China's land watchdog readies regulation

China's land watchdog is working on regulation to restore damaged land with the first experts' meeting held on Nov 16.

The China Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Center of the Ministry of Land and Resources released the information on Monday on its website, saying the draft document will serve as a guideline for land restoration projects.

According to an earlier draft released for public consultation in August, the land watchdog will not allow construction if the applier doesn't have a land recovery plan or didn't complete a previous plan.

The most recent data released by the Ministry of Land and Resources showed that land recovery projects are urgent in China, with more than 8.6 million hectares of land damaged as of 2009.

Yan Zhiyao, director of the ministry's land protection department, said in a earlier report that human activities such as construction and mining are the main reasons behind land damage.