Practical Discussion | Thoughts and suggestions on the connection between ecological environment zoning control and territorial spatial planning

Recently, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Zoning Control of the Ecological Environment" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"), which is an environmental management system with the goal of ensuring ecological functions and improving environmental quality. The "Opinions" emphasize that the zoning control of the ecological environment should be fully connected with the preparation and implementation of territorial spatial planning, form a unified and coordinated work system, jointly ensure ecological functions and improve environmental quality, promote high-quality development, and build a modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. This paper intends to talk about some thoughts on the implementation of the relevant requirements of the document from the perspective of territorial spatial planning.

Accurately grasp the relevant requirements of the "Opinions" on the connection work

The requirements for the connection between ecological and environmental zoning and land spatial planning and use control run through the whole text of the Opinions, including the overall requirements, the promotion of ecological environment zoning control, policy coordination, and departmental linkage. It fully reflects the importance of the full convergence of the two tasks.

The connection between ecological environment zoning and territorial spatial planning is the concrete implementation of the "three unifications" system of the central ecological civilization

"Uniformly exercising the responsibilities of the owners of all natural resource assets owned by the whole people, uniformly exercising the responsibilities of all land and space use control and ecological protection and restoration", and "uniformly exercising the responsibilities of ecological and urban and rural pollution discharge supervision and administrative law enforcement" are the overall arrangements for the reform of the central ecological civilization system. In the overall requirements, the "Opinions" clearly stated that to strengthen the zoning and control of the ecological environment, it is necessary to "take Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization as the guide, fully implement the strategy of the main functional zones, and fully connect the land spatial planning and use control". In 2018, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment respectively undertook the responsibilities of "uniformly exercising the responsibilities of the owners of all natural resource assets owned by the whole people", "uniformly exercising the responsibilities of all land and space use control and ecological protection and restoration", and "uniformly exercising the responsibilities of ecological and urban and rural pollution discharge supervision and administrative law enforcement", and the responsibilities of "three unifications" constitute a complete ecological civilization system. In July 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping at the 9th National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection still deployed ecological and environmental governance under the framework of a complete ecological civilization system, and the general secretary pointed out that "it is necessary to implement the strictest ecological environment governance system, fully implement the pollutant discharge permit system, improve the natural resource asset management system, and improve the land and space use control system".

Ecological environment zoning control is to carry out spatial zoning and formulate control rules from the perspective of ecological environment, which has the characteristics of special planning. The "Opinions" clearly pointed out that the zoning control of the ecological environment is to ensure the regional ecological function and improve the regional environmental quality as the goal, and implement the environmental management system of sub-regional differentiated and precise control. The ecological environment zoning control scheme is "based on the ecological environment management and control unit, with the ecological environment access list as a means, and the information platform as the support", which is spatial. The "Several Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Establishing a Territorial Spatial Planning System and Supervising its Implementation" clearly pointed out that it is necessary to "strengthen the guiding and restraining role of territorial spatial planning on various special plans", and relevant special plans "shall not violate the mandatory content of the overall plan".

The connection between the ecological environment zoning control plan and the territorial spatial planning is a specific measure to "deeply implement the main functional zone strategy".

The main functional zone is a major strategy for the economic development and ecological environmental protection of the mainland, and the territorial spatial planning is the specific arrangement of the main functional zone strategy in space. At the 2015 Urban Work Conference, the general secretary made a clear instruction that "the main functional area is the basic system for the development and protection of land space, and it is also the fundamental measure to protect the ecological environment from the source". On August 29, 2017, at the 38th meeting of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, it was further pointed out that "the establishment of main functional zones is a major strategy for the mainland's economic development and ecological and environmental protection. To improve the strategy and system of the main functional zones, it is necessary to give full play to the role of the main functional zones as the basic system for the development and protection of land and space". In 2019, the Several Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on the Construction and Supervision of the Implementation of the Territorial Spatial Planning System in China clarified that "the integration of spatial planning such as main functional area planning, land use planning, and urban and rural planning into a unified territorial spatial planning" is "the basic basis for all kinds of development, protection and construction activities". Therefore, the "Opinions" first clarify that the ecological environment zoning control plan should "thoroughly implement the main functional zone strategy and fully implement the requirements of the National Territorial and Spatial Planning Outline (2021-2035)".

The territorial spatial planning system undertakes the task of accurately implementing the strategy of the main functional area at the city and county level. "Promoting the precise implementation of the strategic pattern of the main functional zones at the city and county level" is the key task of deepening and improving the strategic system of the main functional zones in the new era, and territorial spatial planning is a specific means. At the seventh meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Commission in 2020, the general secretary pointed out that "it is necessary to improve the territorial spatial planning and implement the strategy of the main functional zones". At present, the "five-level and three-category" territorial spatial planning system has established a spatial transmission path of "main functional area-planning zoning-detailed planning unit-plot use" at the city and county level. In accordance with the hierarchical compilation principle of "national guidance, provincial overall planning, and municipal implementation" determined by the Opinions, territorial spatial planning provides a basis for the "landing" of ecological environment management and control plans at the municipal level.

The "Opinions" put forward specific requirements for the convergence of ecological environment zoning control and territorial spatial planning

The "Opinions" proposes to formulate a zoning control plan for the ecological environment, to "thoroughly implement the strategy of the main functional zones, and fully implement the requirements of the National Territorial and Spatial Planning Outline (2021-2035)". Specific requirements were put forward from the aspects of determining the ecological environment control unit, ecological environment access list, review and filing, policy coordination and departmental linkage.

Ecological environment management and control unit. The "Opinions" clearly pointed out that "to determine the ecological environment management and control units", it is necessary to "implement the results of the delineation of 'three zones and three lines'", and "on the basis of the ecological protection red line, the protected areas should be demarcated, and the priority protection units of the ecological environment should be determined", which are all important contents of territorial spatial planning.

In terms of the ecological environment access list. The "Opinions" pointed out that it is necessary to "focus on solving outstanding ecological and environmental problems and systematically integrate existing ecological and environmental management regulations according to the functional positioning of the ecological environment and the control requirements of land and space use", and put forward control requirements from the aspects of "controlling pollutant emissions, preventing and controlling environmental risks, and improving the efficiency of resource and energy utilization".

Examination and filing. The "Opinions" pointed out that "the provincial and municipal ecological environment zoning control plans shall be organized and compiled by the government at the same level, and fully connected with the 'one map' system of land and spatial planning, and shall be issued and implemented after reporting to the competent department of ecology and environment at the next higher level for the record". Regarding regular adjustment and dynamic update, the "Opinions" proposes to "make regular adjustments every five years in combination with the national economic and social development plan and the assessment of territorial spatial planning". If it is really necessary to update within 5 years, "on the basis of fully connecting the national economic and social development plan and the territorial spatial plan, carry out dynamic updating".

Policy coordination and departmental linkage. Strengthening the dynamic connection between ecological environment zoning control and territorial spatial planning is an important aspect of strengthening the coordination of ecological and environmental protection policies. The "Opinions" pointed out that "to strengthen the dynamic connection between the zoning control of the ecological environment and the territorial spatial planning, according to the characteristics of the development and protection construction activities in different regions, focus on the improvement of the quality of the ecological environment, and implement the differentiated management of the ecological environment by unit, the competent departments of ecology and environment and the competent departments of natural resources should select typical areas to carry out pilots, accumulate experience, improve the mechanism, and form a policy synergy". The "Opinions" further clarified in the work requirements of "strengthening departmental linkage" that "the competent departments of natural resources should rely on the 'one map' system of territorial spatial planning, share data such as ecological protection red lines, strengthen the connection between the ecological environment zoning control plan and territorial spatial planning, and jointly do a good job in relevant research and pilot work". In the work requirements of "improving laws and regulations", the "Opinions" put forward that "the competent department of ecology and environment of the State Council, in conjunction with the competent department of natural resources, shall study and formulate the requirements for the division of ecological and environmental zoning control units and related standards and specifications".

It is necessary to further explore and improve the specific connection path between ecological environment zoning control and territorial spatial planning in practice

The ecological environment management and control unit should be fully connected with the "three districts and three lines" and the territorial spatial planning and zoning

The "Opinions" clarify two types of ecological environment management and control units and their basic connotations at the national level. The "Opinions" clearly require the delineation of two types of ecological environment management and control units: one is the ecological environment priority protection unit, which is based on the ecological protection red line, and the second is the ecological environment key control unit, which is dominated by areas with high pressure to improve the quality of the ecological environment, high resource and energy consumption intensity, concentrated pollutant emissions, serious ecological damage, and high environmental risks, and is an area with prominent contradictions between development and protection.

The requirements for the division of ecological environment zoning control units and related standards and specifications need to be further studied and formulated. The "Opinions" clearly require the ecological environment department and the natural resources department to "study and formulate the requirements for the division of ecological environment zoning control units and related standards and specifications", mainly due to the lack of unified technical standards and logic, resulting in great differences in the results of unit trial planning in different places. Some use township-level administrative districts as the control unit, others break the administrative boundaries and determine the control unit based on the scope of the ecological protection red line, industrial parks and other physical areas, and some adopt a mixed approach. The demarcated units overlap with the "three zones and three lines" and the territorial spatial planning zoning, resulting in the ineffective connection between ecological environment management and territorial spatial functional arrangements.

Taking the territorial spatial planning and zoning as the basis for the delineation of the ecological environment zoning control unit is a concrete embodiment of the policy coordination and implementation of the main functional zone strategy. Territorial spatial planning and zoning is the spatial functional arrangement for the detailed implementation of the main functional zone strategy at the city and county levels. In the Guidelines for the Preparation of Municipal Land Space Main Planning (Trial), the planning and zoning make comprehensive arrangements for the protection and development of land space in their respective administrative regions on the basis of fully implementing the requirements of the main function positioning and connecting the "three districts and three lines". It includes 7 types of first-level planning divisions, which are delineated in the municipal land and space planning. Among them, ecological reserves are terrestrial and marine natural areas with special important ecological functions or ecologically sensitive and fragile that must be strictly protected, including areas where terrestrial and marine ecological protection redlines are demarcated, farmland protection areas are areas where permanent basic farmland is relatively concentrated, and urban development zones are areas enclosed by urban development boundaries, all of which are closely connected with the "three zones and three lines". It can be seen that the ecological reserve and the ecological environment priority protection unit are highly consistent in terms of functional connotation and content elements. According to the results of the first-level planning and zoning in the municipal and county-level territorial spatial planning, the spatial scale of the zoning ranges from a few square kilometers to hundreds of square kilometers, which belongs to the spatial unit at the mesoscopic scale, which is basically consistent with the ecological environment zoning control unit. Therefore, it is necessary and feasible to connect the planning zoning and the ecological environment zoning control unit. Only the ecological environment zoning control unit established on the basis of planning and zoning can better reflect the transmission and implementation of the strategic intent of the main functional area in the planning space.

Formulate detailed rules for the compilation of ecological and environmental access lists that implement the requirements for the control of land and space use and focus on ecological and environmental management

The ecological environment access list is a list that matches the requirements of the two types of ecological environment management and control units. The "Opinions" clarify that the inventory should include three requirements: "controlling pollutant emissions, preventing and controlling environmental risks, and improving the efficiency of resource and energy utilization". The "Opinions" emphasize "adapting measures to local conditions", "one unit, one strategy" and "refined management", and clarify the overall requirements for the establishment of a list of two different types of ecological environment management and control units: "the priority protection unit of the ecological environment should strengthen the protection and function maintenance of the ecosystem, and the key control unit of the ecological environment should strengthen the control of pollutant discharge and the prevention and control of environmental risks for outstanding ecological and environmental problems". At the same time, it is proposed that "where there is great pressure to improve the quality of the ecological environment, and where the problems and risks are prominent, more precise control requirements should be formulated".

In formulating the ecological environment access list, it is necessary to coordinate the implementation of the relevant requirements for the control of the economy, the ecological environment, and the use of land and space. The "Opinions" pointed out that the compilation of the ecological environment access list should "implement the negative list for market access, according to the ecological environment function positioning and land and space use control requirements". It reflects that the starting point and foothold of the establishment of this environmental management system is to fully implement the new development concept, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, and promote high-quality development with high-level protection. The requirements for the control of land and space use based on territorial spatial planning are the premise and basis for the zoning and control of the ecological environment. The formulation of the ecological environment access list in the sub-region should implement the strategic intent of the national spatial development and the layout of land and space development and protection.

Detailed rules for the compilation of the ecological environment access list focusing on ecological environment management. The ecological environment access list compiled by the pilot projects in various regions is different in terms of control content, control objects, control requirements and control depth. For example, when determining the list of environmental risk prevention and control, some put forward requirements from three aspects: land use, parks, and enterprises, and some focus on establishing and improving the environmental risk prevention system and ecological security system. In order to better guide the local government in compiling the ecological environment access list, it is recommended to formulate detailed rules for the preparation of the list, further clarify the requirements for the compilation of the list, including the design and implementation of the technical process for the compilation of land and space use control requirements, and refine the control content in the three aspects of the list, especially the types of factors involved in pollutant discharge, environmental risk prevention and control, and the improvement of resource and energy utilization efficiency, as well as the depth of management requirements.

epilogue

At present, the "Opinions" have clarified the requirements for the multi-level and whole-process technical work connection between the zoning control of the ecological environment and the control of land and space planning and use. The many differences and contradictions in the local pilot work also further confirm the need to formulate relevant standards and norms. In order to truly play the role of ecological environment zoning control in "scientifically guiding all kinds of development, protection and construction activities and promoting high-quality development", the key is to clarify the technical logic, deepen and refine the delineation methods and processes under the framework of "three unifications", on the basis of the management logic of ecological environment zoning control, and take the formulation of relevant standards and specifications for the delineation of ecological environment zoning control units as the guide, clarify the technical logic, deepen and refine the delineation methods and processes, consolidate the scientific foundation of system construction, and lay the foundation for improving and improving the relevant systems of ecological environmental protection. (Author: Shang Jing, Deputy Director, Research Center for Territorial and Spatial Planning, Ministry of Natural Resources)

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author

Source: Department of Territorial and Spatial Planning, Ministry of Natural Resources