Written in the Green Mountains and Rivers - A Review of the Effectiveness of Ecological Environment Protection since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China Civilization | Ecology | Ecological Environment

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 17th (Xinhua) - A Survey of the Effectiveness of Ecological Environment Protection since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China: Written in the Green Mountains and Rivers

Xinhua News Agency reporter

Ecological prosperity leads to civilized prosperity. Entering a new era, the development of ecological civilization has become a must answer question.

This is an answer sheet written among the green mountains and clear waters, and even more so, an answer sheet written in the hearts of the people——

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, under the leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, and under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping's ecological civilization thought, the whole party and the people of the whole country have adhered to the concept that green water and green mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains., The whole process of strengthening ecological environmental protection has created a world-renowned ecological miracle and green development miracle.

Blue sky, greener mountains, and clearer water: the sense of gain, happiness, and security of the people have significantly increased

In the hot summer season, Yani National Wetland Park. Under the bright sunshine, the winding and winding Niyang River shimmers, and the sandbars and green trees in the river are flourishing.

"The air is fresh, the environment is beautiful, and living here is very happy." Yang Jilam, a villager in Liding Village, Bayi District, Nyingchi City, Xizang, who lives near the wetland, sighed that this place has changed a lot, and it is no longer the wasteland dug and quarried years ago.

A corner of Yani National Wetland Park. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Nie Yi

At that time, there was little vegetation and severe desertification, and every time a sandstorm blew up, my eyes couldn't open. Until 2009, Linzhi City began implementing wetland protection and restoration projects, and surrounding villagers participated in sand prevention and afforestation, gradually changing the scenery here.

The transformation of Yani Wetland from wasteland to birds grazing in Fangzhou Park is a vivid microcosm, reflecting the solid steps of China's continuous promotion of ecological environment protection in the new era.

Once upon a time, there were frequent haze, sandstorms, and black and odorous rivers... In 2012, China's total economic output accounted for about 11.5% of the world's total, but its energy consumption per unit of GDP was 2.5 times the world average. Development has reached a crossroads where transformation is necessary.

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China listed "pollution prevention and control battle" as one of the three major battles to win the comprehensive construction of a moderately prosperous society.

Implementing the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, various regions and departments have taken a series of practical measures to help fight the battle against pollution.

Comprehensively rectify scattered and polluting enterprises and clusters, and accelerate the elimination of outdated production capacity; The construction of urban sewage pipeline network is rapidly advancing, continuously improving the sewage treatment capacity; Clean heating renovation reduces coal pollution, and renewable energy is rapidly developing... The ecological environment quality in China has significantly improved.

The sky, once shrouded in haze, gradually brightens up. In 2022, the proportion of days with good air quality in prefecture level and above cities nationwide reached 86.5%, and the proportion of days with heavy pollution decreased to less than 1% for the first time.

The quality of water environment has undergone a turning point change. In 2022, the proportion of high-quality surface water sections in China increased to 87.9%.

More and more greenery is spreading across the mountains and rivers. China's forest area and stock have achieved dual growth. Exquisite street corner parks allow citizens to enjoy a better life in the "ecological blank".

A profound transformation in development mode: promoting coordinated and unified economic and social development and ecological environment protection

Entering Yucun Village in Anji County, Zhejiang Province, with undulating mountains, flowing water, and green bamboo, countless tourists linger and forget to leave.

More than 20 years ago, due to the development of the "stone economy", the mountains in Yucun became "bald", and the water became "soy sauce soup". The people of Yucun, who have learned from their painful experiences, have successively shut down mines and cement plants to develop a "beautiful economy".

In August 2005, Xi Jinping, then secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, visited Yucun and evaluated the "brilliant move" after learning that Yucun had done it, and for the first time clearly stated that "green water and green mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains".

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, this concept has led to profound changes in the vast land of China.

Yibin, known as the "First City on the Yangtze River for Thousands of Miles". The Minjiang River and Jinsha River intersect here.

Standing at the Sanjiangkou and looking north, within 5 kilometers, it used to be the industrial zone along the Yangtze River in Yibin. The Tianyuan Chemical Plant in Yibin, founded in 1943, was once less than a hundred meters away from the Yangtze River shoreline.

Today, on the banks of the Yangtze River, the former factory buildings have transformed into the Yangtze River Park. In the distance, the newly established Sanjiang New Area is changing rapidly. Tianyuan Chemical has extended its industry to new chemical materials and new energy battery materials, entering a new industry track.

Through continuous exploration and practice, various regions have transformed their development strategies and gradually embarked on a path of coordinated environmental protection and economic development, taking solid steps towards green, circular, and low-carbon development.

In order to better protect the environment, multiple regions are accelerating the improvement of diversified ecological compensation mechanisms, making good mountains, rivers, and ecology valuable treasures to be jointly protected.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China's economic development and ecological environment protection have become more coordinated, and the space for green development has been further expanded.

While the ecological environment quality has significantly improved, the total economic output has jumped to the level of 120 trillion yuan, and the per capita GDP has remained above 12000 US dollars for two consecutive years.

Green signifies the future: striving to build a modern society of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature

Not long ago, during routine patrols, staff from the Muling Forestry Bureau Co., Ltd. of Longjiang Forest Industry Group discovered clear images of the wild Northeast tiger "Wanda Mountain 1" moving in the forest area again through field infrared cameras.

Amidst the green mountains and clear waters, rare wild animals and plants thrive. Behind this is China's unremitting efforts to strengthen biodiversity conservation and continuously promote harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, a series of fundamental, pioneering, and long-term green development systems have been solidly promoted——

Major ecological projects, such as the Three-North Shelterbelt Program and the protection of natural forests, were further promoted. In the past 10 years, the country has completed afforestation of approximately 1.02 billion mu, and the green area continues to expand.

As of 2019, the area of desertification and desertified land in China has decreased by 50000 square kilometers and 43300 square kilometers respectively. Xinjiang, as the province with the largest desertification and desertification area in China and the greatest difficulty in preventing and controlling desertification, has achieved a "double reduction" of desertification and desertification land area for the first time.

The construction of a nature reserve system with national parks as the main body is accelerating, and the construction of a national botanical garden system is taking important steps to jointly promote the formation of a relatively complete biodiversity protection system.

The first batch of national parks delivered impressive "transcripts": The Three Rivers Source National Park has achieved overall protection of the source of the Yangtze River, Yellow River, and Lancang River; The Giant Panda National Park has opened up population ecological corridors in 13 giant panda regions, protecting over 70% of wild giant pandas; Mount Wuyi National Park has found many new species such as the rain god horned toad... China is building the world's largest national park system.

The river chief system, lake chief system, and forest chief system have been fully established, with dedicated guardians for each river, lake, forest, and grassland.

Ecological civilization is a cause that the people jointly participate in, build, and enjoy. From "Clean Your Plate Campaign", water saving and paper saving, to garbage classification and farewell to disposable goods, green and low-carbon lifestyle has become a new trend in society.

As a large country with a population of over 1.4 billion, China's ecological civilization construction has also attracted the attention of the world.

Actively promote the signing, entry into force, and implementation of the Paris Agreement, and announce that carbon dioxide emissions will peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 ...... Under the guidance of Xi Jinping's ecological civilization thought, China's actions to protect the ecological environment have been highly recognized by the international community.

The new development stage has put forward higher requirements for the construction of ecological civilization. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposes to firmly establish and practice the concept that green mountains and clear waters are invaluable assets, and to plan development from the perspective of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

On the new journey, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, we will join hands and work tirelessly, and we will surely be able to gather more majestic forces and build a modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.