Beijing, September 1 (Zhongxin Net) -- China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law was officially implemented on September 1, and how to implement it has attracted much attention. Chen Fahu, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, stressed in an interview with reporters that based on the carrying capacity of the resources and environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, it is necessary to strengthen the zoning management and control of the ecological environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and promote the implementation of the "three lines and one order", that is, the ecological protection red line, the bottom line of environmental quality, the upper line of resource utilization and the ecological environment access list.
Give priority to ecological protection and build a solid ecological security barrier on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Academician Chen Fahu said that the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has almost all terrestrial ecosystems except marine ecosystems, and diverse ecosystems provide important functions such as water conservation, soil conservation, wind and sand fixation, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity maintenance, and play an important role as a barrier to ensure national ecological security and ecological balance in neighboring countries.
Data map: On July 30, 2022, Academician Chen Fahu (second from right) exchanged discussions with members of the scientific expedition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Photo by China News Network reporter Sun Zifa
An important feature of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law is that it emphasizes the tone of giving priority to ecological protection. Giving priority to ecological protection is the basic principle of building a solid ecological security barrier on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and building an ecological civilization highland, and it is also the cornerstone of regional green development.
In promoting the implementation of the "three lines and one order", it is necessary to improve the ecological risk prevention and control system, implement the monitoring and assessment of ecological changes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, identify the source, type and intensity of ecological risks, and establish and improve the ecological risk monitoring and early warning system.
At the same time, implement the biodiversity conservation strategy and action plan, strengthen the national key protection and the protection and restoration of rare and endangered wild animals and plants, their habitats and in situ; Strengthen the management and control of alien species, and continue to carry out investigation, monitoring and early warning of invasive alien species in natural ecosystems.
He pointed out that in terms of specific implementation, first, we must adhere to the basic strategy of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, optimize the pattern of land space development, and rationally layout the ecological space for production and life.
The second is to reduce the interference of human activities in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Nature Reserve, standardize all kinds of development and construction activities, maintain the authenticity and representativeness of the plateau's natural ecosystem, and protect the tranquil, harmonious and beautiful natural ecology.
The third is to improve the ecological security pattern of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and identify important areas for ecosystem services, ecologically sensitive areas, major ecological risk areas and areas under human activity stress on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is proposed to carry out the "Ecological Yajiang Plan" to organically combine the ecological protection of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the improvement of people's living standards and sustainable social and economic development.
The fourth is to optimize the ecological security barrier system of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, implement major ecological projects such as natural grassland protection, shelter forest system construction, and river valley desertification control, and effectively curb ecological degradation.
Scientifically classify policies and coordinate artificial restoration and natural restoration governance
Academician Chen Fahu pointed out that the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law clearly stipulates that "the state strengthens the ecological protection and restoration of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, adheres to the integrated protection and restoration of landscapes, waters, forests, fields, lakes, grass, sand, and ice, and implements systematic governance that focuses on natural restoration and combines natural restoration and artificial restoration". Therefore, it is necessary to follow scientific principles, and according to the types and degrees of degradation of different natural ecosystems, it is appropriate to adopt strategies of overall planning, categorical policies and comprehensive management.
Data map: On July 30, 2022, Academician Chen Fahu (first from the left) held a "plateau classroom" for young scientific expedition members during the scientific expedition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Photo by China News Network reporter Sun Zifa
Natural ecological protection is the mainstay in nature reserves, ecologically sensitive areas and important ecological function areas, and measures combining near-natural restoration and artificial restoration are implemented in degraded areas caused by human activities.
Among them, for mildly and moderately degraded natural ecosystems, it is advisable to focus on natural restoration measures such as reducing the utilization intensity or sealing and cultivation, and supplementing near-natural restoration measures such as forest management and tending and grassland replanting.
For severely degraded ecosystems (such as black soil flats or desertified grasslands), if they rely on natural restoration, it will take decades or even hundreds of years to recover, and it may even be difficult to recover naturally, in which case artificial restoration is required, or natural restoration and artificial restoration are combined for systematic management.
For villages, towns and cities with relatively concentrated populations and their surrounding areas, as well as along major construction projects, according to the principles of restoration ecology, artificial restoration should be the mainstay, so as to quickly improve their ecological and service functions.
Set an example for the international community and promote the protection of the global ecological environment
Academician Chen Fahu said that the current overall ecological situation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau can be summarized as "climate warming and humidity, overall stability and improvement of the ecological environment, and increased risk of local disasters". In recent years, a series of achievements have been made in the protection of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: the establishment of the ecological civilization highland has made a good start, the second Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition has made important progress, the nature reserve system represented by the Sanjiangyuan, Mount Everest, Changtang and other national parks has achieved remarkable results, and the quality and function of the ecosystem of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have been improved; Forest ecosystems have been better protected, degraded grasslands have been gradually restored, and soil erosion has been slowed down. The conservation of biodiversity has achieved remarkable results, and the population of unique rare wild animals such as Tibetan antelope, wild ass, snow leopard and wild yak has increased significantly, which has greatly enhanced the stability of the plateau ecological security barrier function, and is of far-reaching significance for maintaining the virtuous cycle of the "third pole" ecosystem of the earth.
Of course, the ecological protection of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau still faces many challenges, including the imbalance of the function of the "Asian Water Tower", the fragility of the ecosystem, the intensification of permafrost thawing, the threat of biodiversity, and the frequent risk of natural disasters.
Academician Chen Fahu suggested that on the basis of the existing alpine monitoring network of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Field Observation Alliance, the Tibet Ecological Security Barrier Observation Network, and the Sanjiangyuan Observation, comprehensive and systematic monitoring of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau should be promoted, and scientific assessments of the ecological environment should be carried out regularly.
The first is to continue to optimize the layout of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau ecological comprehensive observation station network, deepen the research on the impact mechanism of climate change on alpine ecosystems and innovation in technology and equipment, and improve the breadth and quality of data acquisition.
The second is to strengthen the investigation of the status of natural resources and ecological environment such as land, forests, grasslands, rivers, lakes, wetlands, glaciers, deserts, wild animals and plants on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
The third is to build a real-time monitoring and early warning system for ice avalanches, debris flows, landslides, etc. in key ecologically fragile areas and high-risk areas of the plateau.
The fourth is to continue to carry out scientific investigation and research on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, focusing on monitoring and research on the source areas of the Lhasa River Basin, the source of the Yajiang River, the source of the Yangtze River and the uninhabited area of Kekexili.
At the same time, in terms of international cooperation, we will promote China-based international big scientific programs on climate change response, such as the Alliance of Transcontinental Exchanges and Silk Road Civilizations (ATES) and the "Third Pole Environment" International Program (TPE), so as to provide Chinese wisdom and solutions for global ecological environmental protection.
"It is believed that under the protection of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law, the overall ecological environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau will be significantly improved in the future, which will also set a good example for the international community and promote the global ecological environmental protection." Because we can do a good job in such a special area as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the world (should) do better. Academician Chen Fahu concluded. (End)
[Editor: Qian Jiaojiao]