[Daily Learning] Building a Great Green Wall in Northern China Xi Jinping | Ecology | Learning
Xi Jinping: strengthen desertification control and wetland protection, strengthen the prevention and control of air, water and soil pollution, and build a green Great Wall in the northern border of the motherland.
This passage comes from the speech delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping during the deliberation of the Inner Mongolia delegation at the first session of the 13th National people's Congress on March 5, 2018.
China is one of the countries with the largest desertification area, the largest affected population, and the most severe sandstorm hazards in the world. The current desertification land area in China is 2.5737 million square kilometers, accounting for approximately 26.81% of the total land area. It is mainly distributed in the northwest, north China, and northeast regions, and the production and life of more than 400 million people are affected. Strengthening the comprehensive prevention and control of desertification is related to China's ecological security, the construction of a strong country, and the sustainable development of the Chinese nation.
For a long time, China has attached great importance to the ecological restoration and control of sandy deserts, and has continuously implemented a series of national projects such as the Three-North Shelterbelt Program, the conversion of farmland to forests and grasslands, the protection of natural forests, and the control of sandstorms in Beijing and Tianjin.
Through the unremitting efforts of the whole society, especially cadres and masses of all ethnic groups in desertification areas, China's national defense sand control work has achieved significant results. In the past decade of the new era, a total of 282 million acres of desertification prevention and control tasks have been completed nationwide, and more than half of the desertified land that can be controlled has been treated, resulting in a continuous reduction in the area of desertified land. The three major sandy areas of Maowusu, Hunshandak, and Horqin, as well as the key control areas of the Kubuqi Desert, have transformed from the former "barren land" into today's "oasis on the frontier". The Saihanba, which used to be covered by yellow sand, has undergone more than 60 years of construction and now has a million acre artificial forest sea, becoming the largest artificial forest in the world. In the past decade, China has accumulated 960 million mu of afforestation, accounting for a quarter of the world's artificial afforestation, and is the country with the fastest and largest growth in forest resources worldwide. On the basis of strict protection and governance, the local government also combines the characteristics of resources such as light, heat, species, and land in the desert area to moderately develop industries such as shrubbery, traditional Chinese medicine, economic forests and fruits, desert tourism, wind power and photovoltaics, and promote the prosperity of the people in the desert area and the control of desertification in the process of prosperity.
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out the need to accelerate the implementation of major projects for the protection and restoration of important ecosystems.
Interpretation of this issue: Chen Ruihai, commentator of CCTV