General Secretary Xi Jinping Concerns | Strive to Create a New Miracle of China's Sand Prevention and Control in a New Era Wetland | Ecology | Era

"Strengthening the comprehensive prevention and control of desertification and deepening the construction of key ecological projects such as the" Three Norths "are related to my country's ecological security, the construction of a powerful country, and the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. It is a noble cause that benefits the present and the future." Recently, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a symposium on strengthening the comprehensive prevention and control of desertification and promoting the construction of key ecological projects such as the "Three Norths" in Bayannaoer, Inner Mongolia, and issued the call of the times to "strive to create a new miracle of China's sand prevention and control in the new era.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has always been concerned about desertification prevention and control, conducted in-depth investigations in many places, and made important instructions many times from the height of the sustainable development of the Chinese nation, providing a fundamental follow for the construction of ecological civilization in the new era. And action guide.

Desertification is a major global ecological problem that affects human survival and development, and China is also one of the countries with the most severe desertification in the world. Keeping in mind the instructions, with continuous exploration and long-term efforts in various regions, the ecological landscape of desertification areas has undergone earth shaking changes. June 17th is World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. Let's listen together to the stories of desertification prevention and control from the front line.

System concept leads the prevention and control of desertification

The Story of Tan Mingsheng, a Sand Control Man

Do you want to do something that will only see results in thirty or forty years?

Tan Mingsheng, Deputy Director of the Natural Resources, Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Guinan County, Qinghai Province, said, "People who control desertification should get used to being so unknown."

The Mugetan in Guinan County, which means "disaster beach" in Tibetan, is one of the largest desertified areas in the Gonghe Basin of Qinghai Province. The strong wind once swept up vast yellow sand, devouring roads and farmland.

The yellow sand is pressing step by step, and sand control is imperative. In 1996, Guinan County made desertification control and afforestation a top priority for the entire county.

Tan Mingsheng, who graduated from the Forestry College and was assigned to this small town on the plateau for only a few years, devoted himself to this "battle".

Where should the management of the vast yellow sand start? What tree species can survive in high cold and windy conditions? After a long and arduous exploration, Tan Mingsheng and his colleagues have overcome one difficult problem after another and gradually realized that desertification control should not only focus on "desertification control", but also consider multiple ecological factors.

"Our understanding of sand prevention and control is becoming more and more comprehensive," Tan Mingsheng said. Especially in the past decade, Guinan has coordinated and managed all elements of sand control, water control, and mountain control, and integrated the restoration of local ecological problems such as "fragmented mountains, deforestation, reduced water, barren fields, and shrinking lakes".

In the summer of the Mangqu National Wetland Park in Guinan, Qinghai, groups of herons and egrets either spread their wings and fly high, or play and forage, creating a natural and harmonious ecological landscape.

"This wetland park in the plateau's' sand city 'is not only a transformation from' sand entering and people retreating 'to' green entering and sand retreating ', but also a vivid practice of systematic governance concepts," Tan Mingsheng said with emotion.

The Mangqu National Wetland Park is located in the transitional area between the water system zone and the desert zone. Once, the continuous invasion of sand and soil led to high sediment content in rivers within wetlands, poor flow of water systems, sedimentation of sewage and drowning of seedlings, and a continuous decrease in sand fixing plants.

How to restore desert wetlands? Behind this is the comprehensive management of intertwined sand, rivers, and wetlands.

Select drought resistant, cold resistant, and sandy tree species such as willow, caragana, and Artemisia annua, and set up grass grid sand barriers in the desert near the park to prevent wind and sand fixation, reducing sand input from the source;

Digging connected "fish scale pits" on the slopes of both sides of the water system, these crescent shaped soil pits can intercept surface runoff and reduce soil erosion;

By clearing pond silt, constructing ecological ditches to connect natural water systems such as rivers, canals, ditches, and ponds, and releasing wetland plants to purify water bodies, a virtuous cycle of water bodies can be achieved;

……

The current Mangqu National Wetland Park has become a model for local ecological protection and governance, playing an important ecological role.

"Following the direction pointed out by General Secretary, we will adhere to the systematic management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and sands." Tan Mingsheng said that in the future, they will continue to explore sand control models suitable for high-altitude and arid areas.

Expert opinions

Wu Bo, Director of the Institute of Desertification Research, Chinese Academy of Forestry:

The watershed in the desertified areas of northwest China is a typical system of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and sands. Sand prevention and control are closely related to tree planting, grass planting, wetland protection, and so on. Taking water use as an example, inland river systems in desertified areas often span multiple administrative regions, and comprehensive consideration is needed for upstream and downstream water use, industrial layout, and ecological governance measures. In the future, it is necessary to seek governance from a systems engineering and global perspective, comprehensively consider and implement policies, and take multiple measures to carry out ecological civilization construction.

Long term efforts to promote the construction of the "Three North" project

The Story of Tree Planter Yin Yuzhen and Her Family

38 years ago, when Yin Yuzhen first married here, the wedding room was mostly buried in a "cellar" in the sand.

Yin Yuzhen's home is located in Salawusu Village, Wudinghe Town, Wushen Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, in Maowusu Sandy Land, one of the four major sandy areas in China.

"When the wind and sand were strong, people could almost be buried in the sand overnight," Yin Yuzhen recalled.

Faced with the harsh environment, Yin Yuzhen did not shrink back. With a stubborn nature, she swore, "I would rather plant trees and die from exhaustion than be bullied to death by the sandstorms!"

In 1986, she started planting more than 600 saplings that she had exchanged for odd jobs, but only over ten of these saplings survived.

"365 days a year, working day and night, I don't believe this sand can't cure it."

After more than 30 years of hard work, 70000 acres of "green" have spread on the Maowusu sandy land.

"The trees that are beyond our reach are all planted by us. Have we managed to control the sand?" Standing on the sand beam, Yin Yuzhen looked around proudly as she looked at the lush forest.

Many of the forests planted by Yin Yuzhen are part of the "Three North" project. In the 45 years since the implementation of this major ecological project, a solid green ecological barrier has been built on the sandstorm line in northern China.

"We have also contributed to the 'Three North' project," said Yin Yuzhen. In the new era, the construction of ecological civilization is placed at an unprecedented height, and the country's support for afforestation continues to increase. "The subsidies for planting trees have also increased, which makes us more determined."

Two years ago, Yin Yuzhen's son Bai Guocai graduated from university. Under her persuasion, his son returned to his hometown to plant trees and forests with her.

"Every time a sandstorm blows dust all over my face, I think I must persevere and protect the tree species well. In the future, I will also take my mother's baton and protect the ecological environment of the Maowusu sandy land." Bai Guocai said.

"The general secretary said that we would fight a tough battle for the'Three North' project, which pointed out the direction for us to struggle in the future." Yin Yuzhen said, "I want to protect and manage this woodland, and I also want to drive more people around to invest in the management of desertified land, leaving a green home for future generations."

Expert opinions

Lu Qi, Chief Expert of China Academy of Forestry:

We need to clarify and refine the key tasks, guarantee measures, and division of responsibilities for the construction of the "Three North" project, strengthen organizational coordination, and form a joint force for tackling the problem: the "Several Bend" battle of the Yellow River, focusing on controlling sand along the Yellow River shoreline and photovoltaic sand control; The annihilation battle in the sand areas of Horqin and Hunshandak focuses on the construction of high-quality forests and grasslands; The Hexi Corridor Taklamakan Desert Border Barrier Battle focuses on controlling and reducing the sand source area.

Chinese Experience in Scientific Desertification Control

The Story of Tang Ximing, the Forest Farm Manager

When Tang Ximing was taking the college entrance exam, he hoped to go to another city and quickly leave the "broken place" of Zhongwei.

Zhongwei City, Ningxia is located in the southeast edge of Tengger Desert, which is one of the areas with the most severe sandstorm disasters in history. The desert once approached only 5 kilometers away from the urban area.

Tang Ximing, the director of the forest farm in the western suburbs of Zhongwei City, has experienced the pain of sand pollution since childhood. "A sandstorm can block the sky and the sun, leaving a layer of sand at the bottom of a soup bowl.".

However, Tang Ximing returned to his hometown to prevent and control desertification after graduating from university, and worked hard for more than 30 years. "I want to use the forestry knowledge I learned in college to transform the environment of my hometown and prevent future generations from suffering from sand damage," he said.

Planting trees in the desert is a technical job. Dig a hole with a shovel, turn up the deep wet sand, and sink the upper dry sand, almost digging and burying at the same time. The shovel plants trees shallowly, so it is difficult for the seedlings to absorb the deep water. Once they cannot resist the high temperature in July and August, they will die.

How to plant trees?

Tang Ximing invented a "dry" shaped iron seedling planting tool in practice, which can form a deep hole when inserted into the sand. The root system of the seedlings that have already been stuck at the bottom of the tool can be directly fed into the wet sand layer at a depth of 45 to 50 centimeters.

The lack of water resources is also a rigid constraint. He and his colleagues planted a large number of grass squares and sand plants on the sand dunes. But the problem comes again: if there are too many plants planted and not enough water, the trees will die in two years; If there are too few plants, it cannot effectively play a role in sand fixation and control.

They have summarized the sixteen character model of "adapting to local conditions, suitable trees, afforestation according to water, and greening according to water" in their long-term exploration: planting plants in one-third of the grass grid can ensure the normal growth of the tree species with natural rainfall; Choose suitable trees and follow a reasonable allocation ratio for trees, shrubs, and grass.

More than 30 years of perseverance have resulted in the current sand sea and green waves.

In the Shapotou National Nature Reserve on a summer afternoon, lime sticks, sand willows, flower sticks, and poplar firewood sway in the wind. The total area of the latest ecological restoration project is about 19000 acres, and more than 8700 acres have been repaired so far. In each grass grid, shrubs have sprouted tender branches, roots deeply rooted in the sand, locking in the freely flowing sand dunes.

"In recent years, the concept of scientific desertification control and scientific afforestation, combined with advanced technological achievements, has continuously accelerated the progress of desertification control." Tang Ximing said that a large amount of investment in new materials, new technologies, and scientific research has provided new ideas for desertification control.

Today's Zhongwei City has a desert governance area of 1.5 million mu, pushing back 25 kilometers from the Tengger Desert. The vegetation coverage in the governance area has increased from less than 1% to 42%. Through the development of various sand industries, a good situation has gradually been formed that people and sand are harmonious and sand is used by people.

Tang Ximing said: "We will deeply understand the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping and continue to explore the road of sand prevention and control with Chinese characteristics that conforms to the laws of nature and national conditions."

Expert opinions

Qu Jianjun, Researcher of Northwest Institute of Ecological Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences:

In the long-term process of sand control, we have developed scientific methods such as the Baolan Railway sand control model that have been repeatedly verified, but there is still a lack of technical standardization and technical sorting. We should timely summarize the experience of scientific desertification control, improve the standard system for desertification control, strengthen technical training, improve the technology promotion and service system, and enable practical technologies and models for desertification control to be better applied on the front line, promoting the development of desertification prevention and control in China.