Prevention and control of soil pollution toward sustainable agricultural land use in China: Analysis from legislative and judicial perspectives

A sound legal framework for soil pollution prevention and control should contribute to the sustainable use of agricultural land, whose importance to China is almost self-evident. There are abundant studies on China’s soil pollution but lack the discussion on laws which clearly distinguish agricultural land from other types of land use. In this study, we delineate the legislative and judicial status quo of the prevention and control of soil pollution on agricultural land in China by applying the policy integration theory. Based on the normative research of legislative documents and case study of judicial judgments, we find that: China has basically established and is running a legal framework of agricultural soil pollution prevention and control toward sustainable agricultural land use; however, there are several defects in terms of comprehensiveness, consistency, and collaboration. Finally, we draw some implications for improvement from the points of view of legislation, justice, and enforcement.