July10,2018:WorkerscleanawatercoursenearShengzhimiaoHarborinTaihuSub-district,ChangxingCounty,ZhejiangProvince.TaihuSub-districthasintroducedariverecopurificationsystem,whichhelpsformacompleteaquaticecosystem,restoretheconcentrationofoxygendissolvedinwaterandenhancetheself-purificationcapacityofriversandlakes,producingobviousresultsinecologicalrestoration.VCG
AnaerialviewoftheWumengCanyoninGuizhouProvince,July20,2017.VCGEcosystem:BedrockofHumanDevelopment
Onthesurface,acountry鈥檚ecosystemissimilartoaperson鈥檚physicalappearanceorhealth,demonstratingmorphology.Butinnature,itdeterminesthefoundationandconditionsinfluencingthecountry鈥檚survivalanddevelopment.Sincethebeginningofhumancivilization,productionpatternsandlifestylesofhumankindhaveundergonetremendouschanges.However,onethingremainsconstant:Naturalresourceshavealwaysbeenanindispensablefoundationandguaranteeforhumansurvivalanddevelopment.Allnaturalresourcesarederivedfromthenaturalecosystem.Iftheplanet鈥檚ecosystemsuffersstructuralandfundamentaldamage,thenaturalresourcesitprovideswillbecomeunavailableaswell.
InChina鈥檚longhistory,thecollapseofsomekingdomsortribeswasdirectlyattributedtoecologicaldegradation.Chinaisthemostpopulouscountryintheworld.Ifitsecosystemsuffersconsiderabledamage,thewater,soil,airandwildliferesourcessustainingthecountry鈥檚1.4billionpeoplewouldfallintoshortageorevencrises,eventuallyresultinginchaos,turbulenceandevencollapseofthenation.Nationaldevelopmentwillthenbecomeemptytalk.
Asecureandstableecosystemisthemostfundamentalprerequisiteforthesurvivalanddevelopmentofanycountry.Naturemaybeabletorecoverfromanecologicalcatastrophe,butthemajorityoflivingbeingsthatdependontheecosystem,especiallyhumankind,caneasilygoextinct.
Forthisreason,theChinesegovernmentadherestotheprincipleofrespecting,protectingandadaptingtonaturethesedays.ChinesePresidentXiJinpinghasformulatedafive-sphereintegratedplaninwhichecologicalprogressisembeddedinthewiderprocessofpolitical,economic,culturalandsocialdevelopment.PresidentXialsocallsforprotectingtheecologicalenvironment鈥渓ikeprotectingoureyes,鈥漷estifyingtotheChineseleader鈥檚wisdomandvisionongreendevelopment.EcologicalProgress:RoadforChina鈥檚Future
PresidentXicallsforbuildingasocietyofecologicalprogress,whichrepresentsanupgradeoftheconceptofenvironmentalprotectionbasedonideasontherelationsbetweenmanandnaturefromaphilosophicalandrationalperspective.
Byreviewinghumanhistory,itisclearthatevolutiontowardscivilizationwasdrivenbyuncivilizedrealities.Thereasonformakingecologicalprogressisattributedtomankind鈥檚鈥渦ncivilized鈥漷reatmentofnature.Intheearlydaysofhumanhistory,mankindutilizednatureinwaysthatconformedtotheoperationallawoftheecosystemoratleastdidn鈥檛severelyhurtthenaturalecosystem.Alongwiththeenhancementofhumans鈥檆apacitytoexplorenature,humansocietyenteredaperiodof鈥渋ndustrialrevolution鈥漛eforefullyunderstandingthenaturalecosystem,duringwhichthemassproductionofmachines,equipmentandpowerresultedindestructiveutilizationandexploitationofnature.Moreover,theintroductionoftheconceptof鈥渃apital鈥漟urtherfueledhumankind鈥檚鈥渦ncivilized鈥漞xploitationandutilizationofnature.
June5,2018:The鈥渆nvironmentalcircuitcourt鈥漮fDuchangCounty,JiangxiProvince,hearsacaseinvolving10defendantsaccusedofillegalfishinginQinghuiVillageinthecounty鈥檚ZuoliTown.VCGAkeystrategyofChina鈥檚reformandopeningupwastointroduceWesternproductionmodesfeaturingindustrialization.Consequently,suchproductionmodesmotivatedmanufacturerstousefossilenergyandalltoolsandmeansmadeavailableby鈥渋ndustrialcivilization鈥漷ocarryoutlarge-scaleexploitationofminerals,land,seasandothernaturalresources,resultingindestructivescarsontheenvironment.
Initsearlydaysofindustrialization,Chinahadlessawarenessandcapacitytoconstrainlarge-scaleexploitationactivities.JustasChinawasstartingtodevelopheavyindustry,Westerncountrieswerebecomingawareoftheecologicalcalamitiesarisingfromthefirstandsecondindustrialrevolutionsandbegantoincreasinglyenhancetheirabilitytomitigateenvironmentalpollutionviatechnologicalandlegislativemeans,fosteringnewproductionpatternsandlifestyles.Theybegantotransfertheirlow-end,backwardandpollutingindustriestodevelopingcountries,resultingintheshiftofenvironmentalpollutionandecologicaldegradation.Thenaturalecosystemsofdevelopedcountrieshavebeenincreasinglyrestored,enablingthemtoregainblueskies,clearriversanddenseforests.However,theyhavedonelittletohelpdevelopingcountriesimprovetheircapacitytopreventpollution.
Nowfacingseverepollution,Chinesepeopleaspireforcleanwaterresources,freshair,safefoodandahealthyecosystem.ForChina,oneofthemosturgenttasksistoproperlytreatnatureandshiftintoahealthierlaneofdevelopment.Chinashouldnolongerclingtotraditionalproductionmodesthatrelyonfossilenergyandmineralresources,butseekadjustmentandtransformationofitsdevelopmentpattern.
Achievingthisgoalrequiresbothconsciouseffortsandobjectiveguarantees.Promotingecologicalprogressistoguidepeopletochangetheirproductionmodesandlifestylesandtakearoadtowardsgreendevelopment.
Sofar,Chinahasadoptedmeasurestoreplacefossilenergyandmineralresourceswithgreenenergylikehydropower,bio-power,solarpower,windpowerandnuclearpowerinindustrialproductionandsocialdevelopment.Asaresult,anumberofnewtechnologiesandgreenindustrieshaveemerged.
Firstandforemost,promotingecologicalprogressrequirestransformationofdevelopmentmodes.ThecurrentrealityisthatcoalremainstheprimaryenergysourceinChina鈥檚economicdevelopment.Thankstothespreadofthe鈥渆cologicalprogress鈥漜oncept,Chinahasmaderemarkableachievementsincleanutilizationofcoal.Ecologicalprogressalsoinvolvesecological,resource,marine,energyandpollutioncontrolstrategies,whichareallinterconnectedyetindependentofeachother,andeachhasacomprehensiveandfundamentalinfluenceonnationaldevelopment.Developedcountriesbegantoadoptmarine,resourceandpollutioncontrolstrategieslongago,andhaveformedacompletelegalsystemthathasbecomethedefactoglobalnorm.EvenduringWesterncolonialexpansion,anecologicalstrategywasadoptedalongsideincreasingenvironmentalawareness.RelevantevidencecanbefoundinEcologicalImperialismbyAmericanscholarAlfredW.Crosby.Later,especiallyafterthe1950s,energystrategywaswidelyadoptedbyWesterndevelopedcountries,whichformulatedandenactedaseriesoflawstosupportitsimplementation.
Inthepast,developedcountriespromotedtheirresource,ecological,marineandenergystrategiesthroughzero-sumgamesorevenarmedconflicts.Insharpcontrast,PresidentXiaimsatmakingChina鈥檚ecologicalprogressrootedin鈥渋nnovative,coordinated,green,openandshareddevelopment.鈥滳hinaopposesconflictsandadvocatescooperation,harmony,coordinationandmutualbenefits.
July4,2018:AnemergencymarinepollutioncontrolexerciseisheldinSanyaBayofSanyaCity,HainanProvince.Over100staffers,12vesselsandaseaplanefromSanyaMaritimeSafetyAdministration,SanyaEmergencyManagementOfficeandotherdepartmentsparticipatedintheexercise.ThiswasthefirstemergencymarinepollutioncontrolexerciseorganizedbySanyaCityinvolvingthreedifferenttypesofvessels.VCGLegalDevelopmentBasedonActualConditions
Inrecentyears,Chinahasattachedgreatimportancetobuildingandimprovingthelegalsystemconcerningecologicalprogress.PresidentXihasmademanyimportantinstructionsonspecificlawsrelatedtoecologicalprogress.Hepointedoutthatpromotingecologicalprogressdemandsarevolutionaryreformofproductionmodes,lifestyles,waysofthinking,andvalues,whichcanonlybeaccomplishedbyinstitutionalevolutionandruleoflaw.HealsostressedthatChinashould鈥渋mplementthestrictestenvironmentalprotectionsystem.鈥滺ealsourgedenhancedprotectionofwildanimalsbystrengtheninglegislationandlawenforcementtobetterprotecttheecosystemandpeople鈥檚physicalandmentalhealth,fosterbettersocialmoresandmaintainagoodinternationalimageofChinesepeople.AttwosessionsoftheNuclearSecuritySummitheemphasizedtwicetheimportanceofformulatinganuclearsecuritylaw.Xialsomadeseveralimportantinstructionsontheformulationoflawsonsoilpollutionpreventionandcontrol.
Overthepastfewyears,Chinahasmadegreatachievementsinbuildingalegalsystemcoveringecologicalprotectionasfollows:
First,acceleratedlaw-making.Since2012,theproportionofdraftlawsrelatedtoecologicalprogresshasincreasedinthelegislationplanoftheStandingCommitteeoftheNationalPeople鈥檚Congress(NPC),China鈥檚toplegislature.Draftecologicallawsaccountedforover18percentofalllawstobedeliberatedbytheStandingCommitteeofthe12thNPC,thehighestpercentageinitshistory.SomedraftlawsonecologicalprogresswillbeincludedinthelegislationplanoftheStandingCommitteeofthe13thNPC.However,Chinaisstillwaybehindsomedevelopedcountriesinenvironmentallegislation.
Second,atransitionfromconcept-orientedtoproblem-oriented.Previously,China鈥檚environmentallegislationwasstronglyinfluencedbyforeignlegislation,andsomenewconceptsandmodeswereintroducedtoChinafromoverseas.SincetheselawsmightnotconformtoChina鈥檚realities,theirenforcementwasnoteffective.Inrecentyears,theNPCStandingCommitteehasformulatedandrevisedsomelawsbasedonthecountry鈥檚realitiesandneeds,whichhaveplayedimportantrolesinpromotingChina鈥檚ecologicalprogress.
Third,afterfurtherimprovinglawsonpollutionpreventionandcontrol,Chinahasbeguntopayattentiontoformulatinglawsaimingtostrengthenecologicalprotectionandenhanceresourceutilizationefficiency.Forinstance,theNPCStandingCommitteehasdeliberatedtwiceonthesoilpollutionpreventionandcontrollaw(whichisexpectedtobeapprovedafterthethirddeliberationthisyear)andrevisedthewildlifeprotectionlawbyaddingcontentaboutprotectingbiodiversity,geneticresourcesandwildlifehabitats.ItalsoamendedthemarineenvironmentprotectionlawandformulatedtheLawontheExplorationandDevelopmentofResourcesinDeepSeabedAreastostrengthenconservationofthemarineecosystem.Moreover,relevantcommissionsoftheNPClaunchedafeasibilitystudyontheformulationofthelawonintegratedresourceutilizationinabidtoenhanceresourcesutilizationefficiencyandestablishnormsandrulesthatcoverthefulllifecycleofresourceutilizationfromrawmaterials,production,salesandconsumptiontowasterecycling.
Fourth,Chinaiswitnessingashiftfromassimilationwithinternationallawstoparticipationintheformulationofinternationalrules.Inthepast,whenChinaratifiedorjoinedaninternationalconvention,itplacedgreateremphasisonaligningitselfwithexistingregulationsoftheconvention.Inmostcases,however,developedcountriesseektoadjustinternationaltreatiesandconventionsbeforejoiningbyamendingorformulatingrelevantdomesticlaws.Bysodoing,thesecountriesinternationalizetheirdomesticlawstobettersafeguardtheirnationalinterests.Inthiscontext,theNPCStandingCommitteehasaccelerateditspaceinformulatingrelevantdomesticlawsaccordingtotheinternationalconventionsChinahasratifiedsuchastheLawontheExplorationandDevelopmentofResourcesinDeepSeabedAreasandthenuclearsecuritylaw.
TheauthorisdirectoroftheLegislativeOfficeoftheEnvironmentalProtectionandResourcesConservationCommitteeofChina鈥檚NationalPeople鈥檚Congress.
May31,2018:AbirdlandsontheMoshuiRiverinQingdao,ShandongProvince.Afteryearsofcomprehensiverenovation,theMoshuiRiverfeaturesrestoredlandscapes,clearwaterandlushbanks,andhasbegunintegratingfunctionssuchasfloodcontrol,ecologicalprotection,sightseeingandrecreation.VCG