Recently, the Ministry of Water Resources has approved the River Course Sand Mining Management Plans (2026-2030) for major river sections in the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Pearl River, Songhua River, and Liaohe River Basins.
To implement the stipulations on river course sand mining plan and licensing systems as outlined in laws and regulations such as the Water Law, the Yangtze River Protection Law, the Yellow River Protection Law, and River Course Management Regulations, the Ministry of Water Resources has organized relevant river basin authorities to formulate a new round of sand mining management plans for major rivers. The plans were formulated under the guidance of President Xi Jinping’s water governance principles of “prioritizing water conservation, balancing spatial distribution, taking systematic approaches and promoting government-market synergy” and the spirit of his discourses on water governance. The plans delineate prohibited, permitted, and reserved zones for sand mining in key river sections of major rivers, and specifies key control indicators including extraction elevation limits, no-sand-mining periods, and operational methods. The plans call for strictly implementing the accountability system for sand mining management, adoption of electronic management slips for river sand extraction and transportation, and enhancing application of technologies such as BeiDou positioning, electronic fences, video surveillance, and drone inspections, which will enable stringent crackdowns on illegal sand mining. By doing so, we will be more capable of effectively maintaining river regime stability and ensuring security of flood control, water supply, navigation, ecological protection, and critical infrastructure. Most importantly, the plans will provide a fundamental basis for sand mining management and the scientific utilization of sand resources in major river basins during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
Fujian Province in southeast China launches crackdown on illegal sand-mining vessels. [Photo / Fujian Legal Daily]
The Ministry of Water Resources will guide river basin authorities and relevant provinces to strengthen the implementation, assessment, and management of the plans, strictly oversee sand mining permit approvals, enhance digital supervision of sand mining activities, and enforce acceptance requirements, so as to ensure that sand mining is carried out in a lawful, scientific, and orderly manner.
(Source: INTCE)
