The Main Problems and Countermeasures of Agricultural Ecological Environment in Guangxi Province

Jingjing LIU, Chaoke QIN

1. China Nonferrous Metal (Guilin) Geology And Mining Co., Ltd., Guilin 541004, China;

2. Guangxi Environmental Control Engineering Research Center, Guilin 541004, China;

3. Guangxi Environmental Engineering and Protection Evaluation Key Laboratory, Guilin 541004, China

Agricultural eco-environment refers to a complex consisting of air, water, forest, soil and sunshine, which are necessary for a griculture, forestry, animal husbandry, side-line production and fishery, as well as environment where rural residents live and production proceeds, Guangxi is a large agricultural province teem with silkworm cocoon,fruits, vegetables and aquatic products. It is famous as a large province producing sugars and hometown of fruits, as well as important region where subtropical agriculture develops. Currently, Guangxi agriculture plays an increasingly important role in China[1-3]and it is clear that it is crucial to protect agricultural eco-environment in Guangxi.Recently,a series of agricultural eco-environment protection measures was issued and implemented in Guangxi for promoting construction of ecological demonstration.At present, agricultural eco-environment of Guangxi is still fragile and goes deteriorating. Hence, the problem of agricultural eco-environment is dominant.The research,therefore,analyzed the existing problems of agricultural eco-environment and proposed c ountermeasures in order to provide references for protection of agricultural eco-environment and agricultural development.

Major Problems of Guangxi Agricultural Eco-environment

Grim situation of farmland protection

In Guangxi,farmland protection is challenged by the small share of farmland per capita,low quality of farmland and few reserve farmlands. According to Second Land Survey of Guangxi,Guangxi had 4.431 million hm2farmlands until December 31, 2009 and farmland per capita reached 0.087 hm2 which was lower compared with national level. What’s more, the farmlands with irrigation facilities only take up 44.7%, and 69 000 hm2farmlands are located in slopes at 25° ,representing 1.6% . At present, with land construction meeting the demands of local economic and social development,land pattern advances in an unbalanced way in Guangxi,includ-ing illegal land occupation, extensive utilization, low efficiency, and conflict between demand and supply of land,which indicates that eco-environment problem is much serious.On the other hand, natural disaster also poses threats to farmlands.Therefore,based on limited farmlands,but a high population,excessive use of farmlands becomes popular, deteriorating farmland quality, destroying soil structure, and reducing contents of organic matter and nutrients.

Uneven distribution of water resources

Water resources mainly refer to rivers and streams and river flows include surface water and underground water. Moreover, river flows generally complement mutually with underground water.In accordance with Bulletin of Guangxi Water Resources in 2013,total quantity of water resources in Guangxi reached 205.7 billion m3in 2013 and perennial water resources averaged 198.0 billion m3, taking up to 7.12% . Furthermore, the rivers with water-collecting area of 50 km2total 937,with an area of 2 364 275 km2, of which 36 rivers have 1 000 km2watercollecting area. Generally speaking,Guangxi is abundant with water, but neither spatial nor temporal distribution is even[4].For example,in flood season during May-September, precipitation represents over 70% and water distribution is uneven, with more in south and less in west. In addition, Guangxi is a southern karst area, resulting in deficiency of surface drainage and water shortage in some areas in Guangxi. Recently, Guangxi is hit frequently by droughts or floods. For instance, from autumn 2009 to spring 2010,Guangxi was hit by the severest drought since 1951 and 85.7% lands underwent droughts. In conclusion,522 966.667 hm2crops were under influence of droughts and 1.764 6 million people and 870 900 heavy livestock was confronted by difficulty of drinking.

Serious pollution on water environment and soil

Some rivers are seriously contaminated in rural areas in Guangxi, and water contamination accidents become common, with severe effects. In recent 5 years, for example, water pollution accidents total over 40 in Guangxi. What’s worse, for some industries or enterprises in rural areas,with small scales, the treatment measures are not so perfect, so that domestic sewages are directly discharged, affecting rural water environment. On the other hand, largescale poultry cultivation grows fast and becomes’s supporting industry for farmers to become rich.In 2013,gross yield of meat and yield of aquatic products in Guangxi ranked the 8thnationwide, with output value of 107.863 billion yuan.Nevertheless,some small or middle-scale cultivation industries,poultry or fishes, do not strictly abide by Environmental Impact Assessment System and the principle that facilities for preventing pollution should be designed, constructed and put into practice simultaneously. In contrast, the phenomenon of constructing without official reply becomes common and excrements of cultivation industries are directly discharged,leading to water pollution. On the other hand, with increasing application of chemical fertilizer and pesticides, some soils are severely contaminated. For example,as per the application per unit, the quantity of applied chemical fertilizer reached 40 t/km2, exceeding that of nation-set level at 22.5 t/km2[5]. Besides,Guangxi is a province abundant with more nonferrous metals and the contents of heavy metals maintain higher in some regions, threatening farmland eco-environment.

Serious water and soil loss and stony desertification in karst areas

According to Remote sensing survey of soil and water loss[6], the area of water and soil loss reached 28 100 km2, taking up to 11.87%. The problem of water and soil loss not only destroys land resources, but also causes many natural disasters. It is the most extensive and serious ecological problem in Guangxi. Guangxi has lots of diversified plants and the northwestern parts are most karst areas, characterized by high mountains,steep slopes, thin soils and low vegetation coverage. Therefore, with low vegetation coverage rate, soil and water loss becomes much more serious,deteriorated by human activities.

Guangxi is also a province with the most extensive area of carbonate rocks in southwestern karst regions[7]and the area of karst region totals 8.33 million hm2, covering 76 counties,cities, or districts of 10 municipalities,and taking up to 35.19% of land area.In southwestern karst regions, the area of stony desertification totals 2.3791millionhm2,representing28.56%of karst regions, and potential area of stony desertification achieves 1.867 1 million hm2, representing 22.41%[8-9]. It is notable that landslides, mountain torrents, and debris flow are prone to occurring in karst areas where over 90% impoverished people live. In the region with stony desertification, the exposing rate of rocks keeps higher,and soils are lower, so that waterholding capacity is lower and leakage rate of rocks is high, leading to droughts or water and soil loss in flooding season.

The vicious circle of stony desertification and water and soil loss has caused forest destruction, water scarcity, and soil infertility, deteriorating agricultural productions and ecoenvironment, and depriving of people’s living environment. For instance, according to Notice on implementation scheme of ecological immigration for poverty alleviation in Guangxi in 2014,the population of ecological migration totaled 14 601 in Guangxi in 2014.

Countermeasures for Improving Agricultural ecoenvironment in Guangxi

To establish an overall conception,with a comprehensive plan for overall development

It is necessary to establish an overall conception and formulate a scientific industrial layout in order to well plan industry, agriculture, and tertiary industry with municipal engineering and environment projects under the principle of eco-environment optimization and agriculture benefiting first.Furthermore,the sustainable development of rural eco-environment should be achieved by comprehensive consideration of rural society, economy and eco-environment. It should recognized that agricultural environment concerns not only traditional agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, but also township enterprisesand development of urbanization and well-off countryside, which decides that the protection of agricultural ecoenvironment is a complicated and systematic project, with many limiting factors. However, because improper management system and operation system available, it is urgent to intensify overall viewpoint and macro-control on rural eco-environment protection. For example, it is necessary to adjust measures to local conditions in developing agriculture,forestry,animal husbandry and fishery.

To enhance publishing and farmers’ecology awareness

On basis of the activity of beautifying Guangxi and cleaning countryside,it is effective to promote ecological and environment protections in rural areas to explore and establish scientific and effective incentive mechanism. Moreover, it is important to strengthen farmer’s ecology awareness and to recognize the importance of eco-environment protection. Additionally, supporting policies should be formulated to stimulate social organizations or the public to work together and participate in agricultural eco-environment protection.

To insist on the most strict farmland protection system and economical use of land

Under guidance of Decision made by the CPC Central Committee on promoting a Number of Major Issues of Government by Law, environmental resources should be rationally developed, utilized and protected and there must be laws to go by, the laws must be observed and strictly enforced, and lawbreakers must be prosecuted.Moreover, it is crucial to insist on the severest farmland protection system and economical use of land to preserve the “red line” of farmland protection and crop safety, and formulate township construction in rural areas in order to guarantee practical quantity of farmlands in Guangxi. Besides, it is key to advance intensive use of farmlands, optimize land use structure and improve land use efficiency. Additionally, related policies should be issued to stimulate and lead farmers to apply organic fertilizers and intensify ecological environmental impact assessment on new projects in rural areas.

To further improve rural environment protection, and control agricultural and rural non-point pollution

One-vote negation system should be stuck to in terms of environment protection in case of new hidden dangers or problems and award can be provided for promoting comprehensive treatments of rural environment. Besides,dispersive water sources should be reinforced in monitoring and management, avoiding pollution on water source and rural domestic sewages and garbage should be treated according to local specific problems to prevent soil contamination and advance remediation demonstration projects of soil contamination. Moreover, rural ponds should be desilted and cleaned to restore and reconstruct wetland ecosystem and improve water ecofunction. Agricultural technology should be widely applied to develop green, organic and pollution-free food and technologies of fertilizer, pesticide and water saving should be promoted to prevent non-point pollution from source. In addition, pollution caused by animal husbandry should be intensified to determine the cultivation scale, stimulate highly-efficient ecocultivation and enhance treatments on excrements in order to construct a series of large-scale demonstration projects of comprehensive utilization of wastes from the cultivation farms. On the other hand, the treatment of rural industrial pollution should be reinforced and the access conditions of related projects, environmental influence and the principle of facilities for preventing pollution be designed,constructed and put into practice simultaneously should be strictly implemented in case of pollution transferring from city to countryside or from industries with serious pollution to remote rural areas.

To explore new treatment mode of stony desertification and control water and soil loss

As per stony desertification grades, the proper industry and development mode should be selected to advance sustainable development in economic and ecological aspects.Specifically, major ecological projects of forestry should be promoted with capital invested and afforestation should be stimulated to improve forestry coverage rate and enhance protection on natural reserve.Furthermore, collective forest rights system should be reinforced as soon as possible in a comprehensive way to emancipate the productive forces and the right of management should be issued to farmers with forest right certificates.Besides, forest property circulation,forestry rights mortgage loan, and forest insurance should be reformed as well to improve farmers’activity in participating treatment of stony desertification. Additionally, characteristic industries should be encouraged to advance ecology-oriented poverty alleviation and to establish the concept of mountains and rocks as treasures among people. In karst regions, the construction of biogas digester should be integrated with kitchen, pigpen and toilet to promote the models of "pigbiogas digester-fruits", "pig-biogas digester-crop" and "pig-biogas digestervegetable"and to advance adjustment of rural industrial structure and farmers’ incomes growth. Hence, it would be conductive for exploring new treatment models to integrate treatment of stony desertification with returning the grain plots to forestry, water and soil conservation, drinking water and poverty alleviation.

To consolidate scientific management and develop eco-agriculture

Scientific management can be intensified from the perspective of sustainable development[10]and the development and application from the aspects of optimization and promotion from technical policy,investment environment and production fields would guarantee orderly utilization and reduce pressure of agricultural production on resources and environment,such as water-saving agriculture,landsaving agricultural technology,energysaving technology and forage-saving cultivation technology, as well as resources disposal technique of agricultural wastes and ecological engineering technology.What’s more,it is key to further control population growth and improve the quality of education and to conduct scientific research of agricultural eco-environment for extension and application to de-velop eco-agriculture[11]. By networked food chain and recycling of agricultural wastes to construct virtuous circle of materials and promote sustainable development of agriculture for unification of economic, society and ecological benefits.

Conclusions

Agricultural eco-environment is an overall ecosystem concerning rural society and sustainable economic development. The research analyzed existing problems of agricultural ecoenvironment, such as severe situation of farmland protection, uneven distribution of water resources, serious rural environment, stony desertification,and water and soil loss and proposed to establish overall conception, comprehensive plan, scientific development, intensification of farmers’ ecological awareness, insisting on farmland system and land-saving system,as well as reinforcement of treatments on rural pollution, explore new development models for stony desertification, control water and soil loss, enhance scientific management,and develop eco-agriculture in order to rural sustainable development in terms of society, economy, and environment,which provides references for rural eco-environment protection and agricultural evolvement in Guangxi.

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