BEIJING — China's Yellow River basin has seen great improvement in the ecological environment after a continuous conservation effort, according to the latest report released by the Yellow River Conservancy Commission.

Compared with the results of the first soil erosion survey conducted by the State Council in 1990, the area of soil erosion in the Yellow River basin decreased by 202,300 square kilometers, or 43.51 percent in 2020, and that of intense soil erosion was reduced by 81.70 percent, says the report.

Data shows that in 2020, the area of soil erosion in the Yellow River basin was 262,700 square kilometers, including 191,400 square kilometers of water erosion and 71,300 square kilometers of wind erosion.

Meanwhile, the soil and water conservation rate in the Yellow River Basin increased from 41.49 percent in 1990 to 66.94 percent in 2020.

The report is the second of its kind since the first one was released in 2010 by the commission under the Ministry of Water Resources. It aims to guide the protection and rational utilization of water and soil resources in river basins and enhance the awareness of water and soil conservation in the whole society.