The 2nd General Assembly of the Chinese Society of Soil and Water Conservation was held in Xi'an, Shaanxi province on December 5-6, at the time of the 6th "World Soil Day". The theme of this conference is "Focus on protection, strengthen regulation, build a healthy Yellow River for better living standards of the people". It was hosted by the Chinese Society of Soil and Water Conservation, organized by Institute of Soil and Water Conservation of CAS & MWR, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation of Northwest A&F University, Upper and Middle Yellow River Bureau, State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the loess Plateau, and parallel sessions and forums were organized by World Association of Soil and Water Conservation, International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation, School of Soil and Water Conservation of Beijing Forestry University, and Chinese Society of Soil and Water Conservation and other 10 professional committees. More than 1100 experts and researchers from Chinese Society of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Engineering, FAO Global Soil Partnership, FAO Inter-government committee on soil technology, World Association of Soil and Water Conservation, and other institutes, universities, designing organizations, academic societies attended the conference.

Ten parallel sessions were set up during the conference, including soil and water conservation and rural revitalization, assessment of global soil erosion, development of soil and water conservation major, environmental effects of soil and water conservation, management forum, and youth academic forum. Discussion topics involved prevention and supervision, ecological clean small watershed, landslide erosion and control, mountainous hazards and ecological disasters reduction, dynamic monitoring and information technology of soil and water conservation, engineering afforestation and green mining, ecological restoration of trees and grasses, prevention and control of desertification, urban soil and water conservation, soil erosion, etc. A total of 334 experts and scholars presented their studies at different sessions and forums, and a total of 239 papers were collected.

The session assessment of global soil erosion was co-sponsored by the International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation, World Association of Soil and Water Conservation, and the international cooperation committee of the Chinese Society of Soil and Water Conservation. To celebrate the World Soil Day, this session used "Prevent soil erosion, save humanity in the future" as the theme. Session invited the president of FAO Inter-government technology of soil, Rosa Poch, FAO Global partnership soil consultant, Dr. Clara Lefevre, and soil erosion assessment expert team from China to discuss the topic of assessment and experiences of global and regional soil erosion.

This session is an important part of the conference, focusing on regional soil erosion model, global mapping of soil erosion and soil erosion factors extraction, China's policy for investigation and soil erosion prevention. Dr. Rosa Poch presented a report on best practices for addressing soil erosion and the economics of soil erosion. Ms. Clara Lefevre presented the report on GSER map and policies to combat soil erosion. President of WASWAC, Prof. Rui Li, director of the State Key Laboratory of the Loess Plateau Soil Erosion and Dryland Agriculture, Prof. Baoyuan Liu, Northwestern University Prof. Qinke Yang introduced research progress of global soil erosion assessment and mapping and soil erosion of the extensive third pole. Prof. Yun Xie from Beijing Normal University and Dr. Aijuan Wang from the Soil and Water Conservation Monitoring Center, MWR, and other experts introduced the methods and results of soil erosion surveys in China. Prof. Duihu Ning from IRTCES and Prof. Fei Wang from the Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, MWR & CAS, introduced the evolution and evaluation of soil and water conservation policies in China. The session also organized two panel discussions, during which experts exchanged views on the future in-depth participation of relevant Chinese agencies in the ongoing global mapping of soil erosion and the evaluation of soil and water conservation policies by FAO, and also had in-depth exchanges and heated discussions on the techniques and methods of regional soil erosion evaluation.

With a global perspective on soil erosion, the session opened a window to the world to present the research results of Chinese scholars on global and regional soil erosion assessment. At the same time, it is also a beneficial attempt to seek cross-regional cooperation among different international organizations, government agencies and scientific research institutions, thus establishing a bond and bridge for further regional cooperation.