Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region had protected 1,161 square kilometers of the region's soil from erosion by the end of 2011, said Wu Hongxiang, head of the region's Water Resources Department.

Wu stated that the regional government launched additional ecological projects in 2011 in order to protect soil from erosion. He added that the government also enhanced the protection of sloping farmlands to prevent erosion.

Ningxia plans to prevent soil erosion on more than 1,000 square kilometers of land in 2012.

Wu also confirmed that the region would build multiple eco-economical control projects in a bid to coordinate soil erosion control, disaster prevention, feature industries, poverty alleviation, raising farmers' incomes and the development of new villages.

Ningxia is just one of China's provinces which suffer from severe soil and water loss. The region's 36,800 square kilometers of soil erosion brings an annual average of almost 100 million tons of silt into the Yellow River.