[New ideas lead a new journey] Decisive battle in the "Three Norths" to build a solid ecological security barrier in the north

News: Our country is one of the countries with the most serious desertification in the world, and desertified land is mainly distributed in the Three North Regions, that is, the northwest, north China and northeast. On June 6, one year ago, General Secretary Xi Jinping issued a mobilization order to fight against the "Three North" project and strive to create a new miracle of China's desertification prevention and control in the new era. One year since the start of the battle, various departments and the Three-North region have focused on preventing and controlling desertification, adapting measures to local conditions and overcoming difficulties. So far, about 40 million acres of afforestation and grass planting have been completed, accelerating the construction of a strong ecological security barrier in the north.

As one of the three landmark battles of the "Three Norths" project in the new era, the battle against the "Several Bends" of the Yellow River is a top priority. In Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, efforts are being made to control the "several bends" of the Yellow River at an average daily rate of 10,000 acres of sand control. In Zhangwu County, Liaoning Province, the core area of ​​the Horqin and Hunshandake Sand Land annihilation battles, the "Three North" protective forest belt has advanced 13 kilometers into the hinterland of the Horqin Sand Land. The Hexi Corridor-Taklimakan Desert edge blockade area is an important sand dust source and sandstorm path area. As of now, the area of ​​​​15.39 million acres of construction tasks in the area has been completed, and the blockade war has made a good start.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has always been concerned about the construction of ecological security barriers in northern my country. He pointed out that strengthening the comprehensive prevention and control of desertification and further promoting the construction of key ecological projects such as the "Three Norths" are related to my country's ecological security, the construction of a strong country, and the sustainability of the Chinese nation. Development is a noble cause that benefits the present and will benefit the future. From the source of the Sanjiang River to Saihanba, from the Babusha Forest Farm to Wuliangsuhai, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made many in-depth field inspections in the "Three North" project area. At the symposium on strengthening comprehensive desertification control and promoting the construction of key ecological projects such as the "Three Norths" held in June 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that we must strive to use about 10 years to fight a tough battle for the "Three Norths" project and complete the "Three Norths" project. The construction of the "Three North" project has become a fully functional and unbreakable green Great Wall and ecological security barrier in northern Xinjiang.

The "Three North" project accounts for 46.7% of my country's land area. Focusing on key issues such as "how to fight", "where to fight" and "what to fight", the country has established a work coordination mechanism and clarified the task list and responsibility list of participating departments; revised the overall plan of the "Three North" project and issued the "Three North Project Phase Six" Plan", planning and laying out 68 key projects; the central government has increased its support for the construction of the "Three North" project, established a new "Three North" project subsidy fund, and has arranged 12 billion yuan in the 2024 budget.

Nowadays, various regions in the Three Norths are actively exploring new mechanisms and models such as photovoltaic desertification control, work-for-relief, public announcements, and cooperation with central enterprises to encourage and guide more forces to participate in project construction. In Kubuqi, the seventh largest desert in my country, the "blue ocean" composed of photovoltaic panels stretches endlessly. In the future, an ecological photovoltaic base with a total length of about 400 kilometers will be built here.

While fighting the tough battle with all our strength, the construction of the "sky and ground" integrated monitoring system for the "Three North" project has also been accelerated. This ecosystem monitoring tower group built in Qingyuan, Liaoning Province is equipped with more than 70 sensors like the nerve endings of the forest, capturing subtle changes in wind, rain, light, temperature and humidity. UAVs and ground-based radars weave every detail of the 5,070 acres of forest and 330,000 trees into a data network, building a holographic "digital forest" and giving the construction of the "Three Norths" project a foundation driven by big data.

Today, after several generations of unremitting efforts, the "Three North" project has completed a total of 480 million acres of afforestation and conservation area, and a total of 500 million acres of desertified land have been treated. The vast yellow sand has turned into an oasis... The forest coverage rate of the "Three North" project area has increased from 5.05 % increased to 13.84%, desertification and land desertification achieved "double reduction", and the damage caused by wind and sand and soil erosion were effectively suppressed. Driven by key ecological projects such as the "Three Norths", my country has taken the lead in the world to achieve "zero growth" in land degradation, and key management areas have achieved a historic transformation from "sands advancing and people retreating" to "greens advancing and sand receding".