A lake of clear water in Wanfeng Lake. Photo by Liang Lisheng
"Ten thousand acres of blue waves and 'green' three banks", this is people's latest impression of Wanfeng Lake, which flows through the three provinces (regions) of Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou. Wanfeng Lake in April, the green water is rippling and the breeze is gentle, which is refreshing. On January 1, 2023, the "Regulations on the Protection of Wanfeng Lake in Baise City" was officially promulgated and implemented. In the past year, under the joint governance of five counties (cities) in the three provinces (autonomous regions) of Guizhou, Yunnan and Guizhou, the achievements of Wanfeng Lake have been further consolidated.
"Guangxi's ecological advantages are not exchanged" - General Secretary Xi Jinping once made such a positioning for Guangxi. In December 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping once again earnestly instructed during his inspection in Guangxi: "Let ecological advantages continue to be transformed into development advantages". In the first year since the implementation of the "Regulations on the Protection of Wanfeng Lake in Baise City", Baise has adhered to the concept of combining protection and development, guarded the lucid waters and green mountains of Wanfeng Lake, and created a "golden mountain and silver mountain" of ecological industry.
History: The pain of ecological remediation of Wanfeng Lake
Wanfeng Lake is the Nanpan River system at the source of the Pearl River. Since 2000, the people along the coast have vigorously developed the cage fish farming industry. By 2015, cage fish farming had become the most important industry for people along Wanfeng Lake. However, with the continuous increase in the number of cages, Wanfeng Lake has become more and more "overwhelmed", and the continuously polluted ecological environment has had a great impact on the production and life of the people along the coast and downstream. The people of Longlin Autonomous County and Xilin County still remember the scene at that time: "Some companies dumped several truckloads of fish feed into the lake every day", "the water quality is getting worse and worse, and there is a smell of feed...... By 2017, Wanfeng Lake had changed from the original "one lake with clear water" to inferior Class V water.
Law enforcement officers from Longlin Autonomous County carry out daily law enforcement at Wanfeng Lake. (Photo courtesy of the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of Longlin Autonomous County)
Remediation is imperative. However, Wanfeng Lake covers the three provinces (regions) of Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou, and the cross-administrative governance has made the cadres and masses of the three provinces (regions) worried. Luo Shaorong, director of the Port and Shipping Development Center of the Transportation Bureau of Longlin Autonomous County, said: "Although the three provinces (regions) have had exchanges on the renovation of Wanfeng Lake, they are basically fighting their own battles, the government orders are not uniform, and the pace of rectification is also inconsistent, so it is difficult to form a joint force. Cen Haiping, deputy head of the county's comprehensive ecological and environmental administrative law enforcement brigade, gave an example: "Guizhou's cage rectification action was slightly earlier than ours, and some Guizhou fish farmers next to Longlin heard the news of the rectification, so they secretly 'moved' the cages to Longlin at night, but their cages are not cages in Guangxi, and it is difficult for us to enforce the law across regions." ”
In 2018, the city began to focus on cleaning the cages, and gave subsidies for the area of cages, fish fry, and production conversion to fish farmers. Within one year, the cages in the Wanfeng Lake basin of our city were basically dismantled. However, some fish farmers are still lucky, and after the remediation period, they quietly "return to their old business". This phenomenon has appeared in the three provinces (regions), and these "nail households" seem to have reached a consensus: once they find that the cages are being renovated in a certain place, they will move the cages to another province (region) and play the game of "hide and seek". By December 2019, there was also a cage with an area of about 1,200 square meters in the Longlin Wanfeng Lake basin that was investigated for committing crimes against the wind.
The three provinces (regions) realized that in order to consolidate the achievements of Wanfeng Lake governance, it is necessary to form a joint force. In this context, in 2019, the Standing Committee of the Baise Municipal People's Congress took the lead in putting forward the idea of carrying out cross-regional collaborative legislation for the protection of Wanfeng Lake, continuously strengthened communication and coordination with the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Guizhou Province's Southwest Guizhou Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture and Yunnan Province's Qujing Municipal People's Congress, and explored the region's first cross-regional collaborative legislative project. Since 2019, the people's congress departments of the three provinces (regions) have been deeply coordinated and linked, organized and held 3 joint meetings and promotion meetings on collaborative legislation, and jointly carried out 6 investigations. After more than three years of hard work, on November 25, 2022, the 34th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress of the Autonomous Region approved and passed the "Regulations on the Protection of Wanfeng Lake in Baise City", which will be officially implemented on January 1, 2023, which is the first local regulation in Guangxi to be cross-regional coordinated legislation. Under the leadership of Baise City, the "Regulations on the Protection of Wanfeng Lake in Southwest Guizhou Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture" will also be implemented simultaneously on January 1, 2023.
At present: the three provinces (regions) are linked and co-governed across regions
Realizing the co-management, co-governance and sharing of the Wanfeng Lake Basin is the ultimate goal of collaborative legislation. The "Regulations on the Protection of Wanfeng Lake in Baise City" also embodies the concept of synergy the most. For example, the provisions on the scope of protection, aquaculture, the establishment of a recreational fishing management system, the responsibility for cleaning up floating objects, the establishment of a coordination mechanism, and the prohibition of acts in control areas and protected areas are basically the same as the Regulations on the Protection of Wanfeng Lake in Southwest Guizhou Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, which provides more convenience for joint law enforcement.
Law enforcement officers from Longlin Autonomous County clean up floating debris on Wanfeng Lake. (Photo courtesy of the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of Longlin Autonomous County)
Huang Zhigen, director of the Second Department of the Procuratorate of Longlin Autonomous County, said: "The promulgation of the Regulations on the Protection of Wanfeng Lake in Baise City has given the law enforcement departments of the three provinces (autonomous regions) and five counties (cities) more authority to 'coordinate operations', and joint law enforcement has become more standardized and unified. Luo Shaorong said: "Before the promulgation of the regulations, three provinces (regions) and five counties (cities) have established a joint law enforcement command of Wanfeng Lake, from the relevant departments around the transfer of more than 60 law enforcement personnel, to carry out joint law enforcement actions, after the introduction of the "Baise City Wanfeng Lake Protection Regulations", to further unify everyone's actions, so that the benefits of joint law enforcement are maximized, at present, the command personnel will focus on the whole water area of Wanfeng Lake every month to carry out joint law enforcement, jointly crack down on electric fish, Acts that damage the water ecology and water environment, such as poisoning fish, have eliminated the barriers to the governance of river basins across administrative regions. ”
Due to the different industrial structures and outstanding problems along the coast of Wanfeng Lake in the three provinces (autonomous regions) and five counties (cities), it is also necessary to take management measures according to local conditions. In addition to embodying the concept of synergy, the "Regulations on the Protection of Wanfeng Lake in Baise City" also has its own "special provisions". For example, the regulations set legal liabilities for the use of fishing methods that damage fishery resources, such as exploding fish, poisoning fish, electric fish, light trapping, lifting nets, ground cage nets, bottom trawl nets, barrage nets, ecstasy arrays, and underwater spearguns.
Xilin County carried out the ecological water joint law enforcement site in the Wanfeng Lake reservoir area. (Photo courtesy of the People's Government of Mabang Town, Xilin County)
The Regulations on the Protection of Wanfeng Lake in Baise City also clarify the management responsibilities of coastal towns and villages. Luo Mingbin, the first secretary of Badahe Village, Mabang Town, Xilin County, said: "Domestic garbage and domestic sewage treatment is also the content of the ordinance, not long ago we spent 5,000 yuan in Pingzhai Village to treat the floating debris on the surface of Wanfeng Lake and domestic garbage along the coast, such treatment has become one of the normalized work of the township." ”
In the past year since the promulgation of the "Regulations on the Protection of Wanfeng Lake in Baise City", the three provinces (autonomous regions) and five counties (cities) have strengthened their ability to coordinate operations, effectively cracked down on all kinds of behaviors that damage the ecology of Wanfeng Lake, and the phenomenon of indiscriminate discharge of domestic sewage and indiscriminate piling of domestic garbage by the masses has also been effectively stopped, and the remediation effect of Wanfeng Lake has been effectively consolidated. From January to December 2023, Baise City ranked 14th in the country in the ranking of water environmental quality of the national surface water assessment section, of which Wanfeng Lake is one of the water bodies where the assessment section is located.
Future: Ecological dividends benefit the people along the coast
The "Regulations on the Protection of Wanfeng Lake in Baise City" clearly stipulates that it is necessary to rely on the characteristic resources of Wanfeng Lake to develop ecological agriculture, eco-tourism, leisure and sports and other industries that meet the protection requirements of Wanfeng Lake, and promote the integrated development of multiple formats.
The support and encouragement of the regulations for the development of the ecological industry have given new industrial development ideas to the people who have switched to ashore production, and many people have focused their attention on the eco-tourism industry. Li Lianzhong of Xilin County used to be a large fish farmer, with a total investment of more than 1 million yuan in cages. After switching to the shore, he turned to the camellia industry. Last year, he also had a "tourist meal" at his doorstep. He said: "Since May last year, I have opened four homestays on the shore of Wanfeng Lake for tourists to relax, sightsee, fish and stay, from July to October, the homestays are almost full, tourists need to book in advance, and each homestay has an income of 800 yuan to 1,000 yuan per day during the peak period." ”
Mabang Town organized "soil experts" to guide the people who switched to ashore to carry out camellia management and protection. (Photo courtesy of the People's Government of Mabang Town, Xilin County)
From October 14th to 15th last year, the 2023 National Fishing Open Wanfeng Lake "Red Silk Cup" Xilin Station Qualifiers were held at the Red Silk Bay Fishing Base of Wanfeng Lake in Xilin, and 480 players from 120 teams from Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan and other places gathered in Xilin to compete with their rods. This is a successful practice of Xilin County relying on the characteristic resources of Wanfeng Lake to develop eco-tourism, leisure sports and other industries. At present, Xilin County is building a "one district, one belt and one center" all-for-one tourism project, among which the Wanfeng Lake Red Silk Bay Fishing Base is an important project of Wanfeng Lake National Tourism Resort, which has shown initial results. Wang Yinghe, secretary of the Party organization of Badahe Village, Mabang Town, Xilin County, said: "Next, we will continue to build a suitable village, livable, and business-friendly demonstration site, and increase the development of tourism in Wanfeng Lake. ”
On February 4 this year, the first sightseeing cruise ship in Longlin Autonomous County - "Gebuwan No. 1" officially set sail at the Wharf of Gebu Township, which can accommodate 50 people at the same time, marking the substantial progress made in accelerating the development of ecological leisure tourism in Wanfeng Lake in the county. At present, Longlin Autonomous County is planning to build leisure projects integrating tourism, leisure and fishing, and plans to introduce leading enterprises and build resorts, and some projects have entered the design stage.
Longlin Autonomous County has also taken the ecological fish farming project as its development goal, and strives to create a development model of "characteristic agriculture and combination of fish tourism". Wang Dingwei, a villager in Tianshengqiao Town, who is currently developing ecological fish farming, said: "Unlike cage fish farming, ecological fish farming will not pollute the environment of Wanfeng Lake, and there is also considerable economic income. ”
In the future, the three provinces (regions) of Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou may give full play to the geographical advantages of being located at the junction of Wanfeng Lake, jointly develop ecological breeding and eco-tourism industries, and share the ecological benefits of Wanfeng Lake.
The people of Longlin Autonomous County of all nationalities will develop the silkworm industry after they switch production and go ashore. (Photo courtesy of the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of Longlin Autonomous County)
In addition to eco-tourism and eco-breeding, in recent years, the masses who have switched to ashore have also developed industries such as sugar oranges, camellia, and fir trees, and some of them have also started small businesses. Li Wenjie, a fruit farmer in Xilin County, has grown 30 acres of tangerines and earned more than 40,000 yuan last year, while Li Mingguo of Longlin Autonomous County runs a restaurant on the shore of Wanfeng Lake with an annual income of about 80,000 yuan.
"As people along the coast, we have a deep understanding that the water quality of Wanfeng Lake has changed significantly, and when the weather is good, we can see the bottom of the lake 2-3 meters deep. "In the past two years, more and more people have traveled to Wanfeng Lake, which has brought us more income. "Wanfeng Lake has been well managed, and in recent years, young people have returned to their hometowns to start businesses. ”...... With the gradual restoration of the ecology of Wanfeng Lake, the thinking of the masses has gradually changed, and we must protect the clear water of Wanfeng Lake. Nowadays, along the shores of Wanfeng Lake, the masses have eaten "ecological rice", and the lucid waters and lush mountains are gradually transforming into gold and silver mountains.
Reporter's Notes
One lake and clear water connect three provinces (regions). In the past 20 years, Wanfeng Lake has experienced a development process from pollution to refractory pollution, to linkage and co-governance, and then to ecological win-win. The promulgation of the Regulations on the Protection of Wanfeng Lake in Baise City provides a legal basis for consolidating the achievements of Wanfeng Lake governance, forming a normalized governance model, and developing in protection. Everyone is an ecological protector, and only by governing in accordance with laws and regulations and living in harmony with nature can the clear water of Wanfeng Lake benefit the people on both sides of the river and give full play to the greatest ecological benefits.
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The "Baise City Wanfeng Lake Protection Regulations" prohibits behaviors.
The regulations prohibit the discharge or dumping of oil, acid, lye and highly toxic waste into water bodies, the cleaning of vehicles and containers containing oil or toxic pollutants in water bodies, the discharge and dumping of industrial waste residues, tailings, garbage, straw and other wastes into water bodies, or the stacking and storage of solid wastes and other pollutants on the banks and slopes of rivers and lakes.
At the same time, the regulations make it clear that anyone who violates the rules by using fishing methods or fishing gear that damage fishery resources, such as exploding fish, poisoning fish, electric fish, light trapping, lifting nets, ground cage nets, bottom trawl nets, barrage nets, ecstasy arrays, underwater spearguns, etc., shall be confiscated by the competent departments of agriculture and rural affairs and shall impose a fine of not less than 2,000 yuan but not more than 10,000 yuan; if the circumstances are serious, the fishing gear shall be confiscated and the fishing license shall be revoked; if the circumstances are particularly serious, the fishing boats may be confiscated; and if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law. Anyone who erects a fishing platform or a fishing shed without authorization shall be ordered by the water administration department to stop the illegal acts, dismantle the illegal facilities within a time limit, and restore them to their original state; if they fail to dismantle or restore their original state within the time limit, they shall be fined not less than 500 yuan but not more than 5,000 yuan.
Source: Youjiang Daily (reporter Liang Lisheng correspondent Mo Yawen Huang Lanying)