On July 23, MEE presided over a ministerial executive meeting which deliberated and adopted in principle the action plan for the control of the pollution in the agricultural sector and the rural areas and the action plan for the integrated environmental management of the Bohai Sea.

The meeting held that the control of the pollution in the agricultural sector and the rural areas marks one of the seven hallmark battles waged against pollution. The move is very important for rejuvenating the countryside, tackling pressing ecological and environmental problems in the agricultural sector and rural areas, improving the living environment of the countryside, and increasing the sense of gain and sense of happiness of the rural residents.

To control such pollution, it is imperative to step up waste recycling and ecological conservation, press ahead with the integrated environmental management of the living environment, reduce the agricultural inputs, conduct cleaner agricultural production, use the wastes as resources, and adopt eco-friendly production patterns. Furthermore, it is important to protect the drinking water sources in the countryside, treat the domestic wastes and sewage there, scale down the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and water consumption, improve the water quality of water bodies polluted by agricultural non-point pollution sources, and enhance the comprehensive utilization of agricultural residues, the ecological and environmental regulatory capacity of the rural areas, and the contribution of the rural residents to the ecological and environmental protection.

Bohai Sea as the only half-enclosed continental sea has seen improving water quality over the past few years, however, the environmental quality of key gulfs has not been significantly improved, which leads to increasing risks that present daunting challenges. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct the integrated environmental management of the sea, and improve its ecological and environmental conditions, so as to provide invaluable support for the sustainable economic and social development in the Bohai Rim.

To this end, the meeting required to take into consideration both the land and the sea in the process to advance pollution control, ecological conservation, and risk control; control the pollution at the sources, conduct environmental management of the rivers that empty into the sea, regulate the sources that discharge polluted waters into the sea without prior treatment, and strictly control the pollutants that affect the marine environment.

In addition, it is imperative to carry forward the ecological conservation and restoration of the sea and raise its resource and environment carrying capacity, by drawing ecological conservation red lines and restoring the environment of the coastal zones.

Vice Ministers Huang Runqiu, Zhai Qing, and Zhao Yingmin, Chief Inspector of the CCDI Inspector’s Office and Chief Supervisor of the SSC Supervisor’s Office at the MEE Wu Haiying, and Vice Minister Zhuang Guotai presented at the meeting.

Other leading officials of the Inspector’s Office and the Supervisor’s Office and the principal officials of the internal departments also participated.