On June 5, 1972, the United Nations held its first conference on the human environment in Stockholm, Sweden. Since 1974, June 5 has been designated as World Environment Day, with the theme of 2021 being "Ecosystem Restoration" and the theme of China being "Harmonious Coexistence between Man and Nature".
On June 5, 2021, the 2021 "Sixth Five-Year Plan" Environment Day National Main Event was held in Xining City, Qinghai Province. Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment, made a speech that he will promote the acceleration of the construction of a natural protected area system with national parks as the main body, improve the supervision system of natural protected areas and ecological protection redlines, and guard the boundaries of natural ecological security. Promote the acceleration of the implementation of major projects for the protection and restoration of important ecosystems and major projects for biodiversity conservation, and build a solid national ecological security barrier.
The scene of the 2021 "Sixth Five-Year Plan" Environment Day national home event. (Zhang Ke/Photo)
Since the establishment of the first provincial nature reserve, Qinghai Lake Bird Island Nature Reserve, qinghai province has explored nature reserves for more than 40 years. Qinghai Province has established a total of 109 natural protected areas of 8 types at all levels and of various types, accounting for 36.8% of the total land area of the province. "A protected area has two provinces in the interior," ren Yong, director of the Natural Ecology Protection Department of the Qinghai Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, said frankly, feeling many confusions and problems in the process.
For example, the core area and buffer zone of nature reserves are not allowed to carry out tourism and production and operation activities, resulting in road construction, electricity and other activities to improve people's livelihood are also affected.
Qinghai is exploring a way out. At present, Qinghai Province adjusts the grading of nature reserves according to the guidance plan of the superiors, and "three districts become two areas" - from the original core area, buffer zone and experimental area to core protection area and general control area.
Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve. (Southern Weekend reporter Lin Fangzhou/photo)
<h3>Optimization of the division of protected areas: three districts become two districts</h3>
Nature reserves play an important role in the conservation of biodiversity. Qinghai Province has a total of 11 nature reserves, covering five major geographical areas: the source area of the three rivers (Sanjiangyuan, Coco Xili, Yushu Longbao), the Qinghai Lake Basin (Qinghai Lake), the Qilian Mountains (Qilian Mountain, Datong Beichuan River Source Area), the Qaidam Basin (Golmud Poplar Forest, Qaidam Soso Forest, Delinghakluk Lake-Tosu Lake, Nomuhong Lake), and the Main Stream Area of the Yellow River (Xunhua Mengda).
Biodiversity in Qinghai Province has recovered rapidly in recent years. The resources of naked carp, a rare species endemic to Qinghai Lake, increased from 2,592 tons in 2001 to 100,400 tons in 2020, an increase of 38 times. The population of chinese diagonal antelope (Przewalski's gazelle), a national first-level key protected wild animal, has increased from more than 300 in 1994 to more than 2,700 in 2020.
Przewalski's gazelle, a national first-class protected animal. (Xinhua News Agency/Photo)
However, dealing with the relationship between protecting the ecological environment and improving people's livelihood has once become a problem in nature reserves.
"At the beginning, Qinghai's nature reserve was too large, and one protected area was the area of two provinces in the interior." Ren Yong introduced that according to the regulations of nature reserves, nature reserves are divided into core areas, buffer zones and experimental areas. This is very effective for small protected areas, but it has brought some trouble for large protected areas such as Sanjiangyuan, Qilian Mountain, and Qinghai Lake, which are protected by ecological functions. Because tourism and production and operation activities are prohibited in the core area and buffer zone of nature reserves, and some local townships and villages are often in the core area and buffer zone, activities to improve people's livelihood such as road construction and electricity are affected.
In 2019, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the Guiding Opinions on the Establishment of a System of Natural Protected Areas with National Parks as the Mainstay, which divides national parks and nature reserves into core protected areas and general control areas, and human activities are prohibited in principle in core protected areas, and human activities are restricted in general control areas.
As a result, the "three zones" of the protected area become two zones - from the original core area, buffer zone and experimental area to the core protected area and the general control area. Ren Yong introduced that at present, the plan for the integration and optimization of nature reserves in Qinghai Province has been reported. "Three districts into two districts" is in line with the actual situation in Qinghai, "after adjustment and optimization, some of the areas involved in the development of people's livelihood in the original core area will become general control areas." Moreover, the total area of protected areas will not decrease, but will increase.
Qinghai has tried its best to relocate the indigenous people in the original core area and buffer zone, and has introduced a number of grassland ecological protection subsidy and incentive policies. Other employment channels are also sought for herders, such as working in the city, doing traditional Tibetan clothing, handicrafts, etc. to increase their income.
Ren Yong said that in the Sanjiangyuan area alone, the grassland compensation policy allocates more than 2 billion yuan in funds every year. In addition to grazing subsidies, there are also 13 subsidies such as free compulsory education fees and winter heating subsidies.
<h3>Tourism: Towards ecological experience and environmental education</h3>
The issue of land ownership in nature reserves is another bottleneck restricting the effective management of nature reserves. Land ownership in our country is owned by the State and collectives, while a large part of the protected area land is collectively owned or jointly owned by the State and the collective. Ren Yong introduced that the regulations on nature reserves do not clearly define the authority of land management and production and operation activities management, which makes it difficult for the management agency of the nature reserve to coordinate the relationship between protecting ecological functions and solving the production and operation problems of the indigenous people in the nature reserve.
Ren Yong said that the state has started to revise the regulations on nature reserves, and the problem is expected to be solved.
Qinghai's nature reserves basically cover five major ecological plates: The Sanjiangyuan Area, the Qinghai Lake Basin, the Qilian Mountains, the Qaidam Basin, and the Huangshui River Basin.
The areas with the most attractive scenery are often also important areas for ecological protection. In view of the relationship between protection and ecotourism, Ren Yong said that in the early stage of protected area planning, out of the desire for comprehensive protection and overall protection, the area delineated by the protected area is often relatively large, which restricts the development of tourism to a certain extent. This is not only the case in Qinghai, but also in the whole country.
The relationship between coordinated conservation and ecotourism in Qinghai Province has gone through a process. Ren Yong said that at the beginning, it was strictly managed and tourists were not allowed to enter, and later according to social needs, some tourist locations were appropriately opened. In this process, the impact of human activities on ecological functions is minimized, on the one hand, the tourism route, time, scale, etc. are restricted; on the other hand, the conditions in high altitude areas are difficult, and the construction of some tourism infrastructure is avoided, thereby reducing the length of stay of tourists.
In this process, Qinghai Province has also summed up the experience that protected area tourism should develop in the direction of ecological experience and environmental education. "Let people experience the beauty and shock of nature, thus stimulating his self-consciousness to love and protect nature." Ren Yong said.
Southern Weekend reporter Lin Fangzhou