Continuously Writing New Green Wonders - A Summary of Ecological and Environmental Protection Achievements in the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of New China
2024-09-27
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China 75 years ago, China has continuously deepened its understanding of the regularity of ecological civilization construction and promoted harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has regarded the construction of ecological civilization as a fundamental plan related to the sustainable development of the Chinese nation, and has planned to carry out a series of fundamental, pioneering, and long-term work. The road of ecological civilization in China has become more and more solid and broad, constantly writing new green miracles on the land of China.
Strengthen the ecological security barrier of our motherland
This summer, on the banks of the Cangtou River in Youyu County, Shanxi Province, over 30 acres of collective forest land in Hongqikou Village were shaded by green trees. Tourists who came to camp set up tents and enjoyed the beauty of the green ecology.
In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the forest greening rate in Youyu County, located on the edge of the Mu Us Desert, was less than 0.3%, and the people suffered from sandstorms. For over 70 years, cadres and masses in Youyu County have continuously planted trees and forests, increasing the forest greening rate to 57% and turning the "barren land" into an "oasis". In the past, the sandy land not only planted patches of green shade, but also 'planted' good days for the local people.
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the national forest coverage rate was only 8.6%, and factors such as sandstorms and soil erosion affected people's production and life. In the 1950s, the Party and the state attached great importance to greening construction and called for "greening the motherland".
In 1978, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council made a strategic decision to build large-scale protective forests in key areas affected by sandstorms and soil erosion in northwest, north, and northeast China. The project lasted for 73 years and was divided into three stages and eight phases, aiming to build a green Great Wall spanning thousands of miles in northern China.
Over 40 seasons have passed, and the "Three North" project area has cumulatively completed afforestation of 480 million acres, treated 1.28 billion acres of degraded grasslands, and increased forest coverage from 5.05% in 1978 to 13.84%. The key treatment areas have achieved a historic transformation from "sand entering and people retreating" to "green entering and sand retreating".
At the same time, projects such as natural forest protection and returning farmland to forests and grasslands have turned barren mountains into beautiful landscapes and deserts into oases.
Nowadays, China has taken the lead in achieving "zero growth" in land degradation and "double reduction" in the area of desertified land and desertified land worldwide. China's forest coverage has increased to 24.02%, becoming the main force in global "greening".
Over the past 75 years, the relationship between humans and nature has been constantly reshaped, and billions of people have been tirelessly striving to build a beautiful home with beautiful mountains and rivers.
In order to facilitate children's use of summer vacation for natural research, Dinghushan National Nature Reserve in Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, has set up a "Little Scientist Growth Path" themed nature education experience path and a "Natural Forest" themed nature education exploration path this year, allowing children to get closer to and understand nature.
This protected area was established in 1956 and is the first nature reserve in China. It preserves large areas of primitive forests and protects biodiversity.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, China has gradually established nearly 10000 natural reserves at all levels and types, including nature reserves, forest parks, scenic spots, natural heritage sites, geological parks, and marine parks.
In the new era, China continues to promote ecosystem protection and restoration, implementing 52 integrated protection and restoration projects for mountains, waters, forests, fields, lakes, grasses, and sands, solidly carrying out land greening actions, advancing the ten-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River, and promoting the protection and restoration of typical marine ecosystems.
Promoting the construction of a natural protected area system with national parks as the main body is an important deployment made by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core. In 2013, the Third Plenum of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China first proposed the establishment of a national park system, and now China is building the world's largest national park system.
At present, 90% of the terrestrial ecosystem types and 74% of the nationally protected wild animal and plant populations in China have been effectively protected, promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, and continuously strengthening the ecological security barrier of our country.
The effectiveness of pollution prevention and control is increasingly evident
September 7th is International Clean Air and Blue Sky Day. In the capital city of Beijing today, people find that they can easily get "Beauty Blue" and "Comic Cloud" with just a snap.
In recent years, China's achievements in improving air quality have been highly recognized by the international community. Especially in Beijing, the air quality control has achieved remarkable results and has been praised as the "Beijing miracle" by the United Nations Environment Programme.
Looking back, China's environmental protection industry began to take shape after the founding of the People's Republic of China and officially kicked off in the 1970s. In 1973, the State Council held the first National Conference on Environmental Protection, and ecological environment protection began to be placed on the important agenda of the country.
The reform and opening up have stimulated development vitality, but while China's economy has achieved great success in high-speed development, it has also accumulated a large number of ecological and environmental problems, which have become a concern for people's livelihoods and a pain in their hearts for a period of time.
From establishing environmental protection as a fundamental national policy, to implementing sustainable development strategies, and to building a resource-saving and environmentally friendly society, the strategic position of ecological environment protection continues to rise. In response to the challenge of ecological environment, the state has invested a lot of funds and scientific research efforts to focus on the treatment of the three major lakes of the Taihu Lake Lake, Chaohu Lake and Dianchi Lake, and vigorously control acid rain and other pollution problems.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee has led billions of people to declare war on pollution.
In 2013, the "Ten Measures for Air Pollution Prevention and Control" - the "Action Plan for Air Pollution Prevention and Control" was introduced. China has become the first developing country in the world to carry out large-scale PM2.5 control.
In the city, buses no longer drag their "black tails", and new energy vehicles accelerate and run; In rural areas, millions of households in northern regions bid farewell to scattered coal heating and adopt cleaner heating methods; In the factory, ultra-low emission transformation makes coal-fired power plants cleaner and builds the world's largest clean coal-fired power generation base
After continuous efforts, a total of 203 cities in China will meet the air quality standards by 2023, accounting for about 60%. Blue skies and white clouds have become the norm, and China has become the country with the fastest improvement rate in global air quality.
In 2022, the total investment in environmental pollution control in China reached 901.4 billion yuan, compared to only 2.5 billion to 3 billion yuan per year in the early 1980s.
The appearance of rivers and lakes has been fundamentally improved, and the proportion of high-quality surface water sections has approached the level of developed countries. In 2023, the water quality of the entire Yangtze River and Yellow River will remain at Class II for four consecutive years and two consecutive years, respectively.
Soil environmental risks have been effectively controlled, making our homes healthier and more beautiful. Promote the classification of household waste, enhance the centralized collection and treatment capacity of urban and rural household waste, reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides, and achieve the goal of "zero import" of solid waste as scheduled.
The sky is bluer, the water is clearer, and the earth is cleaner. The quality of the ecological environment continues to improve, and the people's sense of gain, happiness, and security continues to increase.
The policy and institutional system for ecological environment protection is constantly improving
On September 10 this year, the draft National Park Law was first submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation. This is the first time that China has specifically legislated on national parks at the national level.
The legal system is an important force in safeguarding green mountains and clear waters. After decades of exploration, the legal system of ecological environment protection with Chinese characteristics and the institutional system of ecological civilization with the nature of "four beams and eight pillars" have been basically formed.
From the first inclusion of "national protection of the environment and natural resources, prevention and control of pollution and other public hazards" in the Constitution in 1978, to the passage of the Environmental Protection Law in 1989, ecological environment protection work gradually entered the track of legalization.
In the 21st century, the country has promulgated a series of environmental protection laws, natural resource laws, environmental protection administrative regulations, environmental protection department rules and normative documents, local environmental regulations, and local government regulations.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee has demanded the use of the strictest system and the strictest rule of law to protect the ecological environment, and the policy and institutional system for ecological environment protection has been continuously improved.
Formulate and revise the Environmental Protection Law and over 30 ecological environment laws and regulations. Especially the revised Environmental Protection Law in 2014, which introduced measures such as daily fines, seizures, production and production restrictions, administrative detention, and public interest litigation, has been rated as the "strictest" environmental protection law in history. Nowadays, the legal system for ecological environment protection has covered pollution prevention and control fields such as air, water, soil, and noise, as well as important ecological systems and elements such as the Yangtze River, wetlands, and black soil. The legal system for ecological environment protection has been improved.
We have issued and implemented the "Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of Ecological Civilization", "Overall Plan for Ecological Civilization System Reform" and dozens of specific reform plans, gradually establishing basic systems such as natural resource asset property rights system, national land and space development and protection system, spatial planning system, total resource management and comprehensive conservation system, compensated use of resources and ecological compensation system, environmental governance system, environmental governance and ecological protection market system, ecological civilization performance evaluation and accountability system, etc. The institutional system with the nature of "four beams and eight pillars" of ecological civilization has been formed.
Firmly grasp the responsibility system as the "bull's nose", establish and implement systems for evaluating and assessing the goals of ecological civilization construction, assessing the effectiveness of pollution prevention and control battles, auditing the departure of natural resources and assets of leading cadres, implementing the river and lake chief system, forest chief system, lifelong accountability for ecological environment damage, and compensation for ecological environment damage. The responsibility system led by the Party committee, government, enterprise entities, social organizations, and the public has become more rigorous and sound, and the consciousness and initiative of the whole Party and the country to promote ecological civilization construction have been continuously enhanced.
People do not disappoint the green mountains, and the green mountains will definitely not disappoint people. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made important arrangements for deepening the reform of the ecological civilization system. Under the guidance of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, we will anchor the goal of building a beautiful China, persevere and work hard for a long time, and we will surely write a new green miracle.
Edit：He Chuanning Responsible editor：Su Suiyue
Source：Xinhua
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