Guidelines to control water pollution from agriculture in China
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Deterioration of water quality is considered a key constraint to future economic development and social progress in China, and agriculture is known to be a major source of pollution. Agricultural systems in China have expanded and intensified to meet increasing food demand related to population growth and changes in diet. This has led to greatly increased pressure on water quality. Huge amounts of agrochemicals, organic matter, drug residues, sediments and saline drainage are being discharged every year into water bodies. Water pollution from rural sewage has also increased with the rapid development of the economy and improving living standards in rural areas. Rural sewage is estimated to be about 9 billion tonnes a year; most is discharged into the environment untreated. The resulting increased concentrations of pollutants in water bodies pose demonstrated risks to aquatic ecosystems, human health and productive uses. These guidelines produced by the F ood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture (IEDA) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) review the key pressures and impacts from the main agricultural and rural activities (i.e. cultivation, animal raising, aquaculture, and rural living) and propose a set of good agricultural practices and economic and regulatory actions to minimize pollution and to move towards a more sustainable agriculture intensification in a greener economy.