China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment has approved a new plan to tackle growing pollution threats in the country's rural areas. The new plan will aim to clean up contaminated rural land and drinking water, and improve waste management throughout China's countryside. The plan also mandates cuts in fertilizer and pesticide use, and improved recycling rates. Rehabilitating contaminated land has become an urgent matter for the Chinese government, which is under pressure to maximize food production while simultaneously designating one-quarter of the country's land as off-limits to development by 2020. For the full story, see https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-rural/chinas-environm….