From China Daily:
Erosion could wipe away more than 61,600 square kilometers of land by 2010 as China gears up economic development, said Vice Water Resources Minister E Jingping on Friday.
The figure represents an increase of 11.5 percent from the amount lost from 2001 to 2005, he added.
E said the situation had deteriorated as the country stepped up urbanization and industrialization. Overgrazing, deforestation, hillside farming, mining and road construction were frequently cited as examples of irrational economic activities. [Full Text]
