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Recently, the Ministry of Land and Resources released the \"2008 Land and Resources Bulletin.\" The Communique shows that in 2008, investment in geological exploration in China remained at a high level, and significant progress was made in mineral exploration; 15 oil and gas reserves of 100 million tons each were discovered and confirmed, with an additional 1.34 billion tons of oil and 647.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas identified in proven geological reserves. The bulletin shows significant progress in geological prospecting. 209 new large and medium-sized mineral deposits have been discovered, and the reserves of 9 types of minerals such as coal, natural gas, and copper have increased significantly as a result of new exploration efforts. Newly proven geological reserves include 1.34 billion tons of oil, 647.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas, and 23.11 billion tons of raw coal. The bulletin also shows that in 2008, the rate of net decline in China’s arable land area slowed down; the total area of arable land was 1.82574 billion mu, with a net decrease of 290,000 mu. In 2008, 2.874 million mu of land was taken for construction purposes across the country, 372,000 mu of arable land was damaged by disasters, 114,000 mu was converted from agricultural use due to ecological reasons, and 374,000 mu of arable land was lost as a result of adjustments in the agricultural structure. In total, these four factors resulted in a reduction of 3.734 million mu of arable land. During the same period, 3.444 million mu of arable land was added through national land consolidation, reclamation, and development. (Reporters: Yu Meng, Xia Jun) Source: People’s Daily