CHONGQING — Southwest China's Chongqing municipality has treated nearly 8,000 square km of land area to battle water and soil erosion over the last five years, authorities said on March 22.

From 2016 to 2020, the treatment area reached 7,935 square km, and in 2020 alone, 1,335 square km of land area was treated, according to the municipal administration of water resources.

Chongqing has set up a key area of some 7,500 square km or 9.1 percent of the city's total land area to prevent water and soil erosion, with conservation measures implemented and production activities restricted.

Returning farmland to forests and harnessing stony desertification are among the treatment measures.

A city with abundant steep mountains and water resources, Chongqing is one of the provincial-level areas that suffer the worst water and soil erosion in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.