Focus Interview: Beautiful China Green Answer Sheet Countries | Ecology | Beautiful China Green
CCTV News: The construction of ecological civilization is a fundamental plan related to the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, through tenacious efforts, the sky in our country has become bluer, the ground greener, the water clearer, and the rivers and mountains over thousands of miles more colorful. The achievements of ecological civilization construction in the new era have attracted worldwide attention, becoming a significant symbol of historic achievements and changes in the cause of the Party and the country in the new era. What changes have occurred in various regions as we plan for development and build a beautiful China from the perspective of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature?
In Pudacuo National Park, matsutake is a precious specialty bestowed upon the locals by nature. In the past, local people collected matsutake, regardless of the size of the umbrella, but in recent years, under the guidance of local governments, they have become increasingly disciplined.
Sun Nuo Qilin, a villager in Luorong Village, Shangri la City, Diqing Prefecture, Yunnan Province, said, "The small ones are usually buried under the soil. Digging them up will cause great damage to the growth environment. In the past, they used to use hoes, shovel and other iron tools, but the next year it will no longer grow. Now the villagers use wooden sticks or bamboo sticks to sharpen one end of it, pry it up, and then put the soil back at the root."
Pudacuo National Park was included in the first national park system pilot in 2015. This is located in the core area of the "Three Parallel Rivers" World Natural Heritage Site, and is a national key functional area for biodiversity protection and water conservation in the northwest Yunnan Plateau. It is a typical representative of the "forest lake swamp grassland glacier snow mountain" composite ecosystem and a world-class species gene pool.
Sun Nuoqilin is a villager of Luorong Village, which is located in the Pudacuo National Park. The villagers have been living and working here for generations. Since the national park system pilot was launched in Pudacuo, including Luorong Village, which has been designated as a strict ecological protection area, the production and life of villagers have undergone significant changes. The original pasture must be moderately grazed under the strict implementation of the grass and animal balance system requirements. The villagers used to randomly raise a large number of pigs, sheep, horses, and cows, but now they can't.
Yaks, due to their nomadic behavior, have caused less damage to the grassland and have been preserved. Pigs need to be kept in captivity, resulting in a decrease in their numbers. Sheep have caused significant damage to the grassland and cannot be raised, resulting in losses for the villagers in animal husbandry production.
Villagers sacrifice development to protect the ecology. The park management department allocates more than 15 million yuan annually from operating income, specifically for direct economic compensation and educational assistance to nearly 3700 villagers. It also prioritizes providing employment opportunities to villagers, encouraging them to participate in activities such as park sanitation, patrol, and franchising. A management model of equity dividends has been established to compensate for the losses of villagers and continuously increase their income.
Jin Ying, Director of Yunnan Pudacuo National Park Management Bureau, said, "Since 2008, the People's Government of Diqing Prefecture has formulated ecological compensation policies, promoting the support and recognition of indigenous people for the construction of national parks."
The government departments have made great efforts in publicity, and their work has been done in detail. The villagers have also become increasingly aware of the protection of their homes.
Sun Nuo Qilin said, "Picking matsutake is a sustainable development method that is established from a conscious perspective. There are also clear village rules and regulations regarding picking firewood, which only allow the dry and dead to be picked, and those with vitality are absolutely not allowed to be picked."
The Sunnuo Qilin family is a large family of 10 people, with an annual ecological return of 60000 yuan. He and his wife work in the park, earning a monthly income of over 6000 yuan. They invest in tourism projects and receive dividends of 20000 yuan. In addition to local specialties such as matsutake, yak meat, and dairy products, their annual income exceeds 300000 yuan.
Sun Nuo Qilin said, "I have truly enjoyed ecological food and lived a happy and fulfilling life."
Pudacuo National Park is also an important habitat for rare species, with 1059 species of wild animals and plants distributed. It is a concentrated distribution area for rare and endangered species in Southwest China and a concentrated display site for rare glacial relics in the Quaternary period worldwide, with abundant biodiversity. Since the implementation of strict protection measures, the ecology here has continued to improve.
Since 2013, China has continuously established and improved the national park system. In 2021, the first batch of five national parks, including Sanjiangyuan and Hainan Tropical Rainforest, were officially established. During the 14th Five Year Plan period, about 20 national parks will be constructed. Establishing a national park requires strict protection. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, a series of major ecological projects, such as the "Three North" shelter forest, natural forest protection, and returning farmland to forests and grasslands, have been advanced in depth, making China the country with the largest growth in forest resources in the world.
Professor Zhang Shiqiu from the School of Environmental Science and Engineering at Peking University said, "By implementing the ecological red line system, 25% of China's land area is within the ecological red line, so that natural reserves, ecosystems, and wildlife that survive in these fragile ecosystems can be protected. In this sense, the ecological red line system is a necessary barrier to ensure China's ecological security."
The Qilian Mountains are an important ecological security barrier in the western region of China. In July 2017, the General Office of the Communist Party of China and the State Council reported on the issue of ecological environment damage in the Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve in Gansu Province, and hundreds of people were held accountable. Remembering the pain and rectifying the broken wrist. Nowadays, the ecological protection of Qilian Mountains has achieved great results from chaos to governance. The Yangtze River and Yellow River are under great protection, and tens of thousands of illegal issues such as pollution discharge have been rectified in various regions. The water quality of the main streams of the Yangtze River and Yellow River continues to improve.
Zhang Jianqing and his family live by the edge of Datong Lake in Yiyang, Hunan. "Water grass+crabs" is an ecological breeding model promoted by Datong Lake in recent years, and it has also made "Datong Lake hairy crabs" a national geographical indication product of China, going abroad. But a few years ago, Datong Lake was not what it is now.
Cheng Gang, Secretary of the Party Branch of Shabaozhou Village, Heba Town, Datonghu District, Yiyang City, Hunan Province: "The ditches and water systems around the villagers' daily lives have turned black and smelly, and when they go out, they smell a pungent fishy smell."
Datong Lake is a lake within Dongting Lake, known as the "heart of Dongting". Datong Lake has ecological service functions such as regulating floods and regulating the atmosphere, and is an important ecological barrier in the economic circle around Dongting Lake. But many years ago, this place was called an "underwater desert".
Professor Yu Dan from the School of Life Sciences at Wuhan University said, "There is residual bait in the sediment, as well as high-density aquaculture. The excrement of fish, including chicken manure and duck manure, has not been fully decomposed and reused, and is stored in sediment."
In 2015, the water quality of Datong Lake had deteriorated to poor Class V. In 2018, the area within 1000 meters of Datong Lake was designated as a prohibited aquaculture area and withdrew from the aquaculture industry. According to expert opinions, water grass was first planted. But the lake water is turbid, with low visibility, and at the beginning, even water plants cannot be kept alive. Water plants can absorb a large amount of organic matter such as nitrogen and phosphorus, gradually reducing the eutrophication of the water caused by nitrogen and phosphorus, adsorbing impurities in the water, and making the lake water gradually clear. This kind of grass is also known as "sanitation grass" by the locals.
Yu Dan said, "We use three-dimensional grass planting, for example, planting two layers of grass in some deep water areas, so that the entire three-dimensional space of the water layer has water grass distribution. In addition, from the deep water area to the coastal zone, submerged plants, floating leaf plants, emergent plants, and ponds."
Mastering scientific planting methods can yield results in one year and make significant improvements in three years. The underwater desert gradually became lush and turned into an underwater forest. Through the cultivation of different types of aquatic plants, green corridors and flower beds have emerged along the coast of Datong Lake, and it has also brought about ecological tourism around the lake. When Zhang Jianqing withdrew from aquaculture, the government encouraged him to plant aquatic plants and promised to sell them all at a rate of 5% to 10% higher than the market price. Zhang Jianqing planted water grass on all 167 acres of the contracted fish pond, but he didn't expect it to grow well that year.
Planting grass can also sell money and has huge market potential. It is called "golden grass" by the locals. The "Environmental Sanitation Grass", "Landscape Grass", and "Golden Grass" have changed the appearance of planting grass and "healing" in Datong Lake. In addition to supporting projects such as pollution interception and dredging of live water around the lake, by 2022, the overall water quality of Datong Lake will change from poor Class V to Class IV, and the water quality will continue to improve.
Artificial restoration is underway, and nature is also assisting. Many native species of Datong Lake have begun to reappear and are gradually increasing, with fish, shrimp, crabs, snails, insects, and more than 30 species of waterfowl all thriving. A good ecological environment is the most inclusive welfare for people's livelihoods. The current Datong Lake is gradually restoring ecological aquaculture and guiding farmers to adopt a "water grass+" planting and breeding model.
Since 2016, China has launched the integrated protection and restoration project of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasses, and sands. Various regions and departments have implemented policies tailored to local conditions, resulting in a series of innovative achievements. It has been awarded the first batch of "World Ecological Restoration Ten Year Flagship Projects" by the United Nations and promoted globally, providing more and better Chinese wisdom and solutions to solve the ecological environment problems faced by the world.
Ecological priority and green low-carbon are the high-quality development paths that China has chosen. In the past decade, the carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in China have decreased by 34.4%, making it one of the countries with the fastest reduction in energy intensity. As of the first half of 2023, the installed capacity of renewable energy in China has historically surpassed that of coal-fired power. This is China's attitude towards achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality. The sky is bluer, the water is clearer, the home is more beautiful, and our future is better.
Over the past decade, we have submitted a green answer sheet that satisfies the people and attracts worldwide attention. General Secretary emphasized that building a beautiful China is an important goal for comprehensively building a socialist modernized country. The next five years will be an important period for the construction of a beautiful China. We must maintain our strategic determination to strengthen ecological civilization construction, accelerate the modernization of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, and comprehensively promote the construction of a beautiful China. Let green become the distinctive background of China in the new era, and enable the people to enjoy more, more inclusive, and sustainable green welfare.
