on file, with the total construction    area being 1,291,200 hectares. The number of such projects operated in major grain producing areas accounted for 47% of the total and their construction area, 53%. The MLR also issued the Notice of the Basic Work of Converting the Quantity and Quality of Added Farmland According to Grades, and took stricter measures to improve the work of balancing between occupation and addition of farmland.

 

The MLR energetically promoted the economic and intensive use of land and conducted an investigation of the use of inventory land in the whole country. It was discovered that as of the end of 2004, China's planned urban areas had 72,000 hectares of idle land, 54,800 hectares of unoccupied land, and 135,600 hectares of approved but unsupplied land. The total of these three categories of land amounted to 262,400 hectares, accounting for 7.8% of the gross of urban land for construction. The MLR conscientiously conformed to the requirements of "Six Disapproves" and "Eight Musts" for construction land and, through examination, cut the supply of 4631.9 hectares of such land. The Ministry summarized and energetically popularized 100 typical cases of economic and intensive use of land, formulated new policies to promote the use of land in the same way, strictly controlled the total supply of land, and stringently examined and verified 24 open economic development zones, export processing zones and bonded zones.

 

Land administration was always in the service of economic construction. Total area of construction land examined and approved for supply in 2005 reached 346,800 hectares, of which 149,300 hectares was approved by the State Council and 197,500 hectares by provincial authorities. The land approved in batches for construction of industrial, mining, storing and housing sites was 160,000 hectares and that for transport and communications, water conservancy and other sites was 186,800 hectares.

 

The basic work of land administration was remarkably strengthened. The national standards for the Classification of Land Uses had been submitted to the State Standardization Administration Commission for approval. The work plan of the second national land survey was made; a land renewal survey was carried out in 18 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government; and a database of present status of land use was set up in 1,526 counties   and cities. The cadastral survey was completed in 82.24% urban areas of China. The issuance percentage of land-use licenses for State-owned land was up to 76.38%; that of ownership licenses for collective-owned land was 33.19%; and that of land-use licenses for collective-owned land amounted to 70.69%. Grading and evaluation of agricultural land were conducted in 25 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and passed the check and acceptance in 13 provinces.

 

The system of land market was improved; the coverage of paid use of land was further expanded; and the granting system of Stated-owned land was made better. The total area of granted land in China was 163,200 hectares and the corresponding fees were 550.515 billion yuan （～US$68.8 billion）. Of these, the area of land granted by public bidding, auction and listing was 57,200 hectares and the corresponding fees were 392.009 billion yuan（～US$49 billion）, constituting 35.06% of the total area and 71.21% of the total fees, respectively. The land reserve system was improved and the land market monitoring and land price management intensified. The results of dynamic monitoring of the land market in more than 1,000 counties, cities and prefectures indicated that as for the structure of land sources, 56% of the supplied land was from the inventory and 44% was newly added; as for the structure of land applications, 43.33% of the supplied land was used for industrial, mining and storing sites, 30.56% for real estate development, and 26.11% for other purposes. Of the total area of the real estate development land, 29.2% was used for commercial and service properties, 48.7% for common residential buildings, 9.3% for economic and applicable housing, 0.2% for high-grade flats and 12.6% for other residences. Systematic policies of land supply for real estate market were worked out.

 

II.      Mineral Resources

 

Geological investigations and mineral resources explorations carried out in China in 2005 resulted in the discovery of 169 large and medium-sized mineral occurrences or prospects, of which 40 were of energy minerals, 3 were of ferrous metals, 44 were of nonferrous metals, 11 were of precious metals, 7 were of metallurgical auxiliary raw materials, 5 were of raw materials of chemical industry, 52 were of nonmetallic minerals for construction and other purposes, and 7 were of mineral water, groundwater and carbon dioxide gas. Resources and reserves of dominant minerals   such as oil, gas, coal, iron, manganese, bauxite, lead and gold increased and those of chromium, copper, zinc, pyrite, phosphate and potash decreased.

 

In 2005, the new whole-industry standards for calculating oil and gas reserves were promulgated and implemented. Important results were achieved in resources investigation and evaluation and a large gas field was discovered by deep exploration in the Daqing Oil Field. Dynamic monitoring of reserves of solid mineral resources was steadily pushed forward. A breakthrough was produced in the reform of socialized service system of geological data. The "State Council's Decision on the Strengthening of Geological Work" was drafted through research. There was actively explored a new geological work system in which the central and local geological departments or institutions would bear their respective responsibilities, the government and the enterprise would perform their respective functions, and the public-welfare service and commercial service would be organically combined. Potentials of China's major mineral resources were analyzed comprehensively and systematically; and some key mineral resources and mineral prospects were chosen for more detailed exploration, thus pointing out the direction of search for mineral deposits. The reserve shortage degree and resource potential of "crisis" mines were preliminarily ascertained and satisfactory results were achieved in pilot projects. The first batch of tasks of exploration of back-up resources for "crisis" mines was assigned.

 

Up to the end of 2005, there had been granted 21,824 mineral exploration licenses (including 9,282 newly issued ones), of which 300 were for oil and gas and 60 for coal bed methane; there had also been granted 92,582 mining licenses (including 16,820 newly issued ones), of which 41 were for oil and gas mining rights. The exploration rights granted by public bidding, auction and listing was conducted in 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, resulting in the grant of 554 exploration right licenses and the grant fees of 1.043 billion yuan（～US$0.13 billion）. Furthermore, the mining rights granted by public bidding, auction and listing was performed in 28 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, leading to the grant of 13,227 mining right licenses and the grant fees of 3.949 billion yuan（～US$0.49 billion）. In 2005, the valid foreign-related exploration licenses totaled 206 and the valid foreign-related mining licenses aggregated 187.

 

New success was scored in attracting foreign investment to the mineral exploration in Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai and other provinces or autonomous regions. Major progress was made in the exploration and development by foreign investors in the Shagouxi Ag-Pb-Zn mine of Luoning, Henan Province and the Jinfeng gold mine of Guizhou Province. Up to the present, more than 80 international mining enterprises have been undertaking mineral exploration and development in China. And correspondingly, some Chinese enterprises have been engaged in similar activities in over 30 countries of the world.

 

The productions of mineral commodities in China grew rapidly in 2005. The 2005 productions of some mineral commodities were as follows: 2.19 billion tons of raw coal, 181 million tons of crude oil, 421 million tons of iron ore, 352 million tons of crude steel, a total of 16.35 million tons of 10 nonferrous metals, 30.44 million tons of phosphate ore, 44.54 million tons of crude salt, and 1.06 billion tons of cement. In China's western region, the oil and gas productions increased steadily, and large-scale development and utilization of coal-bed methane were conducted.

 

In 2005, China's total trade volume of mineral commodities exceeded US$300 billion, and its imports of large-tonnage scarce mineral commodities continued to increase. The 2005 imports of some mineral commodities are shown below: 126.82 million tons of crude oil, 275.23 million tons of iron ore, 4.58 million tons of manganese ore, 3.02 million tons of chromite ore, 4.06 million tons of copper ore, and 9.17 million tons of potash fertilizer. Prices of mineral commodities kept rising. There occurred a surplus of production capacity for part of the raw and processed materials such as steel products. The profits of mining enterprises declined. Most mineral commodities tended to attain a balance between the supply and demand, but a short supply occurred with natural gas.

 

III.   Marine Resources

 

The total output value of China's main marine industries reached 1,698.7 billion yuan（～US$212.3 billion）with the added value of 720.2 billion yuan（～US$ 90.0 billion）. According to comparable price calculation, the added value increased by 12.2% as compared with the previous year and was equivalent to 3.95% of China's gross domestic product (GDP) of the same period. The proportion of the primary to the secondary to the tertiary marine industry was 17:31:52. The added value of the primary marine industry was 120.6 billion yuan（～US$15.1 billion）, that of the secondary 223.2 billion yuan（～US$27.9 billion）and the tertiary 376.4 billion yuan (～US$47.1 billion).

 

Various main marine industries maintained a tendency of steady growth. The coastal tourism, marine fishery (and related aquaculture), and marine transport and communications, as three pillar marine industries, occupied nearly three-fourths of the total output value of the main marine industries, with the coastal tourism ranking first among the main marine industries. Emergent marine industries such as marine power generation and sea-water multi-purpose utilization developed rapidly and their position in marine economy was gradually raised.

 

The economy of China's sea areas grew persistently and rapidly. The total output value of the main marine industries of the circum-Bohai Sea economic zone was 551.0 billion yuan（～US$68.9 billion）, accounting for 32.4% of the total output value of China's industries; the sum of the output values of three pillar marine industries— marine fishery, coastal tourism and marine transport and communications— occupied 69.8% of the total output value of the zone's main marine industries. The total output value of the main marine industries of the Yangtze River Delta economic zone was 586.0 billion yuan（～US$73.3 billion）, making up 34.5% of the total output value of China's main marine industries; the sum of the output values of the above-mentioned three pillar marine industries constituted 74.3% of the total output value of the zone's main marine industries. The total output value of the main marine industries of the Pearl River Delta economic zone was 300.0 billion yuan（～US$37.5 billion）, amounting to 17.7% of the total output value of China's main marine industries; the sum of the output values of five pillar marine industries — coastal tourism, marine fishery, marine power, marine oil and gas, and marine transport and communications — accounted for 93.9% of the total output value of the zone's main marine industries.

 

The marine management began to proceed in conformity with the law. New progress was made in the management of sea areas. The Interim Measures for the Management of Specially Protected Sea Areas was promulgated, regularizing the procedures of application for such protected sea areas. A total of 6,887 licenses for sea area use were issued; the right of use was established for 273,000 hectares of sea areas; and 1.05 billion yuan（～US$131 million）of fees for using sea areas was collected. The compilation of provincial-level marine functional divisions and related application for approval were further pushed forward. Law enforcement and supervision on sea were constantly intensified. In the year 2005, 12,226 projects of various kinds were inspected and decisions of administrative penalty for 1,869 cases were made.

 

The survey of sea area boundaries was steadily promoted. A total of 120 boundaries of inter-county marine administrative divisions were surveyed and defined, accounting for 50% of China's total of such boundaries. The offshore investigation of boundaries of inter-provincial marine administrative divisions was fully accomplished, and relevant provincial people's governments formally signed the Agreement on the Boundaries of Marine Administrative Divisions for the northern Tianjin-Hebei line, the southern Tianjin-Hebei line and the Guangdong-Guangxi line.

 

China's sea areas whose water failed to attain the quality standards of clean sea water totaled 139,000 km2 , and the general pollution status of China's sea areas did not take a turn for the better.

 

Measures on preventing and mitigating marine hazards were further improved. In 2005, 82 red tides were reported in China's sea areas, a 15% decrease over the previous year, and the cumulative area of the red tides was about 27,070 km2 , basically equaling that of the previous year; and direct economic losses caused by them exceeded 69 million yuan (～US$8.6 million).

 

IV.    Land and Resources Survey

 

Major results were achieved in land and resources survey. Great progress was made in fundamental geological investigation, with the geological service field constantly expanded and reinforced. The 1:250,000 regional geological survey in the blank areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was fully completed. In the period 1999-2005,110 quadrangles of 1:250,000 regional geological survey were plotted for the blank areas, covering 1.52 million km2 ; a full coverage of China's terrestrial territory by medium-scale geological survey was accomplished; a lot of valuable new data of petrology, tectonics, stratigraphy, and paleontology, etc. of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were obtained; a batch of new concepts concerning frontier scientific issues were achieved; and more than 10 important, considerably large minerogenic belts of iron, copper, and boron, etc. were discovered. In 2005, the MLR completed 110,000 km2 of 1:250,000 regional geological survey, 419,000 km2 of amendment survey, 278,000 km2 of 1:1,000,000 regional gravity survey, 34,000 km2 of 1:200,000 regional gravity survey, 11,000 km2 of 1:200,000 regional geochemical survey, and 26,200 km2 of 1:50,000 aerial remote-sensing survey. In respect to marine geological investigation, it completed 3,776 km of multi-channel seismic survey, 2,076 km of gravity survey and 5,528 km of multi-beam survey. The Ministry also carried out a multi-target geochemical investigation, which played an important part in promoting agricultural restructuring, agro-productive efficiency increase and farmers' income growth. The first agricultural geological investigation project— Agro-geological Investigation in Zhejiang Province— was comprehensively implemented, resulting in the survey of a total area of 43,600 km2 which constituted 86.5% of the province's farmland, the collection of 66,000 samples and the acquisition of 1.26 million firsthand data. The basic conditions of quality of the agricultural land in Zhejiang Province were ascertained. The comprehensive remote-sensing survey of land and resources carried out at the provincial level was fully completed, and that covering China's terrestrial territory was accomplished in an all-round way. Consequently, substantial results were scored in the aspects of land resources, mineral resources, water resources, tourism resources, forest resources, geological hazards, geological structures and regional stability, and ecological environment; and a management and service system of provincial-level comprehensive remote-sensing survey of land and resources was established. These provided basic and accurate data for the planning of national and regional economy and society, the management of land and resources and the sustainable development of society.

 

New advances were made in marine geological investigation. The gas hydrate survey in China's sea areas was further promoted, expanding the country's prospective areas of gas hydrate resources, delineating most promising key target areas on the continental shelf of the northern South China Sea and locating the first batch of well sites for drilling.

 

Major achievements were obtained in the exploration of solid mineral resources. In the porphyry copper enrichment belt of Xianggelila County, Yunnan Province, 35 ore deposits or occurrences were discovered; the regional prospective resources were expected to exceed 5.00 million tons; and the exploration and development of the Pulang copper deposit and its peripheral copper deposits or occurrences would greatly accelerate the regional socio-economic development. The funds for ore exploration and development introduced into the Pulang copper deposit alone reached 1.5 billion   yuan（～US$187.5 million）. Significant progress was made in the exploration of the Qulong copper deposit in Maizhokunggar County, Tibet, leading to the control of more than 1 million tons of copper resource. And its periphery has a great potential for ore prospecting. The copper resource of the Dobzha copper deposit in Tibet was estimated at 2 million tons, making it a potential superlarge deposit, and the Saijial and Tiegelong ore districts at its periphery were promising for porphyry copper exploration. In the tin field in Hunan Province more than 30 tin veins were discovered and its predicted prospective resource of tin was 0.50 million tons and that of tungsten, over 0.30 million tons. In the stratabound Pb-Zn deposit in western Hubei, more than130 occurrences were found, and its predicted Pb-Zn resource exceeded 5.00 million tons. In the Baiganhu W-Sn deposit in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 3 W-Sn segments were demarcated and 29 ore veins were controlled by engineering, with the estimated tungsten resource being over 300,000 tons.

 

Investigation and evaluation of groundwater resources were carried out effectively. Remarkable efficiency was achieved in groundwater exploration in China's western areas where water was in grave shortage. Breakthrough successes were scored in groundwater exploration in the Ordos Basin. A total of 143 prospective water sources for centralized water supply were delineated throughout the basin, thus ensuring water resources supply for the construction of local energy and chemical-industry bases and the protection of local ecological environment. Marked social efficiency was gained through demonstration of water exploration in red beds in Sichuan Province, and over 335,000 small-diameter water wells were drilled and constructed in 35 counties or towns, making it possible for 1.17 million farmers of the water-scarce red-bed areas to have clean water to drink. These efforts had led to the solution of the thorny problem of acute drinking water shortage faced by humans and domestic animals and having lasted for nearly half a century, and therefore made a contribution to the construction of new socialist countryside.

 

Significant progress was made in the respect of public service of geological investigation data. China published for the first time the data of 1:200,000 geochemical prospecting. In 2005, the Chinese Geological Survey disclosed the service information on the first batch of data of geological investigation results, including 25,000 sorts of geological data of open results, 8 sorts of geological data of database results, and 60,000 sorts of geological data of confidential results. In November 2005, the Survey disclosed the service information of the second batch of data of geological investigation results, of which the 1:200,000 geochemical data not shared by the public in previous years were offered for public use, giving important information to mining investors for selecting ore exploration targets, and winning universal commendation.

 

New results were obtained in the monitoring of urban land prices and market. According to regular and selected-point monitoring in China's 51 key cities, the general price per square meter of land in major cities in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters was 1,212, 1,225, 1,233 and 1,251 yuan （～151, 153, 154 and 156 US dollars）, respectively, representing an increase of 1.21%, 0.92%, 0.67% and 1.42%. Compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, the prices of general   land, commercial land, residential land, and industrial land of urban areas grew by 4.44%, 3.70%, 5.67% and 2.37%, respectively. The dynamic monitoring of land market was further extended to cover more than 1,000 counties, cities and prefectures. The publication of information was promoted steadily. A total of 21,066 public notices about land supply, as well as 40,999 pieces of information of land transaction, were published.

 

The level of dynamic remote-sensing monitoring of land use was further enhanced. The MLR accomplished the evaluation of the dynamic remote-sensing monitoring of land use conducted in the 10th Five-Year Plan period; worked out a program for the 11th Five-Year Plan period; in coordination with law enforcement and inspection officials, carried out the monitoring of land-use change in 8 cities; and using the method of comparison between corresponding periods, conducted remote-sensing monitoring of newly added construction land in 10 districts of Beijing and Hangzhou. It fulfilled the task of monitoring in cities with a population of more than 0.5 million, with the total monitored land of 106,200 km2 , which was distributed in 285 districts or counties under 55 cities; established the National Rapid Inquiry and Browsing System of Dynamic Remote-sensing Monitoring of Land Use; set up the Database of Control Points of Remote-sensing Imagery for Cities with a Population of over 0.5 Million; and compiled and published the Atlas of Dynamic Remote-sensing Monitoring of Land Use in China's Cities with a Population over 0.5 Million.

 

V.       Geological Environment and Geological Hazard Control

 

The State Council promulgated and put into effect the National Emergency Plan for Unexpected Geological Hazards, under which the MLR worked out the Rapid Disposal Procedures for Damages and Dangers Caused by Geological Hazards.

 

More than 40,000 stations for public monitoring and prevention of geological hazards were set up throughout the country and a national online releasing system for information of public monitoring and prevention of hazards was developed. Pilot operation of the first nationwide distance consultation on geological emergencies was successfully carried out. Monitoring of and warning against geological hazards were conducted effectively, leading to the dodge of 500 geological hazards, the safe relocation of 11,376 people and the stave-off of property losses of 341 million yuan（～US$42.6 million）. Geological hazards causing casualties or direct economic losses of more than 500,000 yuan（～US$62,500）totaled 854 throughout China. These hazards caused 1,021 casualties, including 578 deaths, 104 missing persons and 339 injuries. The direct economic losses brought about by them amounted to 3.65 billion yuan（～US$456 million）, and the total losses incurred in 7 provinces —Anhui, Guangdong, Yunnan, Sichuan, Fujian, Liaoning and Hubei— accounted for 91.7% of the total of China.

 

The second-phase geological hazard control project for the Three Gorges Reservoir area was completed and passed the State-level check and acceptance. Engineering projects were implemented at plenty of sites, including 163 ones for controlling collapses and landslides, 71 ones for protecting banks that were prone to collapse, 147 ones for repairing and reinforcing high cut slopes, and 803 ones for consolidating deep foundations. Part of the projects for relocating residents and avoiding harms were accomplished. The third-phase emergency control project of geological hazards was fully demonstrated, and related control work was started in an all-round way.

 

Significant progress was made in the monitoring of ground subsidence in the Yangtze River Delta. A joint conference on the monitoring of ground subsidence in the Yangtze River Delta and a discussion on the prevention and control of ground subsidence were held. The Notice on Ground Subsidence and Groundwater Environment Status in the Yangtze River Delta was circulated. Monitoring results indicated that the ground subsidence in the delta generally tended to ease up. Interim results were obtained in the investigation and monitoring of ground subsidence in the North China Plain.

 

Monitoring of groundwater was persistently carried out in major cities and plain areas; the development of three State-level groundwater monitoring demonstration areas (Beijing, Jinan and Urumqi) was emphatically promoted; and the quality of the monitoring network and the level of automatic monitoring were greatly enhanced. A trial operation of China's groundwater information network had begun.

 

Data of groundwater level monitoring in China's 160 cities showed that by comparison with the previous year, the groundwater level exhibited a tendency of rise in 38 cities, remained basically stable in 96 cities, and assumed a general trend of fall in 26 cities. Data of groundwater quality monitoring suggested that as compared with the previous year, the groundwater pollution was aggravated in 21 cities, the water quality or pollution essentially kept stable in 123 cities and the water pollution tended to ease in 14 cities.

 

Geological environmental investigation of mines in various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government was essentially completed, and planning of environmental protection and control for provincial-level mines was carried out. A central budgetary appropriation of 753.31 million yuan（～US$94 million）was made for the projects of mine environment control. The qualification license of national mine park was approved for and granted to 28 units which had applied for such a license.

 

Protection of geological relics was strengthened and a central budgetary appropriation of 96.00 million yuan（～US$12 million）was made for geological relic protection projects. The construction of geoparks continued to proceed steadily. Four national geoparks — the Yandang Mountain Geopark in Zhejiang, the Taining Geopark in Fujian, the Hexigten Geopark in Nei Mongol and the Xingwen Geopoark in Sichuan — were approved as world geoparks by the UNESCO. Fifty-three national geoparks were newly approved, bringing the total number of national geoparks in China to 138.

 

Significant progress was made in the protection of paleontological fossils. A national seminar on the protection and management of paleontological fossils and a forum on the construction and management of national geoparks of the paleontological fossil type were held. The exit/entry permit system for paleontological fossils was improved and the procedures for examining and approving the exit and entry of such fossils were standardized. In 2005, a total of 6 batches of paleontological fossils were examined and approved for going out of China for exhibition. In cooperation with the Australian government, the MLR cracked down trans-boundary smuggling and illegal trading of paleontological fossils. The Australian government turned over to China for the first time a group of precious paleontological fossils.

 

Protection of geothermal and mineral-water resources was further intensified. Activities of naming "China Geoheat City" and "China Hot-spring Home" were initiated. Three sites — Qionghai in Hainan Province, Xiaotangshan in Beijing, and Chenzhou in Hunan Province — were examined and approved as "China Hot-spring Home".

 

VI.    Science and Technology and Informatization of Land and Resources

 

Scientific and technological innovation of land and resources was constantly promoted. The Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project was completed successfully, achieving innovative results and significant scientific findings. Major breakthroughs were scored in a series of national scientific and technological projects of the 10th Five-Year Plan. Projects of the National "973" Program passed the acceptance and interim evaluation organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology; major advances were achieved in marine resources development of the National "863" Program; and projects of the National Program for Tackling Key Scientific and Technological Issues proceeded smoothly. Scientific research tasks of the 9 special projects and more than 40 key projects designated by the 10th Five-Year Plan for Scientific and Technological Development of the MLR were basically fulfilled, reaping rich fruits. A lot of excellent scientific and technological results were popularized in the fields of resources survey, geological hazard monitoring and geological and mineral investigations and evaluations. Ten first-class awards and 61 second-class awards of the Scientific and Technological Achievement Prize of Land and Resources were assessed and granted. Collection and integration of scientific and technological results were strengthened. Projects of the "Three-River" Cu-Au-Polymetallic Metallogenic System in Southwestern China and Related Exploration and Evaluation and the Stability Evaluation and Hazard Control of High Side-Slopes in Southwestern China won first-class awards of the State Scientific and Technological Progress Prize.

 

The MLR actively participated in the formulation of the scheme for the State's 11th Five-Year Science and Technology Plan; organized and compiled the Guide to the Registration of Scientific Research Projects of the 2006 Investigation and the Guide to the Registration of Digital Land and Resources Projects; launched the expert appraisal and on-site evaluation of the second batch of 17 ministerial centers of quality supervision, inspection and test; worked out the national standards for land and resources classification and a series of technical specifications and standards for geological investigation, geological environment management, mining right filing, etc.; fully pushed forward the informatization of land and resources; and formally started the first-phase construction of the Golden Land Project. It also deeply implemented the "Ten Measures" and "Five Bans" formulated by itself; made new progress in the disclosure on the Internet of administrative information; and accomplished the development of its foundation platform for e-government, making it possible to run main administrative affairs of land and resources on the Internet. Furthermore, the MLR promoted in an all-round way the construction of the State-level Land and Resources Data Center; established and put into operation a group of basic databases; preliminarily built up the trunk network of land and resources; put into use a video conference system; further improved the properties of the website of its own, providing increasingly rich information; and made its foreign website one of the main channels for publicizing administrative information of land and resources. The scientific and technological results network timely made known to the public the scientific and technological achievements of land and resources and regularly published the information on the new trends and advances of scientific and technological work.

 

The land and resources website was trial-operated, providing a characteristic service to the general public.

 

The MLR strengthened international exchange and cooperation, successfully held the China International Mining Conference 2005, and pushed forward bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Cooperation with foreign countries in geological survey and mineral development abroad achieved substantial progress. Going out of China for professional training and introducing into China experts and technical know-how were further reinforced.

 

VII. Land and Resources Management

 

Land and resources planning was carried forward in an all-round way. The critical strategic research on the 11th Five-Year Plan of Land and Resources was completed and the Program of the 11th Five-Year Plan of Land and Resources was formulated. Antecedent work of the amendment to the national general plan of land use was conducted in a down-to-earth manner and that of the amendment to the provincial general plans was arranged comprehensively. Pilot amendment to land-use plans at various levels was constantly promoted. The implementation of the 10th Five-Year Plan for mineral resources exploration and for land and resources survey was evaluated. The 11th Five-Year Plan for Land and Resources Survey and the Program of Mineral Resources Exploration for Rejuvenating Old Industrial Bases in Northeast China (Draft) were worked out, and the Program for Exploration of Backup Mineral Resources for China's Resource-deficient Mines was implemented. The planning of land in Tianjin and Shenzhen was essentially completed on a trial basis, that in Liaoning and Xinjiang was pushed forward in perfect order, that in Guangdong was formally started, and that of the whole country was studied intensively at its early stage. The third-term international training course of land planning was run successfully.

 

The MLR actively improved and participated in the macro-regulation; implemented the principle of supplying land according to different needs, i.e. ensuring adequate supply of land for important projects but reducing the supply for less important ones; strictly examined and approved the supply of construction land that was newly added; and guaranteed the supply of land essential to the State's key projects. The State Council approved 851 projects of construction land, of which 460 were key ones in bad need of land. The MLR, in conjunction with the Ministry of Construction, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the People's Bank of China, the State Taxation Administration and the China Banking Regulatory Commission formulated the "Opinions on Improving the Work of Stabilizing Housing Prices". Of the total of land supplied throughout 2005, the stock land accounted for 56% and the newly added land constituted 44%. A relatively balanced allocation of land among all trades and industries was achieved and the structure of land supply for real estate development was further optimized. In 2005, 43.3% of the supplied land was for industrial facilities, mines and storehouses, 30.6% for real estates and 26.1% for other purposes.

 

Achievements of land market rectification were further consolidated and enhanced. The State Council's General Office disseminated the Notice about Opinions on Prompting State-level Economic Technological Development Zones to Further Raise Their Development Levels formulated jointly by the Ministry of Commerce, the MLR and the Ministry of Construction, with the purpose of further intensifying the management of land use in State-level economic technological development zones. The MLR issued the Urgent Notice about Rigorously Banning the Illegal Action of "Replacing Expropriation with Renting" in Land Use; carefully defined the exact limits of economic technological development zones; completed the examination and verification of land-use plans of the zones; cut 10 such zones and reduced 5,200 km2 of land on the basis of the clear-up and rectification conducted in 2004. The Ministry preliminarily established a warning and predicting system of land use for State-level economic technological development zones and accomplished the monitoring and analysis of land use in 160 such zones all over the country. During the 2005 nationwide investigation of illegal land-use cases, 80,427 cases were put on file for inquiry, 79,763 cases were settled, 6,992.87 hectares of land were withdrawn, and 2.176 billion yuan（～US$272 million）was confiscated.

 

The MLR actively safeguarded the legal rights and interests of the people. It issued the Notice on the Formulation of Uniform Annual Output Value Standards for Land Expropriation and on the Comprehensive Pricing of Land in Areas Where Land Is Requisitioned; and improved the standards for compensation of land expropriation. In the process of examining the construction land to be submitted to the State Council for approval, the MLR maintained a stringent land-supply standard and increased the compensation fees of 230 million yuan（～US$28.8 million）for farmers who had their land expropriated. Together with the Ministry of Supervision, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the State Auditing Administration, the MLR made the correction of the error of infringing upon farmers' interests in land collection and expropriation. It strengthened the administrative review of land and resources issues, with emphasis on administrative supervision and relief by different authorities at various levels. The "rejection by one vote" principle was exercised in handling the land-use issues raised by people in their letters or on their visits to higher authorities, and 10% of the construction land applications failed to pass the examination. In 2005, 24,700 cases of land right dispute were mediated and 88.21% of them were successfully handled and resolved. The number of cases of visiting higher authorities for help and intervention, induced by State-owned land right disputes, were reduced by over 50% as compared with the corresponding period of 2004.

 

The order of mineral resources exploration and development was rectified and regularized in an all-round way. The State Council's Notice of Fully Rectifying and Regularizing Mineral Resources Development Order was implemented. The MLR and the National Development and Reform Commission, together with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Supervision, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, the State Environmental Protection Administration and the State Administration of Work Safety, established and organized the Inter-ministerial Joint Conference to direct the nationwide rectification of mineral resources development order and strengthen the joint enforcement of law. In conjunction with the National Development and Reform Commission and other administrative departments, the MLR delivered the Notice of Fully Launching the Rectification and Regularization of Mineral Resources Development Order and earnestly carried out the "Three Checks" work. It standardized, according to law, the industrial norms of geological exploration, extensively pushed forward the qualification registration of geological exploration enterprises and issued the Notice on Some Issues of Regularizing the Rights of Exploration and Mining Licenses. The MLR, together with the National Development and Reform commission, dispatched the Notice of Nationwide Special Inspection of the Recovery of Coal Resources and made such an inspection in 27 coal-producing provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government. It improved and rectified the oil exploration and mining order and participated in the improvement of the public order in China's oil-producing areas. In 2005, 17,767 cases of illegal mineral exploration and mining were put on file for investigation, 17,121 cases were settled, 8 exploration licenses and 249 mining licenses were revoked, and 213 million yuan（～US$26.6 million）was confiscated.

 

A system of exercising administration in accordance with the law was taking shape in land and resources management. The modern administration procedure with power restriction as its core was constantly improved; a new work system with high efficiency and with people's benefits as its basis was fully established; the lawful decision-making mechanism with the public participation as the guarantee for its operation was further improved; a market allocation of resources based on fairness and justice was carried out completely; a breakthrough advance was achieved in the functional transformation with administrative innovation as its goal; an administrative "relief" system aiming at safeguarding people's rights and interests was being formed; the fundamental work of running administration according to law, driven by reform and innovation, was intensified; and the mechanism of running administration according to law, characterized by coordination and cooperation, was relatively mature.

 

VIII.            Surveying and Mapping Management and Services

 

New success was scored in social services by the surveying and mapping sector. In 2005, the sector provided to society relevant services totaling 2.38 billion yuan（～US$297.5 million）in value, including 619,000 sheets of topographic maps of various types, 126,000 quadrangles of digital maps, data of 86,000 geodetic survey points and about 574,000 aerial photographs. It compiled and published 2,164 kinds of maps and books concerning administrative divisions, teaching, tourism, etc, totaling 170 million copies or sheets; organized the development of a batch of maps urgently needed by governmental departments and related sectors in their scientific decision-making; and established a managerial system based on geographic information, thus ensuring the needs of surveying and mapping data by national and local key engineering projects.

 

The legal system for surveying and mapping was further improved. Hebei, Jilin, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Shandong, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Qinghai and other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government revised and published the Regulations (Measures) for Surveying and Mapping Management. A total of 23 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government completed the revision of the Local Regulations (Measures) for Surveying and Mapping Management since the 2002 revision of the Surveying and Mapping Law of the People's Republic of China.

 

Fundamental surveying and mapping work was constantly strengthened. New progress was made in the construction of the geographic space framework of the "Digital China". The 1:50,000 national basic geographic information database was essentially completed. A group of 1:10,000 provincial-level and large-scale municipal- and county-level basic geographic information databases were completed or updated. Numerous national topographic maps at a basic scale were drawn through topographic survey. The geographic information distribution and service system based on the Internet was put into trial operation. The project of "1:50,000 Topographic Mapping of Blank Areas in the Western Region" was formally put on file for implementation with approval from the State Council. A large-scale geodetic survey of the Mount Qomolangma area and the measurement of the elevation of Mount Qomolangma were conducted. With approval and authorization from the State Council, the surveying and mapping sector announced to the world that the recently measured elevation of Mount Qomolangma was 8,844.43 m. The State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping and the Ministry of Civil Affairs jointly compiled and published the Atlas of Administrative Divisions of the People's Republic of China. A large group of surveying and mapping scientific research projects of the 10th Five-Year Plan passed examination and evaluation and were accepted. The projects of "Service Technology and Industrialization of Spatial Information Network" and "Automatic Synthesis Technology and Application of Spatial Data" won second-class awards of the State Scientific and Technological Progress Prize.

 

The surveying and mapping market was further regularized. The Notice of Opinions on Strengthening the Publicity and Education of National Territory Awareness and the Supervision of Map Market issued by the General Office of the State Council was implemented. The State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, together with the Publicity Department of the CCCPC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, launched the activities of publicity and education of national territory awareness, leading to further enhancement of such awareness among Chinese citizens. The Bureau also issued, jointly with the Press and Publication Administration and the Ministry of Information Industry, the Notice of Strengthening the Management of Online Maps, further improving the management of online maps. The Bureau continued to improve the supervision of the cartographic market. The administrative authorities of surveying and mapping at all levels investigated and dealt with a total of over 440 illegal cartographic cases and sealed up and confiscated 257,000 illegal cartographic products. The nationwide reexamination and certificate renewal of surveying and mapping qualifications were completed. The number of qualified surveying and mapping units exceeded 9,100 at the end of 2005.

 

Strategic research and planning of surveying and mapping were carried out steadily. The strategic research on the development of surveying and mapping was continued. The Strategic Program of Development of the Surveying and Mapping Cause was further revised and improved. The National Program for Long- and Medium-term Development of Basic Surveying and Mapping, as well as the 11th Five-Year Program for Surveying and Mapping Development, was compiled. Most of China's provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government had drawn up their basic surveying and mapping plans and their 11th five-year plans of development in surveying and mapping.

 

Notes:

1. Figures shown in this communiqué are preliminary statistical data.

2. The national statistical data involved in this communiqué, except for the area of territory, do not include the figures of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan Province.

 

(Source: Ministry of Land and Resources of China)