118
Y. Du
180.6 tons of pesticides, and 528 kg of fertilizers were used per hectare. The 10th
Five-Year Plan for Environmental Protection made containing agricultural point and
non-point pollution and domestic pollution in rural areas and improving rural environment major tasks in environmental protection in rural areas. The Fifth Plenary
Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee put forth for the first time the building
of socialist new countryside. In 2008, the Ministry of Environmental Protection was
established. A special fund for environmental protection in rural areas was also set
up. A total of RMB 500 million was invested for this purpose and 2012, it increased
to RMB 5.5 billion. In 2010, trial guidelines for treatment in contiguous polluted
rural areas were rolled out. In general, since the 16th National Congress of the CPC,
the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have been demanding efforts to
foster and implement sustainable development and paying increasingly more attention to environmental protection in rural areas. In particular, a variety of legislations,
policies and standards for environmental protection in rural areas were formed at the
stage. Moreover, pollution treatment expanded from singe areas and demonstration
centers to various sectors and contiguous regions.
Stage V (2012–present): Deepening. Since the 18th National Congress of the
CPC, building an ecological civilization has been incorporated into all aspects of
China’s social and economic development. Environmental protection in rural areas
is inherently a part of efforts to build an ecological civilization. In the 2013 No.
1 document, China’s central authorities pledged to advancing the development of
an ecological civilization in rural areas and building a beautiful countryside. In the
same year, the Ministry of Agriculture issued a document on a campaign to build
a beautiful countryside. The Environmental Protection Law revised in 2014 contain
provisions on monitoring and warning against agricultural pollution sources, comprehensively improving the rural environment, preventing and treating agricultural nonpoint pollution, and allocating fund for environmental protection in rural areas. These
provisions laid a solid foundation for advancing environmental protection in rural
areas. In the same year, the State Council released Guidelines on Improving the Living
Environment in Rural Areas. The No. 1 document of the central government in 2015
made it clear that agricultural environment and the living environment in rural areas
should be improved. In April 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture released Guidelines
on Fighting Agricultural Point and Non-Point Pollution, setting a target of reducing
agricultural water use and water pollution. Specifically, the total amount of water used
for irrigation was to be kept at 372 billion cubic meters, the quality of irrigation water
should be up to standards, the use of fertilizers and pesticides was to be reduced, and
agricultural waste was to be disposed of in environment-friendly ways. In November
2015, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and other authorities
released Guidelines on Advancing of Rural Waste. In 2017, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued the 13th Five Year Plan
for Comprehensive Improvement of Rural Environment. In 2018, the CPC Central
Committee and the State Council released a three-year action plan for improving
the living environment in rural areas. In general, this stage is a period when environmental protection in agriculture and rural areas was comprehensively deepened.
Instead of the fragmented and separated policies in the past, pollution prevention and
Y. Du
180.6 tons of pesticides, and 528 kg of fertilizers were used per hectare. The 10th
Five-Year Plan for Environmental Protection made containing agricultural point and
non-point pollution and domestic pollution in rural areas and improving rural environment major tasks in environmental protection in rural areas. The Fifth Plenary
Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee put forth for the first time the building
of socialist new countryside. In 2008, the Ministry of Environmental Protection was
established. A special fund for environmental protection in rural areas was also set
up. A total of RMB 500 million was invested for this purpose and 2012, it increased
to RMB 5.5 billion. In 2010, trial guidelines for treatment in contiguous polluted
rural areas were rolled out. In general, since the 16th National Congress of the CPC,
the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have been demanding efforts to
foster and implement sustainable development and paying increasingly more attention to environmental protection in rural areas. In particular, a variety of legislations,
policies and standards for environmental protection in rural areas were formed at the
stage. Moreover, pollution treatment expanded from singe areas and demonstration
centers to various sectors and contiguous regions.
Stage V (2012–present): Deepening. Since the 18th National Congress of the
CPC, building an ecological civilization has been incorporated into all aspects of
China’s social and economic development. Environmental protection in rural areas
is inherently a part of efforts to build an ecological civilization. In the 2013 No.
1 document, China’s central authorities pledged to advancing the development of
an ecological civilization in rural areas and building a beautiful countryside. In the
same year, the Ministry of Agriculture issued a document on a campaign to build
a beautiful countryside. The Environmental Protection Law revised in 2014 contain
provisions on monitoring and warning against agricultural pollution sources, comprehensively improving the rural environment, preventing and treating agricultural nonpoint pollution, and allocating fund for environmental protection in rural areas. These
provisions laid a solid foundation for advancing environmental protection in rural
areas. In the same year, the State Council released Guidelines on Improving the Living
Environment in Rural Areas. The No. 1 document of the central government in 2015
made it clear that agricultural environment and the living environment in rural areas
should be improved. In April 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture released Guidelines
on Fighting Agricultural Point and Non-Point Pollution, setting a target of reducing
agricultural water use and water pollution. Specifically, the total amount of water used
for irrigation was to be kept at 372 billion cubic meters, the quality of irrigation water
should be up to standards, the use of fertilizers and pesticides was to be reduced, and
agricultural waste was to be disposed of in environment-friendly ways. In November
2015, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and other authorities
released Guidelines on Advancing of Rural Waste. In 2017, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued the 13th Five Year Plan
for Comprehensive Improvement of Rural Environment. In 2018, the CPC Central
Committee and the State Council released a three-year action plan for improving
the living environment in rural areas. In general, this stage is a period when environmental protection in agriculture and rural areas was comprehensively deepened.
Instead of the fragmented and separated policies in the past, pollution prevention and