【Ecological Focus】
Author: Han Songlin (Chairman of Dongying Municipal Federation of Social Sciences, Shandong Province) Mao Jinxiang (Director of Ecological Civilization Teaching and Research Office of Party School of Dongying Municipal Party Committee, Shandong Province)
The Yellow River Delta, a young land made of sediment deposited by the Yellow River, has created many ecological miracles.
Affected by the changes in the water and sand flux of the Yellow River and other factors, the yellow river delta ecosystem is extremely fragile, but it retains the most complete and extensive wetland ecosystem in China's warm temperate zone; the ecosystem of the Yellow River estuary attracts more than 6 million birds to breed and overwinter here every year, known as the "international airport" for migratory birds, and the former saline-alkali wasteland has become a bird paradise; oil and gas resources are extremely rich, but when there is a conflict between energy development and ecological protection, Dongying City chooses to give up oil to make green, and adheres to the road of ecological priority development.
The Yellow River Delta belongs to the land of retreating from the sea, most of the area has only been landed for more than a hundred years, and the natural ecological environment is inherently insufficient, but the people of the Yellow River Tail Lu have gone against the trend and achieved a leap from "one tree" to "full of green", and have leapt to become an "international wetland city" and "China's most ecologically competitive city in 2021"...
Behind the miracle is Dongying City's persistent protection of the Yellow River Delta.
Yellow River Delta wetland scenery Photo by Yang Bin /Guangming photo
Scientists wear rings for black-billed gulls. Photo by Zhou Guangxue/Guangming Pictures
Photo by Liu Yueliang of the Yellow River Delta Wetland after returning farmland to wetness/Guangming photo
Historical View - "Unremitting Struggle for the Yellow River to Forever Benefit the Chinese Nation"
The river gushes into the sea here, creating a large area of land here, feeding millions of people, and providing more than 70% of the fresh water resources of a city. The people here have a deep affection for the Yellow River, and they know the title of "Mother River" better than anyone.
Love is deep, seek far.
In the early 1980s, dongying city at the tail end of the Yellow River had just been established. Although the area of the city is not large, the limited space does not lock the thinking and gaze of the pioneers, they look at the present, think about the long term, look at the future, and put forward the strategic concept of "oil island plus oasis", not only "golden mountains and silver mountains", but also "green water and green mountains".
In 1992, when applying for the establishment of a wetland type national nature reserve mainly for the protection of nascent wetland ecosystems and rare and endangered birds, many Chinese people had never been exposed to the term "wetland". This forward-looking approach lays the foundation for the Yellow River Delta to preserve the most complete wetland ecosystem in China's warm temperate zone.
At this time, Dongying was also named the "Northern Wilderness" of Shandong, and the soil was highly salinized, "birds have no branches to inhabit, and people have no trees to cool off.". The average salinity content of the soil in the central urban area is more than 17 ‰, and it was once listed as a "forbidden land" for greening.
Putting ecology first, adding greenery to the great river continent, and optimizing the environment for people on saline and alkali land have become the consensus of successive governments.
In 2018, the new party committee and government proposed to "build Shandong's high-quality development growth pole, the Yellow River into the sea cultural tourism destination, and build a vibrant modern wetland city", closely following the three major elements - high-quality development, the Yellow River, and ecological characteristics, with clear thinking and accurate positioning.
Dongying City has a strong sense of mission to protect the Mother River. In 2019, after the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin rose to a major national strategy, Dongying City proceeded from the integrity and overall situation, taking "standing in the whole basin to plan the estuary and doing a good job in serving the whole river basin", and planning to implement the ecological governance of the estuary - the construction of ecological civilization in the Yellow River Delta went deeper and more comprehensive.
View of Political Performance - "Taking the Protection of the Wetlands of the Yellow River Estuary as a Noble Cause"
Those who are engaged in lofty undertakings need to have big hills in their chests and "fixed stars" in their hearts.
The Yellow River Delta contains a wide variety of natural resources underground, onshore and offshore, and 80% of the petroleum geological reserves and 85% of the oil and gas production of shengli oilfield are derived from this. However, abandoning the steaming economic benefits and guarding the wetlands that are "raised in the deep and unknown", the people of the Yellow River Delta weighed the weight of the immediate and long-term interests, resisted the temptation, endured the loneliness, and sat on the cold bench.
Protection and development are compatible, and even the more they protect, the more they develop, this is their pursuit.
Protecting and restoring wetlands, the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve has a heavy responsibility on its shoulders. According to the resilience of the ecosystem, the selection of nature-based solutions such as natural restoration, artificial assistance, and artificial reconstruction is the first choice for wetland ecosystem restoration:
- Water. The solidification of the Yellow River flow affects the freshwater replenishment and hydrological connectivity of the wetland ecosystem, connects the wetland with the Yellow River, the wetland and the ocean by ecological methods, and constructs the "river-land-beach-sea" system to make the internal water system of the wetland "come alive". Increase the intensity of freshwater replenishment, the current Flow Road Nature Reserve of the Yellow River has accumulated 481 million cubic meters of ecological water in the past 13 years, and a total of 295,000 mu of degraded wetlands have been restored on both sides of the strait.
- Pure Land. Irrational agricultural development, mudflat farming, energy development, and invasion of alien species affect the health of wetland ecosystems. Clarify what can be done and what cannot be done, decisively draw a red line, return ponds to rivers, return farmland to wet, return to the beach, and return oil to green;
When the exploration and expansion rights and mining rights of Shengli Oilfield involve overlapping places and protected areas, the production facilities of Shengli Oilfield located in the core area and buffer zone of the protected area are decisively withdrawn, and ecological restoration is implemented to guard this pure land;
The explosive expansion of the erythropocea poses a great threat to the survival of native species in the Yellow River Delta. Ecological cofferdams, machine tillage boat rotary tillage... In 2020, the Ecological Experiment Station of the Yellow River Delta Coastal Wetland of the Chinese Academy of Sciences treated 3,800 mu of rice grass, and the results were evaluated to "reach the international leading level".
- Bird protection. The vast and diverse wetlands of the Yellow River Delta are the cradle of many organisms, especially birds. As an important part of the global bird migration ecological network, it provides an ideal place for key species such as the Eastern White Stork, the Black-billed Gull and the Crane to thrive. Even in urban areas, many waters retain small islands suitable for birds.
The unique geographical location, superior ecological environment and strict ecological protection measures have made the Yellow River Delta the world's largest breeding ground for the Eastern White Stork, the second largest breeding ground for black-billed gulls in the world, the second largest wintering ground for white cranes in the world and the southernmost boundary for wild breeding of red-crowned cranes in China.
- Entering the city. "Blue and green intertwined, fresh and bright, wetland in the city, the city in the wetland" is the distinctive urban style of Dongying City. The wetlands of the Yellow River Delta are not isolated, but are integrated into the city. Through the construction of wetland parks, wetland communities, wetland ecological corridors, and small and micro wetlands, wetlands and cities are closely related to each other and complement each other, and the urban spirit and urban blood can grow and continue under the background of wetlands.
System concept - "The system concept runs through the whole process of ecological protection and high-quality development"
The construction of ecological civilization is a systematic project, which requires overall consideration, overall planning and coordinated advancement.
——Construct a "one garden, two belts, multiple corridors" ecological protection pattern with the Yellow River Estuary National Park, the Yellow Ecological Belt, the Coastal Ecological Belt and the ecological corridors of multiple rivers entering the sea as the main body.
-- Integrating water, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, wetlands, saline-alkali land, coastlines, and tidal flats, we will implement estuarine management, wetland restoration, ecological water system construction, marine ecological restoration, and comprehensive treatment of harmful organisms. At the same time, for gas, water, soil and waste, both symptoms and root causes, and promote as a whole.
-- Coordinating land and sea. Establish a joint river-estuary-bay linkage prevention mechanism, strictly investigate the sources of pollution in the direct discharge sea, implement the Blue Bay Project, and restore the damaged shoreline and marine ecosystem. The Yellow River Estuary National Park, which is under construction, will be the first land-sea integrated national park in the country.
——Firmly follow the path of green and low-carbon development, build a high-energy innovation platform, and make every effort to promote the overall leap of the entire industrial chain of traditional industries.
Integrate domestic rare earth catalysis research, terminal applications and other top high-quality resources, establish a national research institution - Rare Earth Catalysis Research Institute, leading the fission development of the national rare earth catalytic industry; jointly with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Agricultural University and other scientific research forces, create a national saline-alkali land comprehensive utilization technology innovation center, and strive to solve the problem of saline-alkali land governance and seed; promote carbon peaking, carbon neutrality and related work, improve the alternative scheme of coal consumption reduction, and implement the central policy to the letter...
In recent years, with the goal of creating a model for the realization of the value of ecological products at the mouth of major rivers, Dongying City on the Yellow River Delta has actively explored ecological resource trading indicators, carried out ecological industrialization operations, and created the first pilot city of ecological product value realization mechanism in the Yellow River Basin.
The great rivers and giant waves cross the ancient and modern times, and the gushing east flows to play a grand chapter.
On October 22, 2021, at the symposium on in-depth promotion of ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that it is necessary to scientifically analyze the current situation of ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, grasp the major issues of promoting the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, set goals, be down-to-earth, work hard and work for a long time, ensure that the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period achieve obvious results, and make unremitting efforts for the Yellow River to always benefit the Chinese nation.
Keeping in mind the general secretary's entrustment, correctly handle the relationship between protection and development, grasp the relationship between the overall situation and the part, grasp the current and long-term relationship, firmly take the road of green and low-carbon development, and guard this big river continent, Dongying has the responsibility!
Guangming Daily ( 2021.11.06.09 edition)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily