More than half of the land occupied by urban expansion is arable land.

Dong Zuoji, director of the Planning Department of the Ministry of Land and Resources, said today that over the years, urban expansion has indeed occupied a lot of land. China's national conditions are that there is not much arable land, and most of the areas where the city is located are plain areas. therefore, more than half of the large amount of land occupied by urban expansion is cultivated land.

The National Development and Reform Commission held a press conference today to deeply interpret the opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on accelerating the Construction of Ecological Civilization. Relevant responsible comrades of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Land and Resources, and the State Forestry Administration attended the press conference and answered reporters' questions.

Dong Zuoji pointed out that the demarcation of urban development boundaries was first put forward at the central working conference on urbanization. This time, the "opinions on accelerating the Construction of Ecological Civilization" once again put forward clear requirements. The demarcation of urban development boundaries has at least three meanings:

The first is to promote urban transformation and development and improve the quality of urbanization. Urbanization has been speeding up for a period of time, but the quality of urbanization is not high. An important reason here is the inefficient extension expansion of urban scale and urban construction, and the lack of a kind of pressure ultimately leads to the lack of power for transformation and development. A clear boundary of urban development will become a new driving force for the transformation and development of urbanization.

Second, it is conducive to saving land and protecting cultivated land in this way, and it is an important measure to implement the strictest land-saving system and the strictest cultivated land protection system. Over the years, urban extension expansion has indeed occupied a lot of land. China's national conditions are that there is not much arable land, and most of the urban areas are plain areas, so more than half of the land occupied by urban expansion is arable land. In order to ensure national food security and protect cultivated land, we must first control construction land. However, the infrastructure still has to be guaranteed, so the key point is to control the expansion of urban construction land. Through this way to promote intensive conservation of land, promote the protection of arable land.

Third, by delineating the boundaries of urban development, keeping the natural background of landscapes and natural ecology as much as possible, and putting the city in nature, it is of great significance for the improvement of urban ecological environment and for the construction of ecological civilization.

Dong Zuoji said that in July last year, the Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Housing and Construction selected 14 largest cities, including first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, to conduct the first phase of the trial. After nearly a year of work, some principles have been clarified, some methods have been identified, and preliminary results have been achieved. There are several points to promote the experience of the next work: first, it is based on the carrying capacity of resources and environment. To evaluate the carrying capacity of resources and environment in this area, what is the upper limit for construction? Where is the inappropriate one? How much is it? The second is to give priority to economy. At present, the use of urban land is relatively extensive, and it is necessary to draw a tight boundary even if there is potential. The third is to give priority to protection. If the high-quality arable land in this area is relatively concentrated and the important ecological functional areas are centrally distributed, the urban boundaries of this area will be more strict. Fourth, optimize the pattern of urban space development. In addition to being strict, we should also be scientific, and promote the development of urban science through boundary science demarcation. The fifth is to make a good connection with the current plan.

Dong Zuoji said that the Ministry of Land is working with the Ministry of Agriculture to pick out all the arable land on the outskirts of the city and evaluate it. If the quality is really very good, we should try our best to keep these cultivated land, jump out for development, and develop satellite cities and groups. Of course, it is also necessary to act in accordance with the law, and if it involves the adjustment of the original plan, it should be handled in accordance with legal procedures. At present, preliminary results have been achieved in the demarcation of the development boundaries of 14 cities, and the next step is to expand them on the basis of careful summary, so as to make sure that the development boundaries of more than 600 cities across the country can finally be delineated and strictly managed.