Circular of the Ministry of Natural Resources on Identifying Land Categories and Standardizing the Application of Land Survey Results in Accordance with the Current Situation on the Ground

Circular of the General Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources on Identifying Land Categories and Standardizing the Application of Land Survey Results in Accordance with the Current Situation on the Ground

Natural Resources Office [2023] No. 59

The departments in charge of natural resources of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Bureau of Natural Resources of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the China Geological Survey and other units directly under the Ministry, all dispatched agencies, and all departments and bureaus of the Ministry:

　　The Third National Land Survey (hereinafter referred to as the "Three Surveys") has identified land types according to the current situation of land use (GB/T 21010-2017) and the Technical Regulations for the Third National Land Survey (TD/T 1055-2019), etc., and has comprehensively grasped the national land use status, formed a unified base, base map and bottom plate, and supported various tasks such as land spatial planning, use control, and cultivated land protection. After the completion of the "three adjustments", the Ministry of Natural Resources will organize and carry out an annual land change survey every year, update the land type change situation in a timely manner according to the unified standard, maintain the current situation and accuracy of the land survey results, and support the management of natural resources. According to the current feedback and concern of various localities related to the identification of land types and the relevant issues in the application of survey results, the following notice is hereby given:

　　1. The land survey shall be in accordance with the unified survey standards, and the land type shall be determined according to the current situation of land use at the time of the survey. If it is found that the results of the land survey are inconsistent with the current situation of land use on the spot, whether it is a new change after the time point of the survey, or the "three adjustments" or the errors and omissions of the land survey over the years, the survey results should be updated or corrected in a timely manner through the annual land change survey to ensure that the type of land surveyed is consistent with the current situation on the ground. If it involves urgent management needs, it can be reported to the department through the daily change mechanism for "immediate reporting and review".

　　2. Satellite remote sensing images are the working base map of land surveys, but they must not be used solely to determine the type of land in the domestic industry. The land survey must be in accordance with the requirements of the survey procedures and verify the land type according to the current situation on the ground. For example, if the image features of the paddy field are suspected of being water surface due to seasonal and other reasons, and the use has not changed after on-site verification in the annual land change survey, the land type should still be identified according to the paddy field, and the actual situation should be explained in the column of "Reasons for Not Changed" in the "Monitoring Patch Attribute Table".

　　3. The land survey should find out the current situation of cultivated land in strict accordance with the standards and ensure that the cultivated land "deserves its name." Cultivated land refers to the land that uses the surface tillage layer to grow grain, cotton, oil, sugar, vegetables, forage and other crops, and is planted for one season or more every year (including planting perennial crops in the way of cultivation of more than one season a year), including cooked land, newly developed, reclaimed and sorted land, fallow land (including rotation rest land and fallow land), and land for thermal insulation and moisturizing facilities such as greenhouses, greenhouses, and plastic films planted directly by using the surface tillage layer. For example, if the interplanting of trees on cultivated land has reached the standard of forest land, it should be changed to forest land.

　　Fourth, seek truth from facts and update the slope grade of cultivated land. If the actual slope of cultivated land is inconsistent with the slope map results due to the implementation of land development and consolidation projects or due to technical reasons such as insufficient current potential of the digital elevation model (DEM), the results of the third national land survey can be followed in accordance with the "Third National Land Survey Technical Q&A (Third Batch)" (Land Survey Ban Fa [2020] No. 9) and the "Notice of the Ministry of Natural Resources on Strictly Observing the Bottom Line in the Guarantee of Land Elements for Economic Development" (Natural Resources Development [2023]) No. 90) relevant requirements, with field photos or satellite remote sensing images for evidence, or by updating the DEM or using other surveying and mapping methods to determine the elevation, calculate the slope, after the provincial surveying and mapping quality inspection department approves, according to the actual update of the slope grade. If the supplementary cultivated land does not exceed 25 degrees and can be used stably for a long time, it is allowed to be reported for the balance of cultivated land occupation and compensation.

　　Fifth, insist on proceeding from reality and do a good job in presenting evidence of changes in land types. In the annual land change survey, in accordance with the unified technical requirements, all measures should be taken to ensure that the current situation is verified on the spot and the identification of the land type meets the standards. For those who are difficult to take manually (including those who cannot arrive for manual shooting due to seasonal reasons), on the premise of ensuring the authenticity of the land type, optimize the presentation of evidence such as UAV evidence, continuous patch segmentation, typical evidence of similar patches, local flight image evidence and commitment evidence. Where the photographs presented for evidence cannot fully reflect the overall status quo, a video of the evidence may be filmed reflecting the actual use.

　　6. In order to ensure the authenticity of the newly added cultivated land and prevent the occurrence of the problem of "just reclamation, bulldozing, ploughing and ridges, but not planting", or even fraud, the investigation of the newly added cultivated land requires on-the-spot evidence of "unearthed seedlings". Taking into account the actual sowing season and phenological period of crops in various places, it is allowed to be surveyed according to cultivated land when submitting the annual land change survey data in February each year, and to complete the supplementary evidence of "unearthed long seedlings" by the end of May; If it is still not possible to provide evidence of cultivated land by the end of May, it will be included in the land change survey for the next year.

　　7. For the newly added cultivated land that implements projects such as linking the increase and decrease of urban and rural construction land, supplementing cultivated land with a balance of cultivated land occupation and compensation, and ecological restoration, it shall be submitted to the Ministry for review and confirmation of the land type in a timely manner through the annual land change survey (including the daily change mechanism) after the completion of the project implementation. All localities can include the plots that have become cultivated land in the current situation, as well as the plots that have been leveled and have the conditions for cultivation (the project and the corresponding plots need to be marked "to be evidenced" when reporting) into the project acceptance of the current year, and form the new cultivated land index in a timely manner, and use it in accordance with relevant regulations. The ministry will combine the annual national verification of land change surveys, and continue to track and supervise the plots that have not yet been evidenced, and if they still fail to meet the standards for cultivated land identification at the end of May of the following year, they will be reduced in accordance with relevant regulations.

8. Adhere to the uniqueness of land space and the uniqueness of land types, and earnestly resolve the problem of land type conflicts. Based on the results of the "three adjustments" and the annual land change survey, in accordance with the requirements of the "Opinions of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Jointly Doing a Good Job in the Investigation and Monitoring of Forests, Grasslands and Wetlands" (Natural Resources Development [2022] No. 5) and the unified standards of the "Guidelines for the Classification of Land and Sea Use for Land and Space Survey, Planning and Use Control", we should do a good job in the investigation and monitoring of forests, grasslands and wetlands. Changes in wetland land types shall be included in the annual land change survey and the monitoring results of forest and grass wet map spots after being jointly reviewed and confirmed by the competent departments of natural resources at all levels and the competent departments of forestry and grassland, so as to ensure the consistency of land type identification and continuously consolidate the foundation of "one base map" for natural resource management.

　　9. The current situation of land use at the time of the survey reflected in the results of the land survey is the basis of relevant management, but the relevant management work also needs to further compare the management information of previous investigations, planning, approvals, supervision and law enforcement, fully consider the rationality and legitimacy of the source of the land type, and make a comprehensive judgment. In accordance with the Notice of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Clarifying the Management Boundary of Forest Land and Standardizing the Management of Forest Land Based on the Results of the Third National Land Survey (Natural Resources Development [2023]) No. 53), if the land survey is forest land, which belongs to the shelter forests and green corridors that have been returned to forests or built in accordance with national policies and standards, etc., shall be managed according to the forest land after being jointly confirmed by the local departments in charge of natural resources at all levels and the competent departments of forestry and grassland; Procedures such as felling shall not be included in forestry supervision and law enforcement; and the land survey shall be cultivated land, which shall be subject to the "Notice of the State Council on Protecting Forests and Stopping Deforestation and Reclamation and Indiscriminate Occupation of Forest Land" (Guo Ming Dian [1998]) No. 8) If the deforestation and reclamation that occurs after the issuance of the land and are not included in the red line of cultivated land protection, after the local departments in charge of natural resources at all levels and the competent departments of forestry and grassland jointly confirm the patches, in accordance with the management of forest land, when it involves construction, occupation and use, regardless of whether it has been restored to forest land, the examination and approval procedures shall be handled according to the forest land, and there is no need to implement the balance of cultivated land occupation and compensation.

General Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources

December 28, 2023

Source: Ministry of Natural Resources Government Network