June13,2018:TheYangtzeRiverintheevening,Wuhan.ICTheYangtzeRiver,thelongestriverinChinaandthethird-longestintheworld,fostersauniqueandrichecosystem.ItisChina鈥檚nationalstrategicwatersourceandanareaconcentratedwithecologicalsecurityshelters.TheYangtzeRiverEconomicBeltcovers11ChinesemunicipalitiesandprovincesincludingShanghai,Jiangsu,Zhejiang,Sichuan,andYunnanacrossatotalareaof2.05millionsquarekilometers.AkeyChineseeconomicbelt,itishometoamassivepopulationandyieldsanimpressivetotaloutputvalue,bothexceeding40percentofthecountry鈥檚total.
BasedonscientificresearchandanalysisoftheYangtzeRiver鈥檚ecologicalandeconomicsituation,ChinesePresidentXiJinpinghassetthetonefortheriver鈥檚greendevelopment.鈥淲eshouldraiserestorationoftheYangtzeRiver鈥檚ecologicalenvironmenthighontheagendaanddoeverythingwecantoprotectit,startingwithabanonlarge-scaledevelopmentoftheriver,鈥漍isaid.
OnJuly13,2017,China鈥檚MinistryofEcologyandEnvironment(formerlyMinistryofEnvironmentalProtection),NationalDevelopmentandReformCommissionandMinistryofWaterResourcesreleasedajointlycompiledeco-environmentalprotectionplanfortheentireYangtzeRiverEconomicBeltthroughpromotinganewpatternofgreendevelopment.
SixMajorChallenges
Currently,theYangtzeRiver鈥檚overdevelopmentstandsout.Considerablechallengesmustbeovercometoachievegreendevelopment.
First,theareasalongtheYangtzeRivernowreceiveinadequateoverallprotection.Overthepasttwodecades,thetotalareaofcitiesandtownsalongtheriverhasexpandedbymorethan39percent.Theriver鈥檚waterfrontareashavewitnessedexcessivedevelopment.Thedevelopmentandutilizationrateforitsmainstreamsandwaterfrontsatthelowerreacheshasreached40percent.Rapidurbanizationandvigorousdevelopmenthavecauseddrasticchangestotheriver鈥檚ecosystem,resultinginecosystemfragmentationanddegradationofitsservicefunction.Areasoffarmland,forest,grasslandandwetlandareshrinking.
Second,thepersistinghighvolumeofpollutionemissionsposesproblems.TheYangtzeRiverEconomicBeltisplaguedbyexcessiveandwidespreadpollution.Wastewaterdischargealongtheeconomicbeltaccountsformorethan40percentofthecountry鈥檚total.Chemicaloxygendemandonperunitareaandemissionintensitiesofammonianitrogen,sulfurdioxide,oxynitrideandvolatileorganiccompoundintheregionare1.5to2timesthecountry鈥檚averagelevels.
Third,itisdifficulttocoordinateanddesigncomprehensiveplanstoprotecttheeconomicbelt鈥檚waterquality,wateryieldandwaterecology.Theimplementationofhydro-electricandwatertransferprojectsalongtheYangtzeRiver鈥檚mainstreamsandtributarieshasgreatlyinfluencedwaterresourceallocationandtheecologicalenvironmentofwatertransferareas.However,effectivecoordinationmechanismsandmeasureshavebeenlacking.
Fourth,theclashbetweenregionaldevelopmentinterestsandenvironmentalprotectionisglaring.PollutionissevereinareasincludingtheYangtzeRiverDelta,themiddlereachesofYangtzeRiverandtheChengdu-Chongqingurbanagglomeration.
Fifth,variousprovincesandmunicipalitiesalongtheYangtzeRivercontrastgreatlyintermsofgreendevelopmentlevel.Themanyprovincesandmunicipalitiesalongtheriverhavewidelyvaryingdevelopmentconditionsintermsofresources,environment,transportationandindustry.Thedevelopmentgapbetweendifferentregionsislarge.Industrialdevelopmentinareasoftheriver鈥檚upper,middleandlowerreacheshasn鈥檛beenwellcoordinated,andindustriesareusuallyhomogenous.
Andfinally,supportingsystemsandmechanismsdesignedfortheYangtzeRiverEconomicBelt鈥檚comprehensivemanagementneedtobefurtherimproved.Clearly,designingacomprehensiveandcross-departmentalmanagementsystemfortheeconomicbeltisatoughtask.Thecurrentcoordinationmechanismisnotsoundenough.
EcologyFirstandCoordinatedProtection
Throughtirelesseffortsincludingcompilingandissuingtheeco-environmentalprotectionplanfortheYangtzeRiverEconomicBelt,theChinesegovernmenthasmadethegeneralprinciple,targets,androadmapoftheeconomicbelt鈥檚greendevelopmentstrategyveryclear.
ThegreendevelopmentstrategyfortheYangtzeRiverEconomicBeltfeaturesfourmajorpoints:
First,an鈥渆cologyfirst鈥漵trategywillbeimplemented.Thenaturallawoftheeconomicbeltshouldberespected.Forlong-termbenefits,theeconomicbelt鈥檚ecologicalprotectionshouldbeatoppriority,whichwillpromotetheformationofaresource-savingandenvironmentallyfriendlyindustrialstructure,growthpatternandconsumptionmodel.
Second,asystematicprotectionstrategywillbeimplemented.WiththeYangtzeRiver鈥檚mainstreamsandtributariesservingasveins,systematicmanagementofmountains,waters,forests,farmlandsandgrasslandsalongtheriverwillbereinforced.Ecologicalregulationofwaterconservancyandhydropowerprojectswillbecarriedout.Anintegratedregionalenvironmentalprotectionsystemwillbeformedtopromotesystematicandcomprehensiveprotection.
Third,aspacecontrolandmanagementstrategywillbeimplemented.BasedontheYangtzeRiverEconomicBelt鈥檚ecologicalandenvironmentalfeatures,variousmanagementandcontrolmeasurestoprotectwater,theatmosphereandtheecologybytargetingdifferentregionswillbereinforcedtobuildanecologicalsecuritypattern.StricterregulationswillbeimplementedtoensurethatalleconomicactivitiesrelatedtotheYangtzeRiverareregulatedbytargetedenvironmentalprotectionandmanagementmeasures.
Fourth,aninstitutionalinnovationstrategywillbeimplemented.Greaterimportancewillbeplacedoninstitutionalreformsoftheeconomicbelt鈥檚comprehensivemanagement,andamechanismforecologicalprotectionoftheYangtzeRiverfeaturingextensiveefforts,jointmanagementandsharedbenefitswillbecreated.
Torealizethesegoals,theChinesegovernmenthasproposedtwostrategicgoalsfor2020and2030,respectively,whicharebasedonsystematicanalysisofscientificfindings.The2020goalaimsatmarkedimprovementoftheeconomicbelt鈥檚ecologicalenvironment.The2030goalaimsatsufficientecologicalflowoftheYangtzeRiver鈥檚mainstreamsandtributaries.Bythen,thequalityofthewaterenvironment,air,andwaterecologyalongtherivershouldbesignificantlybetter.Servicefunctionoftheriver鈥檚ecologicalsystemwillbegreatlyimproved,anditsoverallenvironmentwillbemorebeautiful.
ConcreteMeasuresandLongtermMechanisms
ChinahasimplementedvariousmanagementandcontrolstrategiesandmeasuresonecologicalandenvironmentalprotectionfortheYangtzeRiverEconomicBelt.Limitsontheusageofwaterresourceshavebeensetandecologicalredlinesandenvironmentalqualitybottomlinesalongtheeconomicbelthavebeenspecified.Negativelistsonindustrialadmissionshavebeenpromulgated.Atthesametime,thesizeandscaleofcitiesandtownsalongtheeconomicbelthavebeencarefullycontrolledwithwaterconservancytakenintoconsideration.Urbanconstructionandregionsabsorbingindustrialtransferarenotallowedtosurpasstheirlimitsonwaterresourcecarryingcapacities.Specificmanagementandcontrolstrategiesandmeasuresareasfollows:
First,limitsontheusageofwaterresourceshavebeenset.Presently,thelimitsontheusageofwaterresourcesinvariousregionsalongtheYangtzeRiverhavebeendeterminedtopromoteoptimizationandadjustmentofregionaleconomiclayoutsandstructures.Unifiedmanagementofwaterresourceshasbeenreinforced.Dualcontrolsofbothtotalwaterconsumptionvolumeandintensityhavebeenimplemented.Anindicatorsystemontotalwaterconsumptioncontrolcoveringthreeadministrativelevels,namelyprovinces,cities,andcounties,hasbeenestablished.Andthetotalwatercontroltargetshavebeenbrokenintosmallertargetsfordifferentregionsandindustries.
Second,bottomlinesforwaterenvironmentalqualitymanagementhavebeenset.Protectionofwaterresourcesisnowhighonagenda.Protectionofheadwatershasbeenfurtherreinforced.MoreemphasishasbeenplacedontreatingwaterbodieswithqualitylowerthanGradeV,theworstaccordingtoChina鈥檚waterqualitygradingsystem.
Third,ecologicalredlineshavebeendesignatedandimplemented.AreasthatcarryimportantservicefunctionstotheecologicalsecurityoftheYangtzeRiverhavebeendesignatedforprotectionwithredlines.Aspacegovernancesystemhasbeenestablished.
BuildingagreendevelopmentpatternalongtheYangtzeRiverEconomicBeltrequiresthemobilizationofvariousdepartments,partiesandstakeholders.Along-termandeffectivemechanismisneededtoachievethisgoal:
First,reformontheeconomicbelt鈥檚comprehensivegovernancesystemshouldgodeeper.Water-relatedenvironmentalsupervisionandlawenforcement,whicharenowscatteredinthehandsofvariousdepartments,shouldbecentralizedandunified.Amoreeffectiveenvironmentalsupervisionandlawenforcementagencyfortheeconomicbeltshouldbeestablished.Unifiedplanning,standards,environmentalimpactassessment,supervisionandlawenforcementshouldbeimplemented.
Second,thejointpreventionandcontrolmechanismshouldbefurtherimprovedtopromoteregionalcoordinationandintegration.Theroleofwatershedmanagementagenciesshouldbegivenfullplay.Environmentalsupervisionandlawenforcementagenciesshouldbeestablishedonbasisofwatershed.Trans-department,cross-regionalandcross-basinsupervisionandemergencycoordinationshouldbefurtherreinforced.Acoordinationmechanismonenvironmentalprotectionandanearlywarningsystemcoveringrelatedprovincesandmunicipalitiesalongtheeconomicbeltshouldbeestablished.
Third,monitoring,earlywarningandassessmentofenvironmentalbearingcapacityshouldbecarriedout.Theenvironmentalcapacityoftheeconomicbeltshouldbedesignated.Regularassessmentsofenvironmentalbearingcapacityneedtobecarriedout.Anearlywarningcontrollineandresponselineshouldbeset.Forareasdischargingpollutionexceedingorneartheirbearingcapacities,earlywarningalertsshouldbeissuedandrestrictivemeasuresshouldbetaken.
Fourth,environmentalimpactassessmentsshouldbepromotedandimplemented.Whenmakingdevelopmentplansforregionsalongtheeconomicbelt,environmentalimpactassessmentshouldbeemployed.Controlrequirementssuchasthoseonspace,totalvolumeandemissionsshouldbemadeclear.Theenvironmentalimpactassessmentreviewopinionsshouldbeusedasanimportantreferencefordecisionmaking.
Fifth,astrategicevaluationandassessmentsystemshouldbeestablished.Forimportantstrategictaskssuchasreinforcingecologicalredlines,measuresincludingtrackinganalysis,supervision,inspectionandreviewshouldbestrengthened.Forprovincesandmunicipalitiesthatfailtopasstheevaluation,relevantprovincialandmunicipalofficialsshouldbesanctionedandeffortsmustbeintensifiedtoaddresspersistingproblems.
Sixth,amechanismforecologicalcompensationshouldbeestablished.Amechanismforecologicalcompensationinvolvingdevelopmentareas,benefitedareasandconservationareasalongtheYangtzeRiverEconomicBeltshouldbeestablished.Thecentralgovernmentshouldadoptmeasuressuchasincreasingitsgeneraltransferpaymentsandusingspecialtransferpaymentstopayout鈥渞ewards鈥漣nsteadofsubsidies.Constructionsofprojectssuchassupportingnetworksandpipelinesforsewageandsludgetreatmentfacilitiesshouldbegivenfullsupport.
Seventh,aneconomicpolicymechanismcoveringtheeconomicbelt鈥檚waterenvironmentgovernanceshouldbebuilt.WaterrightswithinareasalongtheYangtzeRivershouldbedefinedandallocated.Atransactionmodeforwaterrightsbetweendifferentregionsandreachesalongtherivershouldbeset.
TheauthorisvicedirectoroftheEnvironmentalPolicyDivisionoftheChineseAcademyforEnvironmentalPlanningundertheMinistryofEcologyandEnvironment.
May8,2017:TheHuangboRiverWetlandinYichangCity,HubeiProvince,boastsabeautifulecologicalenvironment.TheHuangboRiverisatributaryoftheYangtze.VCG