A review of promoting ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin

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For thousands of years, the surging Yellow River, together with the Yangtze River, has nurtured the Chinese nation and nurtured Chinese civilization.

Under the guidance of the concept of "jointly focusing on major protection and promoting major governance", the provinces along the Yellow River scientifically regulate the water sediment relationship to ensure the annual peace of the Yellow River; Vigorously promoting ecological environment protection and governance, significantly improving the ecological landscape of the watershed; Fully implement deep water-saving and water control actions to promote green, low-carbon, and high-quality development in the watershed. Currently, various provinces in the Yellow River Basin are steadfastly pursuing a modernization path of ecological priority and green development.

Xinhua News Agency has launched the "New Era China Research Tour · Yellow River Chapter" marching report, vividly showcasing the new changes that have occurred on both sides of the Yellow River.

The Yellow River sets in the sky and walks through the East China Sea, with thousands of miles written into my chest.

To the west is Kunlun Mountains, to the north is Yinshan Mountains, to the south is Qinling Mountains, and to the east is Bohai Sea, spanning across the eastern, central, and western regions. The Yellow River Basin is an important ecological security barrier in China, as well as an important region for population activity and economic development. It plays a strategic role in the overall development of the country and the socialist modernization construction.

Up and down the river, it looks completely new. The ancient Yellow River is unfolding a new picture of history.

Harmonious coexistence and new progress in ecological environment protection

Looking down from the sky, Zhaling Lake, located in Maduo County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, is a picturesque and vast expanse of blue. This is the place where herdsmen Geng Dengjiancuo grew up.

The scenery of Zhaling Lake captured in the Yellow River Source Park of Sanjiangyuan National Park. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lv Xueli

Since the pilot of the Three Rivers Source National Park system began, Geng Dengjiancuo, like many herders, has put down his grazing whip and become an ecological caretaker. Nowadays, his main job every day is to pick up garbage, patrol lakes and grasslands, and protect wildlife. "Being able to use one's own strength to make the home more and more beautiful is very fulfilling!"

On October 20, 2021, in Lena Village, Zhalinghu Township, Maduo County, Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, ecological rangers in the Yellow River Source Park of Sanjiangyuan National Park picked up garbage by the Zhalinghu Lake. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Long

Gan Xuebin, the full-time deputy secretary of the Yellow River Source Park Management Committee of Sanjiangyuan National Park, introduced that in recent years, with the implementation of ecological protection and restoration projects such as returning grazing to grassland, the ecological governance has achieved significant results, and the wonder of the Yellow River Source with thousands of lakes has reappeared.

"Qinghai is located in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and its ecological status is extremely important. We will effectively shoulder the responsibility of the source, increase the efforts of ecological restoration and protection of the Yellow River, and ensure that the clear water of the river flows eastward." Gan Xuebin said.

Running down from the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, the Yellow River meanders more than 5400 kilometers across the Loess Plateau, across the North China Plain, and into the vast sea. The natural landscape of the Yellow River Basin is magnificent and beautiful, and it is an important ecological barrier in China. However, the accumulated ecological and environmental problems over the years cannot be ignored, and the ecological environment in the Yellow River Basin remains fragile.

In recent years, in accordance with the requirements of "jointly focusing on large-scale protection and promoting large-scale governance", the Yellow River region has implemented tailored and classified policies, and coordinated the planning of watershed ecological environment protection work.

This summer, Wuliangsuhai welcomes tourists from all over the country, and there is a long queue of tourists waiting to take a boat to observe the lake. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the lake is shimmering with blue waves, and birds chirp amidst the reeds.

This is a photo taken on June 4, 2023, of Wuliangsuhai located in Urad Front Banner, Bayannur City, Inner Mongolia. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Beihe

Wuliangsuhai is the largest lake wetland in the Yellow River Basin. In the 1990s, due to the decrease in natural water supply and the drainage of industry and agriculture, the ecological function of Wuliangsuhai Lake significantly degraded, and the water quality was once downgraded to Grade V.

In recent years, the local government has been striving for ecological water replenishment, implementing seven major projects including comprehensive desert management, soil and water conservation and vegetation restoration, and lake water environment protection and restoration

According to Bao Wei, director of the Wuliangsuhai Ecological Protection Center, the overall water quality of Wuliangsuhai has improved, biodiversity continues to recover, and the beautiful scenery of the "pearl outside the Great Wall" has reappeared. This has become an important habitat for migratory birds, with over 260 species of birds migrating and breeding here every year.

Wuliangsuhai is a microcosm of the effectiveness of ecological protection in the Yellow River Basin. In recent years, provinces and regions along the Yellow River have significantly improved the ecological landscape of the basin by fighting a battle against environmental problems and ecological protection and restoration.

During the alternation of summer and autumn, the old site of Wangquangou Coal Mine on the eastern foot of Helan Mountain is still lush with greenery. The mountain, which has been leveled, backfilled, and covered with soil, forms a stepped shape, like a carefully cultivated terraced field.

Helan Mountain is located in the eastern part of the Yellow River, rich in coal, silica and other resources. For a long time, large-scale and disorderly mining has caused serious damage to the ecological environment of Helan Mountain. "At that time, I knew to dig desperately, everywhere was dark, and when the wind blew, the sky was covered in black coal ash," said Hu Jianzhou, former deputy director of Wangquangou Coal Mine.

In recent years, as a leading area for ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin, Ningxia has made the ecological environment improvement and construction of Helan Mountain an important content, completely shutting down all coal mines and coal washing and storage plants in the nature reserve, and continuing to carry out ecological restoration.

Located at the foot of Helan Mountain in Yinchuan City, Ningxia, Helan Mountain Sports and Leisure Park. This used to be a collapsed area for sand and gravel mining. Through vegetation landscape reconstruction, water system construction, modern pipeline construction, and other means, waste rocks, pits, and various abandoned building materials are reused, turning this place into a free and open theme park. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Feng Kaihua

Now, Hu Jianzhou has transformed into a forest ranger, guarding the hard won green. "I have to go up the mountain and walk around every day, watching these grass and trees slowly grow, and my heart feels very secure."

To protect the Mother River, a series of institutional plans have been introduced. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council have issued the Outline of the Yellow River Basin Ecological Protection and High quality Development Plan, drawing a long-term blueprint for protecting the Mother River; The Yellow River Protection Law will come into effect on April 1st this year, providing strong legal guarantees for the protection and governance of the Yellow River; The Yellow River Basin Ecological Environment Protection Plan has been issued, clarifying the specific direction of efforts

To protect the Mother River, a series of practical measures have been implemented and proven effective - a series of actions have been carried out, including ecological protection and governance of rivers and lakes, and improvement of urban environmental governance facilities; Shandong and Henan provinces signed the "Yellow River Basin Horizontal Ecological Protection Compensation Agreement", and in 2022, Shandong will redeem ecological compensation funds of 126 million yuan to Henan; Efforts have been made to address the shortcomings of urban environmental governance facilities, effectively addressing issues such as direct sewage discharge and littering

In 2022, the proportion of Class I to III surface water sections in the Yellow River Basin reached 87.5%, an increase of 5.6 percentage points year-on-year; The water quality of the entire Yellow River main stream continues to improve, and the biodiversity of the Yellow River source and the Yellow River Delta is steadily increasing.

Up and down the big river, the river is filled with soup, and the mother river is regaining vitality and vigor.

Green, low-carbon, high-quality development takes new steps

Deep in the desert, photovoltaic panels are neatly arranged. On the vast grassland, giant wind turbines stand tall and towering.

This is a photo taken on August 24, 2023 at the Dalate Photovoltaic Base in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter He Shuchen

China Three Gorges New Energy Co., Ltd. has identified Inner Mongolia as a strategic region and has successively built a photovoltaic desertification control project with an installed capacity of 2 million kilowatts and a "Shagehuang" new energy base project with an installed capacity of 16 million kilowatts in the Kubuqi Desert. The company has also implemented multiple innovative first sets of projects in Ulanqab, including "source network load storage" and Narisson photovoltaic hydrogen production, and has built the Three Gorges Modern Energy Innovation Demonstration Park.

The unique lighting and wind resources in Inner Mongolia are transforming this traditional coal base into a hot spot for new energy investment. In the first half of this year, investment in new energy in Inner Mongolia increased by 114% year-on-year. In 2023, the total investment in clean energy under construction projects in the entire region will exceed 500 billion yuan, and the scale of new energy under construction and planned construction will exceed 160 million kilowatts, accounting for about one-third of the country.

On July 22, 2023, workers installed photovoltaic panels at the construction site of the 2 million kilowatt photovoltaic sand control project in Kubuqi, Mengxi Base, located in the Yili Ecological Demonstration Zone of the Kubuqi Desert in Hangjin Banner, Inner Mongolia. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Lei

The Yellow River Basin is an important economic zone in China, as well as an important agricultural and animal husbandry production base and energy base in the country. From the source of the Three Rivers to the coast of the Bohai Sea, various regions adhere to the principle of starting from reality, where water is suitable, mountains are suitable, grain is suitable, agriculture is suitable, industry is suitable, and commerce is suitable, actively exploring new paths of high-quality development with regional characteristics.

Recently, the reporter walked into the production workshop of core components for Meijin hydrogen fuel commercial vehicles in Lvliang Economic Development Zone, Shanxi Province, and was greeted by a lively and busy production scene. Hydrogen powered heavy-duty trucks, hydrogen fuel cell buses, and hydrogen fuel container logistics vehicles are completing their final assembly.

Project leader Wang Li introduced, "A hydrogen heavy-duty truck can travel 100000 kilometers per year, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 120 tons, and has good economic and environmental benefits. We have achieved an annual production capacity of 1000 sets of hydrogen fuel commercial vehicle components. After the project is fully put into operation, the annual production will reach 20000 sets."

Shanxi, an old industrial base, is undergoing new changes. Zhang Zhanxiang, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Shanxi Province, said that in 2022, the energy consumption of value-added industries above designated size in the province will decrease by 8.3%. Currently, Shanxi Province has cultivated 84 national level green factories, 52 green design products, 6 green parks, and 5 green supply chain management enterprises. The low-carbon development of industrial green has achieved positive results.

Along the Yellow River, various regions are firmly committed to the path of green and low-carbon development, promoting changes in the quality, efficiency, and driving force of basin economic development, continuously promoting the transformation of development modes, and taking solid steps towards high-quality development.

Water is the foundation of survival and the source of civilization. The Yellow River accounts for 2% of the country's river runoff, supporting the water demand of 12% of the population and 17% of arable land. For the economic and social development of the Yellow River region, the conservation and intensive utilization of water resources has a deeper significance.

On May 25, 2023, small-scale sprinkler irrigation water-saving equipment was used for sprinkler irrigation operations at the cold vegetable planting base in Songcheng Village, Wanghong Town, Yongning County, Yinchuan City, Ningxia. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Feng Kaihua

In Pingchuan Village, Pingchuan Town, Zhangye City, Gansu Province, 5500 acres of high standard farmland, the integrated drip irrigation facilities for water and fertilizer have been installed, making the flow of water resources more clear and the water consumption more accurate.

Before spring plowing every year, Pingchuan Village needs to develop a plan for agricultural water use in advance, and report the total amount of water used by households to the township water pipe office, and then report it layer by layer. Finally, it is uniformly distributed by the Zhangye City Water Bureau.

Drops of water are as precious as oil. Zhangye City belongs to a resource-based and water scarce area, but has become one of the first pilot cities for water-saving social construction in China with a scientific water resource management method.

"We need to use every drop and every square of water in practice," said the person in charge of the Zhangye City Water saving Society Construction Office.

This year, Ningxia has introduced the "Four Waters and Four Fixations" Implementation Plan, which specifies 22 main indicators such as total water intake and consumption, water consumption per 10000 yuan of GDP, and water consumption per 10000 yuan of industrial added value. Every drop of yellow river water is carefully calculated and utilized.

On August 24, 2021, staff from Yinchuan Kehai Biotechnology Co., Ltd. in Helan County, Yinchuan City, Ningxia were tending to mint seedlings in a fish vegetable symbiosis system. Photo by Yang Zhisen, journalist from Xinhua News Agency

On August 10th of this year, the Yellow River Basin Water Rights Trading Platform was officially launched for trial operation, which will play a positive role in achieving the optimization of water resource allocation with the goal of water-saving and efficiency improvement, and improving the efficiency of water resource conservation and intensive utilization in the Yellow River Basin.

In the Yellow River region, we will implement the requirements of the Party Central Committee, adhere to the principles of using water to determine cities, land, people, and production, and promote the transformation of water use from extensive to economical and intensive methods. On both sides of the Yellow River, a new landscape of high-quality development is slowly unfolding.

For a long time, we strive to ensure the peace of the Yellow River year after year

"Report to the overall commander, Wuzhuang Control Channel has been eroded for a long time, and there is a risk of root stone collapse. We are using mechanical throwing of lead wire cages for emergency rescue..." This year's flood season, the Yellow River Estuary Management Bureau of Shandong Yellow River Affairs Bureau and seven other emergency rescue teams conducted emergency drills.

Since the beginning of this year, the Yellow River Estuary Management Bureau has fully absorbed social emergency forces to participate in flood control drills, implemented 96 social emergency teams, and built 6 drone airports, utilizing drone clusters for "smart river patrols".

The Jiuqu Yellow River stretches for thousands of miles of sand. The Yellow River is characterized by a lack of water and sediment, and an uncoordinated relationship between water and sediment, which is the crux of its complex and difficult governance.

The Loess Plateau is an important source of sediment for the Yellow River. Warping dams are the "guardians" of reducing sediment flow into the Yellow River, and can also silt up land for farming and increase grain production.

In Yanchuan County, Shaanxi Province, Majiawan silt dam is a large silt dam with a height of 30 meters. The large amount of sediment it intercepts has become fertile land, and crops such as corn are planted in the dam land, achieving the goal of "building walls in the ditch, blocking mud and harvesting grain".

This is the construction result of the silt dam at the Suide Soil and Water Conservation Science Experimental Station in Shaanxi Province, captured by drones on April 18, 2019. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Sheng

Over the past decade, comprehensive watershed management, dam construction on silted land, conversion of farmland to forests, and afforestation have been continuously promoted in the Loess Plateau region. The governance of soil erosion has been continuously promoted, and green has been continuously spread on the Loess Plateau. Nowadays, 61% of the soil erosion area in the "Three North" project area has been effectively controlled, with an annual reduction of about 400 million tons of sediment entering the Yellow River.

The reporter learned from the Yellow River Water Conservancy Commission that with the implementation of a series of measures, the Yellow River Basin has achieved a "double reduction" in the area and intensity of soil erosion, a "double reduction" in the area of water erosion and wind erosion, and a "double increase" in soil and water conservation rate and interception of sediment entering the Yellow River.

Implementing water and sediment regulation is a key measure to solve the problem of sediment accumulation and flood risk in the lower reaches of the Yellow River.

On July 11 this year, the 20 day operation of the Yellow River's pre flood water and sediment regulation reservoir in 2023 ended, and the Xiaolangdi Reservoir and Sanmenxia Reservoir discharged 125 million tons and 40 million tons of sediment respectively.

On June 23, 2023, tourists watched the water and sediment regulation at the outlet of the Yellow River Xiaolangdi Water Conservancy Hub project. Shen Jizhong

This year is the 22nd year of pre flood water and sediment regulation of the Yellow River. According to monitoring, through water and sediment regulation, the main channel of the lower Yellow River has been completely eroded, the riverbed has significantly decreased, and the flood and sediment carrying capacity has generally improved.

The tranquility of the Yellow River is a millennium long expectation for the Chinese people. Currently, flood risk remains the biggest threat to the Yellow River Basin.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has implemented two consecutive phases of flood control engineering construction in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, fully completed standardized embankment construction, carried out river regulation and beach safety construction, opened up the Beijin Embankment and Dongping Lake flood detention areas, and initially formed a comprehensive treatment and utilization system for sediment, including interception, regulation, discharge, release, and excavation. Large scale water conservancy projects such as Longyang Gorge and Xiaolangdi have fully played their role, and the trend of river shrinkage has been preliminarily curbed.

On June 29, 2023, during the water and sediment regulation period, workers from the Lijin Hydrological Station in the lower reaches of the Yellow River were carrying out sediment collection operations. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Shiping

In recent years, various regions have accelerated the development of digital water conservancy, using modern technology to safeguard the safety of the Yellow River.

During this year's flood season, Wang Qin, the head of the engineering department at Henan Smart Yellow River Research Institute, and her team increased the frequency of river inspections, focusing their attention on the inconspicuous "small stones" at the dam root stone pile. This "smart stone" is a fundamental application of digital twin Yellow River construction.

"These 'smart stones' are embedded with an MCU module and a battery. If there is any abnormality in the dam stone or body, it will issue a warning," said Wang Qin.

The digital twin of the Yellow River is to "install" the mother river into a computer, and through intelligent means similar to panoramic modeling, construct a realistic digital scene to support scientific decision-making in Yellow River governance. The deep application of digital twin Yellow River construction to flood and drought disaster prevention promotes the Yellow River from governance to intelligent management.

The 14th Five Year Plan is a crucial period for promoting ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin. Through long-term efforts and unremitting efforts by various regions and departments, we will ensure the safety of the great river and make the Yellow River a happy river that benefits the people.

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