Five "persistences" to promote marine ecological protection and restoration

　　Egrets flutter across the lake, drawing graceful arcs. The island in the middle of the lake is covered with leafy mangrove forests, as if dotted with a green "jewel" on the water. Looking at Yundang Lake, where the water is clear and green, many people may not imagine that this was once a prohibitive stinky lake. The comprehensive management of Yundang Lake is a major decision personally planned, deployed and promoted by Comrade Xi Jinping when he was working in Xiamen in 1988. After more than 30 years of continuous efforts, today's Yundang Lake is rippling and has become the "city living room" of the garden city of Xiamen.

• 　　The comprehensive management of Yundang Lake is a major decision personally planned, deployed and promoted by Comrade Xi Jinping when he was working in Xiamen in 1988. After more than 30 years of continuous efforts, today's Yundang Lake is rippling and has become the "city living room" of Xiamen. The picture above shows Yundang Lake in the 80s of the 20th century (file photo); The picture below shows the landscape of Yundang Lake and the surrounding city taken on January 24, 2024 (Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Kehong/photo).

　　For a long time, Xiamen has implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions, taking the comprehensive management of Yundang Lake as a model and marine ecological protection and restoration as the main axis, and exploring a series of practices that conform to natural laws, conform to people's expectations, and promote the construction of ecological civilization.

　　Adhere to governance in accordance with the law, and continuously improve the modernization level of the ecological and environmental governance system

　　During his work in Xiamen, Comrade Xi Jinping put "governing the lake according to law" in the first place in the comprehensive management of Yundang Lake, personally studied and formulated relevant management regulations, promoted the establishment of the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, and promoted the "construction of ecological civilization with the concept of the rule of law and the rule of law". Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that "we must always adhere to the strictest system and the strictest rule of law to protect the ecological environment", pointing out that it is necessary to further establish, improve and strictly implement the laws and regulations of the ecological environment, and adhere to the use of, consolidate and expand the practices and experiences of strong supervision, strict law enforcement, and serious accountability. Xiamen was one of the first in the country to introduce local ecological legislation, and after obtaining the legislative power of the special economic zone in 1994, the first substantive local regulation enacted was the Xiamen Environmental Protection Regulations. In 2003, a comprehensive maritime law enforcement team was set up and a mechanism for joint maritime law enforcement was established. At present, Xiamen has promulgated more than 10 sea-related laws and regulations, such as the Regulations on the Management and Use of Sea Areas in Xiamen, and 13 laws and regulations on the construction of ecological civilization, such as the Regulations on the Construction of Ecological Civilization in the Xiamen Special Economic Zone, and formulated more stringent pollutant discharge standards than the national standard, effectively strengthening the rigid authority of laws and regulations on the construction of ecological civilization.

　　Adhere to scientific governance, and strive to promote the modernization of ecological and environmental governance capabilities

　　In the "1985-2000 Xiamen Economic and Social Development Strategy" compiled by Comrade Xi Jinping during his work in Xiamen, "environmental protection technology" was clearly regarded as the key development of social science and technology, and it was emphasized that it was necessary to "concentrate certain financial, material and scientific research resources". Since the beginning of the new era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has continuously deepened its understanding of the laws of ecological civilization construction, formed Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, and realized a major transformation from practical exploration to scientific theoretical guidance. Xiamen has always adhered to scientific concepts, applied cutting-edge technologies, adhered to dialectical thinking, and continuously improved the modernization level of ecological and environmental governance capabilities. Pay attention to scientific decision-making, set up a special marine expert group, provide decision-making consultation for comprehensive marine management, and conduct scientific demonstration in advance on major decision-making matters such as seawall openings, undersea tunnel construction, and bay area protection and development. Strengthen the empowerment of science and technology, build a scientific and technological support system for comprehensive marine management from the sky, land to the sea surface and seabed, launch four small satellites such as the "Maritime Silk Road" series and "Xiamen Science and Technology No. 1", create a "digital twin ocean", scientifically study and judge the state and changing trends of the ocean, and continuously launch international leading achievements in scientific and technological research and marine carbon sink research in the marine high-tech industry. Following the laws of nature, we took the lead in launching the exploration of "multi-regulation integration" in the country; We have given full play to the self-repair capacity of the ecosystem, and adopted measures such as returning land to the sea, opening embankments and dredging, and introducing mangroves, which have achieved twice the result with half the effort. A total of 173.9 hectares of mangrove forests were planted in Yundang Lake, Haicang Bay, Tong'an Bay and other forest-friendly sea areas, and a near-natural wetland ecosystem was gradually constructed.

　　Adhere to source management and build a solid barrier for marine ecological protection

　　The problems of the marine ecological environment are manifested in the sea, and the roots are on the land. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that it is necessary to effectively control the discharge of land-based pollutants into the sea from the source. Xiamen has always adhered to the move of the border forward and the linkage of rivers and seas, and continued to promote the extension of pollution control to the source and to the "nerve endings", and strictly control and reduce land-based pollutants. By the end of 2023, 100% of the water environment functional areas of all 9 streams in the territory have reached the standard, the river and lake ecosystems have become beautiful, and the new business format integrating rural agriculture, culture and tourism has also been developed. Continuously improve the capacity of urban sewage collection and treatment, strive to solve the problem of mixed flow of rain and sewage in the old city, and effectively achieve "sewage into the plant and clean water into the river". Carry out special treatment of rural sewage problems, and carry out centralized treatment of sewage in all 1,216 natural villages in the city through "three pipes into households" and rain and sewage diversion, so that the "small ecology" and "small environment" around the masses have been improved. Since 2019, the city's 412 discharge outlets have been investigated, comprehensively monitored and treated in the whole chain, and now the water quality compliance rate of the discharge ports has reached 99.3%, and the relevant practices have been promoted to the whole country.

　　Adhere to systematic governance and create a beautiful living environment in the bay

　　During his work in Xiamen, Comrade Xi Jinping established a comprehensive management mechanism for Yundang Lake, promoted the systematic management of marine ecology, and put forward the ecological development idea of "wearing hats on the mountain and developing under the mountain". Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has further emphasized that "it is necessary to coordinate the management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands and sands". Xiamen adheres to the protection and restoration of the ecosystem with systematic engineering, and takes the lead in putting forward the concept of comprehensive renovation of the bay area in the country, and has successively carried out five comprehensive renovation and development projects in the bay area, carrying out seawall opening, reclamation and sea reclamation, aquaculture clearance, shoreline restoration, and ecological water replenishment according to local conditions. A total of 258,000 acres of aquaculture have been withdrawn from the sea area, and ecological landscapes such as the Garden Expo Garden, Wuyuanwan Wetland Park, and the Romantic Line around the East have been built on the original farms and marshes, which have effectively improved the marine and coastal environment and enhanced the functions of port shipping and coastal tourism. In the Gaoji seawall opening bridge construction project, it not only effectively restores the exchange of natural water bodies, but also retains the material carrier for the "seawall spirit" and other cultural wealth. Exploring and promoting the integrated protection and governance from the top of the mountain to the ocean, focusing on afforestation and ecological protection on the mountain, planting fruits and tea under the mountain on the other, and developing the economy, we have embarked on a green development path that organically combines ecological construction, poverty alleviation and rural revitalization. At an altitude of 985 meters above sea level, Baijiaoci Village overlooks the bright top, layers of terraced fields go down the trend, the ecological tea garden is lush, and the green of the mountain and the blue of the sea blend together. Xiamen has systematically promoted the green coverage and ecological restoration project of bare mountains in the city, and the restoration rate of the geological environment of abandoned mines has reached 100%, and 10 mountain and sea corridors have been planned and constructed in the whole city, forming a large pattern of urban landscapes where man and nature coexist in harmony.

　　Adhere to coordinated governance and serve the building of a community with a shared future for the ocean

　　General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that the blue planet inhabited by human beings is not divided into islands by the ocean, but connected by the ocean to form a community with a shared future. In view of the natural attributes and ecological characteristics of the ocean, Xiamen has always paid attention to the role of the special economic zone as a window, highlighted the characteristics of an open and inclusive city, and actively explored a new model of win-win cooperation in marine governance. Under the leadership of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, it has taken the lead in establishing a joint prevention and control mechanism for ecological and environmental protection in the Southwest Fujian Coordinated Development Zone, and has worked with relevant cities to implement the comprehensive treatment project in the upper reaches of the Jiulong River Basin, and coordinated the comprehensive treatment of marine drifting garbage. We have focused on strengthening cross-strait linkage, explored and established a coordinated law enforcement mechanism at sea with Kinmen, and promoted the formation of a "Greater Xiamen Bay" governance pattern of Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanjin cooperation. In 2006, the Secretariat of the Local Government Network for Sustainable Development of the East Asian Coastal Zone was permanently established in Xiamen, linking 53 member cities from 10 countries to jointly promote and practice the concept of integrated coastal zone management. Xiamen International Ocean Week has been held for 18 consecutive years, attracting the participation of more than 130 countries and regions and more than 50 important international organizations, and has become an important cooperation platform and dialogue mechanism for global ocean governance. In 2020, Xiamen Marine International Cooperation Center was established with the Ministry of Natural Resources. Through collaborative governance, Xiamen has continuously improved its governance level in the process of serving the construction of a community with a shared future for the ocean, creating a model for Xiamen, providing Chinese solutions, and telling China's story well. In 2022, the "International Science Program on Marine Negative Emissions" initiated by Xiamen University was included in the "Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development" action plan by the United Nations, which will vigorously promote international exchanges and cooperation in the field of marine ecology.

　　More reading: Xiamen Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Fujian Province

　　(Planning: Liang Peiyun, Liu Mingmei, Review: Li Yanling)