The minister will visit Qilian Mountains again this month to conduct research on ecological restoration. Six years ago, he posted on his WeChat Moments condemning environmental damage, protection, ecological environment, rectification, situation, problems, Huang Runqiu, Qilian Mountains, and ecology
According to an article published on July 9 on the official WeChat official account of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Huang Runqiu, the minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, went to Wuwei City and Zhangye City of Gansu Province from July 5 to 7 to investigate the rectification of ecological environment problems and ecological protection and restoration of Qilian Mountain.
The Qilian Mountains, spanning across Gansu and Qinghai provinces, are an important ecological security barrier in western China and an important water source and runoff producing area in the Yellow River Basin.
On the afternoon of the 5th, Huang Runqiu and his delegation visited Qianmalong Coal Mine and Tongde Mining Company in Tianzhu County, Wuwei City to conduct on-site research on the rectification and renovation of coal mines. The Qianmalong Coal Mine is located in the experimental area of the Qilian Mountain National Nature Reserve. Huang Runqiu went deep into the mining area and walked along the rugged mountain road, asking and observing carefully about the process of mine closure and ecological restoration. He also conducted on-site inspections of the ecological environment restoration and the current situation of edge ditch treatment around the mine, and affirmed the effectiveness of ecological environment improvement in the mine. He pointed out that it is necessary to strengthen the comprehensive management of mining areas, carry out regular maintenance of governance projects, further consolidate and improve the quality of ecological restoration, establish and improve a long-term mechanism for ecological protection and restoration, prevent problems from regressing and rebounding, and ensure a stable transition from manual restoration to natural restoration.
At Tongde Mining Company, Huang Runqiu listened to the staff's introduction on the effectiveness of environmental remediation in the mining area, gained a detailed understanding of the company's progress in green mining area construction, and inquired about the recent production and operation situation. He emphasized that enterprises and relevant localities should strictly implement their rectification responsibilities, orderly promote comprehensive environmental improvement in mining areas, firmly adhere to the path of ecological priority and green development, and actively build green mines that coordinate resource development and ecological environment protection.
Shandan Horse Farm is located in the central part of the Hexi Corridor and is an important component of the grassland at the northern foot of the Qilian Mountains. It is also an important water source conservation area in the Hexi Corridor.
On the morning of the 6th, Huang Runqiu arrived at Shandan Horse Farm to inspect the grassland protection status, listen to the report on the ecological environment protection and governance work of Qilian Mountains, and carefully inquire about the ecological environment monitoring and supervision, biodiversity protection, and other information of the horse farm.We must firmly establish and practice the concept that green mountains and clear waters are as valuable as gold and silver, correctly handle the relationship between development and protection, develop characteristic industries such as planting, animal husbandry, and cultural tourism according to local conditions under the premise of "ecological protection first", actively promote green and sustainable development, and promote the unity of ecological benefits, social benefits, and economic benefits.
Huang Runqiu also inquired about the progress of the construction of a smart ecological environment monitoring network in the local area, emphasizing the need to fully leverage the role of satellite remote sensing monitoring and video monitoring in actively identifying problems, strengthen ecological environment supervision in key areas, important intersections, and key nodes, achieve timely detection, response, and rectification of problems, and strive to reduce ecological damage caused by human factors. To consolidate the effectiveness of rectification, comprehensively review the experience of rectification, systematically carry out technical summaries, and continuously improve the scientific and demonstrative nature of rectification of ecological and environmental problems in the Qilian Mountains.
The Heihe River is the main water system of the Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve. Previously, the central ecological and environmental protection inspector pointed out that the design, construction, and operation of the upstream diversion power station of the Heihe River did not take into account the ecological flow, resulting in 80% of the river sections experiencing water reduction or even flow interruption. In recent years, Gansu Province has implemented classified policies and continuously promoted the rectification of ecological and environmental issues related to hydropower development in the Heihe River Basin, achieving significant results.
On the afternoon of the 6th, Huang Runqiu and his delegation visited the Sidaolong Hydropower Station and Dagushan Hydropower Station in Sunan County to conduct on-site inspections on the ecological restoration of the decommissioned power stations and the ecological flow guarantee work of the operating diversion type power stations. Huang Runqiu first came to the site of the renovation of the Sidaolong Hydropower Station to inspect the closure of construction adits, demolition of temporary facilities and factories, and cleaning of river debris accumulation after the station was shut down. He pointed out that we need to further improve our political stance, implement detailed rectification work, achieve "two cuts and three cleanups", strengthen vegetation restoration and aquatic organism investigation and monitoring, restore and maintain the authenticity and integrity of the natural ecosystem in the watershed. Subsequently, Huang Runqiu visited the Dagushan Diversion Power Station and carefully reviewed the manual recording ledger of ecological discharge flow, inspected the operation of discharge flow monitoring points, and the cleaning and renovation of the tailwater channel. He emphasized that hydropower enterprises should consciously fulfill their main responsibility for ecological environment protection, produce and operate in accordance with laws and regulations, and ensure sufficient discharge of ecological base flow; Local relevant departments should increase their supervision efforts to ensure the authenticity and reliability of the ecological base flow monitoring data ledger, and maintain the ecological security and health of the watershed.
The reporter from Pengpai News noticed that Huang Runqiu has long been concerned about the ecological restoration of the Qilian Mountains and has conducted multiple investigations.
In 2017, the General Office of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued a notice on the ecological and environmental issues of the Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve in Gansu Province. The wording of the notification was strict, and many officials in Gansu were held accountable.
During the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in March 2018, Huang Runqiu, then Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection, introduced during a press conference of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference: "Last year, the central government seriously investigated and dealt with the ecological damage problem in the Qilian Mountains. Before that, I participated in the central environmental protection inspection in Gansu Province. I was fortunate to be one of them and also visited the hinterland of the Qilian Mountains. I usually don't post much on WeChat Moments, but after I came out from the hinterland of the Qilian Mountains, I wrote a paragraph that I read to everyone, describing my psychological state on that day after seeing it."
This winter, with a temperature of over ten degrees below zero and a sharp cold wind, it enters the Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve at an altitude of 3600 meters. Along the way, you can see the sea, mountains and grasslands, snow and glaciers, and the scenery is magnificent. However, there are also crisscrossing gullies, broken mountains, and numerous scars, coupled with strong weathering, making the environment extremely fragile. This place should be strictly protected to prevent all kinds of human activities from disturbing, in order to maintain the continuity of natural ecology. However, what you see is not satisfactory, such as repairing roads, digging slopes, intercepting water flow, vegetation damage, interruption of the sea flow, and frequent mudslides. It is not appropriate to return to the cold wind. The journey is already dark, and it's difficult to calm down. "
Huang Runqiu said, "This is what I saw on that day. I believe that the ecological red line must have added an institutional barrier to some destructive behaviors like the Qilian Mountains, but I think more importantly, it has added an institutional barrier to some legally protected nature reserves like the Qilian Mountains. More importantly, it has played an important role in institutional protection for natural ecological environments that are not nature reserves but have a very important ecological status. It will definitely play an important role."
On September 15, 2022, the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee held a series of themed press conferences on "China's Ten Years", inviting Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu to attend and introduce the relevant situation of "implementing the new development concept and building a beautiful China with harmonious coexistence between humans and nature", and answering questions from reporters. At the press conference, Minister Huang Runqiu pointed out that these ten years have been the decade with the strongest ecological protection supervision in China. Through the central ecological environment protection inspection, a number of prominent ecological environment damage problems have been effectively solved. For example, the Qilian Mountains have gone from being plagued with numerous holes to now being covered in lush greenery, from chaos to governance, and have achieved great results.
