On December 29, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development jointly issued the “14th Five-Year Plan for the Protection of Soil, Groundwater and Rural Ecological Environment” (hereinafter referred to as “the Plan”) to make systematic and concrete arrangements for the protection of soil, groundwater and agricultural and rural ecological environment in the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

The plan aims by 2025, the national soil and groundwater quality will remain stable overall and agricultural and construction land will be safe for use, and by 2035, the national soil and groundwater quality will be fundamentally improved. The plan proposes 20 specific tasks in four areas. The first is to promote soil pollution prevention and control, the second is to strengthen groundwater pollution prevention and control, the third is to deepen the environmental management of agriculture and rural areas, and the fourth is to enhance the capacity of ecological and environmental supervision.