The State Council has approved a 15-year national water and soil conservation plan.

Submitted by the Ministry of Water Resources, the plan aims at building a comprehensive prevention and control system of water and soil erosion by 2030.

According to the plan, China will reinstate 940,000 square kilometers of land that suffered water and soil losses, and realize an average annual reduction of 1.5 billion tons of soil losses by 2030.

The move is one of the government’s priorities to improve ecological environment and build an ecological civilization while promoting sustainable development of the economy.

The plan focuses on the prevention of water erosion and soil loss at sources of rivers, important water source regions, and regions that suffer water and wind erosions.

Regulations will be strengthened on water and soil conservations and an improved monitoring system will be established to supervise the process.

Provincial governments and several ministries will coordinate to implement the plan.