What are the ecological protection and restoration policies for soil and water conservation in the Yellow River Basin?
The state strengthens the prevention and control of soil erosion in the key soil erosion prevention and control areas of the Meridian Mountains-Liupan Mountain, the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains, the Helan Mountains, the Baiyu Mountains, and Longzhong in the Yellow River Basin, as well as the headwaters of important tributaries such as the Wei River, Tao River, Fen River, and Yiluo River. The prevention and control of soil erosion shall be based on the actual situation, and biological and engineering measures shall be scientifically adopted.
It is forbidden to cultivate crops on steep slopes above 25 degrees. The provincial-level people's governments in the Yellow River Basin may, in accordance with the actual conditions of their respective administrative regions, stipulate a slope that prohibits reclamation of less than 25 degrees. The scope of steep slope land where reclamation is prohibited shall be delineated and announced by the people's government at the county level where it is located.
The water resources administrative department of the State Council shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments of the State Council, strengthen the protection and management of ecologically fragile areas such as arsenic sandstone areas, sandy and coarse sand areas, water and wind erosion interlaced areas, and desert river flow areas in the Yellow River Basin, carry out soil erosion and soil erosion assessments, and implement key prevention and control projects.
The local people's governments at or above the county level in the Yellow River Basin shall organize and promote key soil and water conservation projects such as the comprehensive management of small watersheds, the comprehensive improvement of sloping cultivated land, the management and protection of the Loess Plateau plateau, and the construction of suitable vegetation, and adopt measures such as the protection of plateaus, ditch heads, ditch slopes, and ditches, strengthen the management of sandy and coarse sand areas, and carry out the construction of ecologically clean river basins.
It is forbidden to carry out production and construction activities that may cause soil erosion in areas with serious soil erosion and fragile ecology in the Yellow River Basin. Where construction is truly necessary for the national development strategy and the national economy and people's livelihood, scientific demonstration shall be conducted, and approval formalities shall be completed in accordance with law.
Production and construction units shall, in accordance with the law, prepare and strictly implement the approved soil and water conservation program.
Where soil erosion is caused by production and construction activities, it shall be treated in accordance with the relevant standards for soil erosion prevention and control provided by the state.
How are the indicators of river ecological flow and lake ecological water level management and control determined in the Yellow River Basin?
The water resources administrative department of the State Council shall solicit and study the opinions of the competent departments of ecology and environment and natural resources under the State Council in determining the control indicators of the ecological flow of the main stream and important tributaries of the Yellow River and the ecological water level of important lakes. The water resources administrative departments of the provincial-level people's governments in the Yellow River Basin shall solicit and study the opinions of the competent departments of ecology and environment, natural resources, and other departments of the people's governments at the same level to determine the control indicators of the ecological flow of other rivers and the ecological water levels of other lakes, and report to the Yellow River Basin management agency and the Yellow River Basin ecological environment supervision and management institution for the record. Scientific demonstrations shall be conducted to determine the management and control indicators of ecological flow and ecological water level, and comprehensive consideration shall be given to factors such as water resource conditions, climatic conditions, ecological and environmental protection requirements, and water use for life and production.
The management bodies of the Yellow River Basin and the water administrative departments of the provincial-level people's governments in the Yellow River Basin shall, in accordance with their duties and division of labor, organize the preparation and implementation of the implementation plan for the guarantee of ecological flow and ecological water level.
The main stream and important tributaries of the Yellow River shall incorporate ecological water use scheduling into the daily operation and scheduling procedures。
What are the requirements for nature reserves?
The State shall coordinate the construction of a system of nature reserves in the Yellow River Basin. The State Council and provincial-level people's governments in the Yellow River Basin shall establish national parks, nature reserves, nature parks, and other nature reserves in accordance with law in areas such as the complete distribution areas of important typical ecosystems, ecologically sensitive areas, and areas where precious and endangered wild animals and plants are naturally concentrated, important habitats, and important natural relics.
Where the construction and management of nature reserves involve the management scope of rivers and lakes, the needs for the protection of rivers and lakes shall be considered as a whole, to meet the requirements for flood control, and to ensure the development of flood control project construction and management activities.
What are the regulations on wildlife resources?
The competent departments for forestry and grasslands and agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments of the State Council and provincial-level people's governments in the Yellow River Basin, follow their duties and division of labor to carry out protection and restoration of wildlife and plants in the Yellow River Basin that have declined sharply or are critically endangered, as well as habitats that have been seriously damaged, natural concentrated distribution areas, and fragmented typical ecosystems, build ex situ conservation facilities, establish gene banks for wildlife genetic resources, and carry out rescue restoration.
The competent department of ecology and environment under the State Council and the local people's governments at or above the county level in the Yellow River Basin shall organize and carry out the conservation and management of biodiversity in the Yellow River Basin, and regularly assess the threatened status of organisms and the effectiveness of biodiversity restoration.
What are the regulations on the Yellow River fishing ban system?
The State strengthens the ecological protection and restoration of important habitats such as spawning grounds, feeding grounds, wintering grounds, and migratory passages for aquatic organisms in the Yellow River Basin. Wading projects that block the migration of fish and other aquatic organisms shall take various measures such as the construction of fish passing facilities, the connection of rivers and lakes, the enhancement and release, and artificial breeding in light of the actual situation to meet the ecological needs of aquatic organisms.
The State implements a system of fishing ban in key waters of the Yellow River Basin, during which productive fishing of natural fishery resources is prohibited in key waters of the Yellow River Basin, and specific measures shall be formulated by the competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council. The local people's governments at or above the county level in the Yellow River Basin shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State, do a good job of ensuring the livelihood of fishermen during the fishing ban period.
It is forbidden to use electric fish, poison fish, explode fish and other fishing behaviors that damage fishery resources and water ecology.
What are the regulations on the control of groundwater overexploitation in the Yellow River Basin?
The water resources administrative department under the State Council shall, in conjunction with the competent department of natural resources under the State Council, organize the demarcation and publication of groundwater overexploitation areas in the Yellow River Basin.
The water resources administrative departments of the provincial-level people's governments in the Yellow River Basin shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments of the people's governments at the corresponding levels, prepare a comprehensive treatment plan for groundwater overexploitation in their respective administrative areas, and after approval by the provincial-level people's governments, report to the water resources administrative departments of the State Council for the record.
What are the ecological protection and restoration policies for damaged land and legacy mines in the Yellow River Basin?
The local people's governments at or above the county level in the Yellow River Basin shall organize and carry out ecological restoration of degraded agricultural land and carry out comprehensive improvement of farmland.
The production and construction personnel shall be responsible for reclaiming the land damaged by production and construction activities in the Yellow River Basin. Where the obligor of land reclamation cannot be determined due to historical reasons and the land damaged by natural disasters, the local people's government at or above the county level in the Yellow River Basin shall be responsible for organizing the reclamation.
The local people's governments at or above the county level in the Yellow River Basin shall strengthen the supervision and management of mines, urge mining rights holders to fulfill their responsibilities for mine pollution prevention and ecological restoration, and take measures to eliminate hidden dangers of geological disasters, land reclamation, restore vegetation, and prevent and control pollution in accordance with local conditions, and organize and carry out ecological restoration work of historical mines.
(Excerpt from "Yellow River Protection Law" Popular Science Knowledge Reader)
Source: Yellow River Museum