On March 5, Premier Li Keqiang proposed in the government work report to strengthen pollution prevention and ecological construction, and continuously improve environmental quality. Deeply implement sustainable development strategies, consolidate the achievements of the blue sky, clear water, and clean land defense battles, and promote the green transformation of production and lifestyle. The "14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Outline of Long-term Goals for 2035 (Draft)" clearly requires solid promotion of coordinated development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, and high-standard, high-quality construction of the Xiong'an New Area, among other major goals and key tasks. Ecological environment protection has begun to be more comprehensively integrated into all fields and aspects of economic and social development.
On March 1, 2021, on the eve of the two sessions, the "Yangtze River Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" was officially implemented. As the first specialized law in China for river basins, this law puts forward new requirements for the protection of Yangtze River biodiversity, sewage treatment, flood control and disaster relief, and ecological restoration. Against this backdrop, ecological protection and green development in the Yangtze River Basin have become one of the hot topics of concern for representatives and committee members at this year's national two sessions.
Strengthen the investigation and protection of ecosystem diversity
"Conduct investigations and protection of the diversity of the Yangtze River ecosystem, strengthen ecological environment protection and restoration in the Yangtze River Basin, promote the rational and efficient use of resources, ensure ecological safety, and achieve harmonious coexistence between humans and nature is our common responsibility," called Tong Jinnan, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a professor at China University of Geosciences (Wuhan).
Tong Jinnan stated that ecosystem diversity is the most macro and directly related category to human life among the three levels of biodiversity, and it is also a macro comprehensive expression of biodiversity. However, the core that affects biodiversity is ecological functional diversity. Strengthening the investigation and protection of ecosystem diversity is essential to better promote the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
Tong Jinnan believes that in the context of the Yangtze River's major protection, the foundation of biodiversity protection is the protection of environmental diversity. He proposed three suggestions: First, continuously adjust and optimize the overall governance approach of the Yangtze River to ensure that the ecological environment diversity of the Yangtze River does not undergo significant changes. Second, conduct investigations of environmental diversity and ecosystem diversity in the Yangtze River Basin, while appropriately tracing back the historical evolution of the Yangtze River's environment and ecosystem diversity, and scientifically evaluate the impact of human social activities on the ecological functional diversity of the Yangtze River. Third, carry out biodiversity monitoring research during the "ten-year fishing ban" period in the Yangtze River, analyze and evaluate the impact of human fishing activities on the ecological functional diversity of the Yangtze River. Fourth, through comprehensive research and observation results, scientifically formulate a coordinated construction plan between the protection of biodiversity in the Yangtze River and the ecological environment needs of human well-being.
Carry out major ecological protection and restoration projects
In recent years, the Yangtze River Economic Belt has officially risen to a national strategy, in which ecological protection plays an important role in promoting high-quality development. Zhang Zhouping, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, chairman of the Qinghai Provincial Committee of the Democratic National Construction Association, and vice president of the Qinghai Provincial Socialist Academy, believes that as the source of the Yangtze River, the Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve is the area with the highest concentration of biodiversity in the world at high altitudes, and the ecological situation directly affects the ecological safety and socio-economic development of the entire Yangtze River Basin.
When discussing ecological protection and green development in the Yangtze River region, Zhang Zhouping suggested continuously carrying out major ecological protection and restoration projects, increasing monitoring and assessment of the ecological environment in the source area, research and protection of biodiversity, and the restoration of degraded grasslands. He emphasized the need to systematically sort out and understand various ecological hazards and environmental risks, strengthen the sustainability of policy guarantees, and carry out major infrastructure projects urgently needed for ecological protection and restoration, such as forest fire prevention, disaster rescue, transportation, and scientific research, tailored to local conditions. At the same time, Zhang Zhouping also suggested that in organizing the evaluation of the "Yangtze River Economic Belt Development Planning Outline," Qinghai should be included in the Yangtze River Economic Belt to establish a diversified horizontal compensation mechanism for the downstream to the upstream, developed to developing, and utilization to protection, creating a good social atmosphere for the public to protect the ecological environment.
At the same time, Zhang Zhouping believes that it is necessary to continuously strengthen the technological support and local talent cultivation for the protection and restoration of the Yangtze River source, fully utilize the technical support service role of the Sanjiangyuan National Park Research Institute, and focus on stimulating the creative vitality and role of local talents. Establish directional training and cooperation mechanisms between upstream and downstream provinces and units in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, providing support to the source provinces in basic research and high-end talent cultivation in the field of ecological environment.
Build a green energy system for the Yangtze River Economic Belt
"Promoting the construction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has significant strategic significance against the backdrop of current economic transformation and structural reforms," said Zhang Dafang, a standing committee member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, vice chairman of the Hunan Provincial Political Consultative Conference, and chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Jiusan Society, who submitted suggestions on building a green energy system for the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
Zhang Dafang stated that the Yangtze River Economic Belt covers 11 provinces, with a land area accounting for about 1/5 of the country and a population accounting for about 43.6% of the country. Against the backdrop of implementing the "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" strategy, Zhang Dafang believes that it is urgent to accelerate the construction of a green energy security system for the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
First, strengthen national top-level planning and design. The Yangtze River Economic Belt involves 11 provinces, and the energy layout should focus on considering the receiving end and consumption. Major provinces and cities need to import energy from outside the region, and coordination among provinces is costly and difficult, requiring top-level planning at the national level. The energy support for major industrial planning must be led by relevant ministries, with separate plans for projects, industries, markets, ecology, etc., and guide each province to formulate its own action plans to enhance unity and coordination.
Second, support large-scale industrial development with a view of green and clean energy. Energy planning should be innovative, establishing a "top-down, centralized planning" government planning mechanism, and fully utilizing the planning research capabilities of industry associations, central energy enterprises, and research and design institutes to jointly formulate medium- and long-term development strategies for clean energy support needed for the modernization of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Each province in the region should prioritize innovation-driven, industrial cultivation and development, and industrial structure transformation and upgrading based on the concept of green and clean energy utilization, leveraging local resource endowments and advantages to plan sustainable industrial layouts for each province, forming a new pattern of green industrial development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt with distinct characteristics, prominent advantages, reasonable division of labor, and orderly connections.
Third, comprehensively deepen the reform of the energy security structure. Give full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, integrating energy security and energy market reform throughout the development and construction process of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, actively exploring the breaking of administrative boundaries, establishing a broader energy trading and carbon emission unified market, and promoting the orderly and free flow of energy resource elements. Explore the integration of the Yangtze River shipping channel, the "Belt and Road" initiative, and the three major regional development strategies of the east, middle, and west to further expand internal and external openness and promote the development of regional energy internet.
Fourth, accelerate the resolution of the issues of abandoned water from hydropower in Southwest China and the input of new energy. Departments should work together to strengthen strict control over the layout of thermal power in the Yangtze River Delta, and vigorously solve the problem of sending abandoned clean hydropower from Southwest China. Using the Yangtze River corridor as a fulcrum, with Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan as multiple points, integrate the hydropower resources of Southwest China, orderly develop and utilize shale gas, and vigorously promote the construction of transportation channels for wind energy, solar energy, and natural gas to the Yangtze River Economic Belt, advancing the "West-to-East Power Transmission" to achieve interconnection of clean energy, providing a solid energy guarantee for sustainable development in the region.
Implement an integrated judicial protection mechanism for the entire watershed.
Implement the Yangtze River Protection Law, which relates to the ecological environment protection of the Yangtze River Basin and concerns the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. National People's Congress representative and President of the Hubei Provincial High People's Court, You Quanrong, suggested establishing an ecological court for the Yangtze River in Wuhan, to ensure the unified implementation of the Yangtze River Protection Law through an integrated judicial protection mechanism for the entire watershed, using judicial means to safeguard the mother river, the Yangtze.
You Quanrong stated that currently, a specialized and unified coordination mechanism for the Yangtze River Basin has not yet been established, and the national level has not formulated a unified judicial and administrative coordination system for ecological environment protection in the Yangtze River Basin. The judicial protection system for the ecological environment of the Yangtze River faces issues such as the lack of a sound mechanism for cross-administrative region trials and the localization of justice, which is not conducive to the protection of the entire watershed. Local courts at all levels use administrative divisions as the boundaries for trial regions, making it difficult to consider the integrity and completeness of the ecological environment, and to effectively and comprehensively protect environmental elements such as water and wildlife in the basin. Therefore, establishing an ecological court for the Yangtze River is very necessary.
You Quanrong believes that Hubei, located in central China, is the only province through which the main line of the Yangtze River flows for over a thousand kilometers, and is an important water source conservation area and a significant ecological barrier for the country. The provincial capital, Wuhan, is located in the center of Central China, at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han rivers, possessing the geographical advantage of being a "hub connecting nine provinces." Establishing an ecological environment protection court for the Yangtze River in Wuhan has unique advantages.
You Quanrong believes that from a systematic perspective, the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin should be developed, utilized, and protected as a whole environmental element, especially cases related to water resources based on the watershed should be handled by a unified specialized institution. Establishing an ecological court for the Yangtze River, which centrally and uniformly exercises jurisdiction over environmental resource cases in the Yangtze River Basin, helps to streamline the management and protection system for ecological environment resources in the Yangtze River Basin, and can avoid ineffective and incomplete protection and restoration of the ecological environment in the Yangtze River Basin due to administrative divisions.
Website editor: Gong Li
