Broaden the transformation path of the "two mountains", so that the lucid waters and lush mountains can benefit the people and future generations

In July 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection that efforts should be made to improve the diversity, stability and sustainability of ecosystems, increase ecosystem protection, effectively strengthen the supervision of ecological protection and restoration, and broaden the path for the transformation of lucid waters and lush mountains into gold and silver mountains, leaving a beautiful ecological space for future generations.

Over the past year, all parts of the country have kept in mind the entrustment and made efforts to improve the diversity, stability and sustainability of the ecosystem, so that the pattern of the ecosystem of the land in China has become more stable, and the beautiful mountains and rivers have shown vitality.

▼ Strengthen the protection of ecosystems

At the beginning of May this year, the painted ibis, a national first-class protected animal, appeared in the Dongzhaigang National Nature Reserve in Hainan, which was the first time that the painted ibis was recorded in the reserve, and it was also the first time in Haikou. Also on the way, more than 80 yellow-breasted buntings, which are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN, set a new record for the population in Haikou.

New species are emerging frequently, and "old friends" are thriving and growing...... In recent years, Haikou's report card on species diversity has been continuously refreshed, which has become the best testimony to the achievements of biodiversity conservation.

There are many, many more conservation results like this in the land of China, which shows that the mainland has taken solid steps to strengthen the mainstreaming of biodiversity and continuously improve the biodiversity governance system.

Over the past year, we have accelerated the improvement of policies and regulations, and continuously improved the "four beams and eight pillars" of biodiversity conservation.

In January 2024, the "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of a Beautiful China" listed strengthening biodiversity conservation as a key task. In the same month, China's Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (2023-2030) was updated, clarifying the biodiversity conservation strategy for the new era and deploying 27 priority actions around four priority areas, further strengthening biodiversity conservation.

Over the past year, the construction of the protected area system has been continuously promoted, and the nature reserves represented by national parks have become the homes of many wild animals.

The first batch of 789 important habitats for wild animals and 1,140 important habitats for migratory birds in the migratory corridors have been released, and the construction of a nature reserve system with national parks as the main body has been accelerated, so that the areas with the most important natural ecosystems, the most unique natural landscapes, the most elite natural heritage, and the richest biodiversity on the mainland have been effectively protected.

Over the past year, we have continued to implement major measures for biodiversity conservation and improve the regulatory capacity of biodiversity conservation.

Initiate major projects for biodiversity conservation and prepare relevant implementation plans; Promote the recovery of wild populations of endangered species, and promote biodiversity conservation throughout the chain; Continue to strengthen the investigation, monitoring and assessment of biodiversity, and build a complete monitoring system; Promote the assessment of ecological status and the evaluation of the effectiveness of protection and restoration in an all-round way.

The assessment shows that the overall ecosystem pattern in China is stable and continuously optimized, and the quality of natural ecosystems continues to improve, with the proportion of excellent grade area reaching more than 43%, exceeding the proportion of low grade for the first time. The area of the national terrestrial ecological protection redline accounts for more than 30% of the country's land area.

▼ Earnestly strengthen the supervision of ecological protection and restoration

In the past, the ecological damage exposed in the Qilian Mountains and Qinling Mountains once left "scars" on the ecological environment of these places.

As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, over the years, ecological destruction has been banned, highlighting that ecological protection and restoration are inseparable from strong external supervision.

In the past year, the ecological environment department has stood at the height of safeguarding national ecological security, earnestly fulfilled its responsibility of "guiding, coordinating and supervising ecological protection and restoration", and achieved positive results.

-- Carry out investigation and assessment of ecological conditions to provide strong support for the supervision of the ecological environment of important ecological spaces.

"Once every five years, the whole country, a number of key areas every year". In 2023, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) will complete the survey and assessment of the changes in the national ecological status from 2015 to 2020 and release the results, comprehensively and systematically grasping the ecological status and changes in the country and major national strategic areas such as the Yellow River Basin, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in the past five years. Carry out dynamic monitoring and evaluation of major ecological restoration projects such as the integrated protection and restoration project of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, sand and ice, and the "Three Norths" project.

-- Strengthen supervision and law enforcement, and increase the intensity of investigation and handling of ecological damage to important ecological spaces.

In 2024, the third round of the second batch of central ecological and environmental protection inspectors will really hit the nail on the head, verify a number of outstanding ecological and environmental problems, notify 28 typical cases, and the relevant rectification work is being solidly promoted and phased results have been achieved.

For the seventh consecutive year, the "Green Shield" campaign has been launched, and more than 5,000 key ecological damage problems have been discovered and investigated.

Strengthen the construction of ecological protection redline supervision platforms, carry out bimonthly remote sensing monitoring of man-made activities in nature reserves and ecological protection redlines, and continuously improve the remote sensing monitoring capacity for actively detecting man-made sabotage activities.

-- Strengthening departmental and regional coordination to promote the overall protection of regional ecosystems.

The key to grasping great protection lies in the word "altogether". In December 2023, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) promoted the establishment of a cross-regional ecological protection coordination and cooperation mechanism in the Qinling Mountains, and guided seven provinces and cities including Shaanxi to sign a memorandum of cooperation, providing a guarantee for ensuring the ecological conservation function of the Qinling Mountains and realizing the sustainable delivery of clean water from one reservoir to the north.

Guarding ecological safety is only in progress, not in completion. A series of institutional measures have been solidly promoted and effectively escorted, and the ecological foundation of Beautiful China has been further consolidated.

▼ Broaden the transformation path of the "two mountains".

It's the height of summer again. Thousands of acres of Li are brewing a sweet career in Taoyuan Village, Tongxiang, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province. With the help of this fruit that has "passed through the millennium", the local government has transformed and improved the village environment, created a new business format, developed the integration of agriculture, culture and tourism, and explored a practical path for the transformation of "two mountains".

The vivid story of "a fruit beautifies the water and soil of one party and enriches the people" confirms that "lucid waters and lush mountains are not only natural wealth, ecological wealth, but also social wealth and economic wealth".

Over the past year, all parts of the country have adhered to ecological priority and green development, on the one hand, continuously improving the quality and stability of the ecosystem, so that it can continue to provide more high-quality ecological products, and on the other hand, establishing and improving the value realization mechanism of ecological products, and promoting the transformation of lucid waters and lush mountains into gold and silver mountains.

-- Demonstration and guidance, and in-depth promotion of the demonstration and creation of ecological civilization.

In 2023, the list of the seventh batch of ecological civilization construction demonstration zones and "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" practice and innovation bases will be released, and so far, a total of 572 ecological civilization construction demonstration zones and 240 "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" practice and innovation bases have been launched, providing a good reference for the construction of ecological civilization in various places.

Strengthen the dynamic management of demonstration construction, ensure the quality and effectiveness of ecological civilization demonstration and creation, and revise the "Construction Indicators of Ecological Civilization Construction Demonstration Zones (Cities)", "Construction Indicators of Ecological Civilization Construction Demonstration Zones (Counties)", "Management Regulations for Ecological Civilization Construction Demonstration Zones", and "Management Regulations for the Construction of Practice Innovation Bases with Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains are Invaluable Assets".

——Innovation empowerment, exploring the path of realizing the value of innovative ecological products.

Zhangye, Gansu Province developed eco-tourism, planting and breeding diversification, achieving a net income of 74.5 million yuan; Shandong Rizhao explores the eco-environment-oriented development model, and the industrial construction feeds back to the surrounding people and drives income increase; Yongxiu, Jiangxi Province, has deeply excavated the resource endowment of migratory birds in wetlands and explored a new path to realize the value of ecological products led by the "migratory bird economy...... All localities take green roads, eat ecological meals, and run towards "good prospects" in "good scenery".

-- Improve the mechanism to truly benefit protectors and contributors.

On June 1 this year, the "Regulations on Ecological Protection and Compensation" came into effect. This is the first law in mainland China specifically aimed at ecological protection compensation, since then, green mountains have a "price", green water contains "gold", the sense of gain of ecological protection subjects has been continuously enhanced, and the construction of ecological civilization has been strongly supported.

All things have their own harmony to live, and each has its own nourishment. With the continuous improvement of the mainland's biodiversity governance system and the continuous increase in biodiversity conservation, a beautiful China with harmonious coexistence between man and nature is turning from a blueprint into a reality.