WUHAN — The soil erosion area along the longest river in China was reduced by 37,900 square km over the past seven years, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

Water and soil erosion area along the Yangtze River basin reached 346,700 square km in 2018, accounting for 19.36 percent of the total land area of the basin, showed the ministry's monitoring results of soil and water loss.

In recent years, water conservancy departments along the Yangtze River have strengthened supervision and control over human-caused soil erosion.

In 2018, provinces and cities in the Yangtze River basin also stepped up efforts to protect and restore the ecology of the Yangtze River and implemented comprehensive and systematic management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, and grasslands.