Expert interpretation|Academician Wang Jinnan: Strengthen the zoning control of the ecological environment and comprehensively promote the construction of a beautiful China

The implementation of ecological environment zoning control is a major exploration in the field of ecological environment space control, and it is also a basic, forward-looking and long-term work in the field of ecological environmental protection. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized accelerating the delineation and strict observance of the red line of ecological protection, the bottom line of environmental quality, and the upper line of resource utilization. "Improving the zoning and control system of the ecological environment covering the whole area, and incorporating the 'clear bottom line' and 'drawing the boundary' for the development of the "clear bottom line" is included in the deployment of the construction of a beautiful China. Recently, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Zoning Control of the Ecological Environment" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"), which clarified the overall requirements, mechanism construction, implementation and application, supervision and assessment and organizational guarantee of the whole chain system construction system for the construction of the ecological environment zoning control system.

1. Anchor the new historical orientation of the construction of a beautiful China, and deeply understand the connotation of the ecological environment zoning control system

The rich extension of the ecological civilization system in the new era. Ecological environment zoning control is an important practical innovation in the construction of ecological civilization system. From single-element zoning management to multi-element comprehensive zoning management, the idea of ecological environment zoning management has been consistent, which is not only a common practice proven to be effective in international and domestic practical experience, but also an inevitable requirement for implementing the new development concept and building a new development pattern. At present, China has initially formed a set of ecological environment zoning control system with global coverage, cross-departmental coordination and multi-element integration, and the country has divided more than 40,000 ecological environment management and control units, and formulated a differentiated and refined ecological environment access list in accordance with the "one unit and one strategy". The national practice has fully proved that the ecological environment zoning control system is scientific and reasonable, feasible and implementable, and provides a new policy tool for ecological environment management.

An important component of the Beautiful China spatial governance system. Ecological environment space management and control plays a pre-emptive, guiding and fundamental role in ecological environmental protection. China's ecosystems are complex and diverse, and the spatial heterogeneity of ecological environment is obvious, and local micro-management of a single region, line and point can no longer meet the needs of systematic governance. In the past, the macro development and protection pattern was framed through the main functional zone strategy, but it is still necessary to implement more refined ecological environmental protection and governance to better support green and low-carbon transformation and development. The essence of further promoting the zoning and control of the ecological environment is to establish a "green ruler" by establishing a zoning and classification control strategy from problem identification to solution according to the characteristics of different regions in China, integrating and applying various management and technical means, strengthening the systematization and comprehensiveness of ecological environment management, optimizing the development and protection pattern of land space, and planting a green background for the construction of a beautiful China.

Specific measures to modernize the ecological environment governance system and governance capacity. The modernization of the ecological environment governance system and governance capacity is an important part of the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, and it is also the basic guarantee for the construction of a beautiful China. Implement zoning control of the ecological environment, implement the "hard constraints" of the ecological environment such as the ecological protection red line, the bottom line of environmental quality, and the upper line of resource utilization into the ecological environment management and control unit, formulate the ecological environment access list, realize precise policy, scientific pollution control, and management in accordance with the law, and significantly improve the level of refined and differentiated management of the ecological environment. By building a convenient and efficient information platform for ecological and environmental zoning control, information sharing and business collaboration can be realized, and the joint participation of the government, enterprises, social organizations and the public will be gradually realized, so as to support the formation of an efficient environmental governance system with multiple co-governance, scientific decision-making and smooth mechanism, and effectively improve the efficiency of ecological and environmental governance.

2. Facing the new requirements of the construction of a beautiful China, we will continue to improve the zoning management and control system of the ecological environment

Guided by the Beautiful China goal, a timetable and roadmap for the construction of the ecological environment zoning control system will be formulated. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly pointed out that by 2035, the goal of a beautiful China will be basically achieved, and by the middle of this century, a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful modern socialist country will be built, and the medium and long-term goals of the construction of a beautiful China will be clarified. Under the guidance and framework of the construction goal of Beautiful China, the "Opinions" put forward the stage goals in combination with the progress of the implementation of the ecological environment zoning control system. Among them, the "14th Five-Year Plan" period is a crucial five years for the construction of the ecological environment zoning control system, focusing on promoting the construction of the system, promoting the initial formation of a region-wide, accurate and scientific ecological environment zoning control system, and the basic establishment of the system; In the process of target design, it is deeply integrated with the vision of building a beautiful China, maintaining a high degree of coordination, providing strong support for the fundamental improvement of the ecological environment and the basic realization of the goal of a beautiful China.

Guided by the construction of the Beautiful China system, we will maintain the strategic focus on promoting the zoning and control of the ecological environment. Beautiful China is a long-term, arduous and complex task, which requires the determination to promote the continuous self-improvement and development of relevant systems and maintain their vitality. In line with the idea of building a beautiful China system, the zoning and control of the ecological environment establishes a regular adjustment and dynamic update mechanism to improve the timeliness and pertinence of the results and ensure the long-term continuity and vitality of the system. The "Opinions" require that the zoning control plan of the ecological environment should be basically stable, and necessary adjustments and updates should be made under certain conditions. First, on the premise of ensuring national ecological security, the spatial pattern of priority protection units should be basically stable, and the spatial pattern of key control units should match the pattern of environmental governance. The ecological environment access list should be in accordance with laws and regulations, accurately applied, and sustainably stable, and should not engage in "sudden braking and sudden U-turn". Second, it is necessary to fully connect the national economic and social development plan and the territorial spatial plan, and carry out annual dynamic updates and regular adjustments once every five years. Third, on the premise of maintaining the scientificity and seriousness of the system, the demonstration, filing and release of the ecological environment zoning control plan should be completed as required.

3. Identify the starting point of the ecological environment zoning control system and strongly support the construction of a beautiful China

Serve major national strategies and support the construction of a model of beautiful China. Based on the ecological background, environmental quality characteristics, and economic and social scale of regional differentiation, the "Opinions" put forward the implementation path of major strategies to support the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Yellow River Basin, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area according to local conditions, so as to provide an important guarantee for the construction of China's major strategic regions into a beautiful China pilot zone. Through the zoning control of the ecological environment, a complete set of ecological environment management requirements such as air, water, soil, ecology, environmental risk, resource utilization, and industrial access are integrated into the management of "one map" and "one list", so as to realize the refinement and differentiated control of the ecological environment in space, limit economic activities and human behavior within the limits that natural resources and the ecological environment can bear, truly play the guiding role of the ecological environment, serve major development strategies, coordinate the relationship between economic development and ecological environmental protection, and keep the ecological priority. The bottom line of green development.

Promote green and low-carbon development, and stimulate the endogenous driving force for the construction of a beautiful China. The implementation of zoning control of the ecological environment can effectively dredge the "capillaries" of the construction of a beautiful China, break through the blockages, make up for the shortcomings, and smooth the circulation for green and low-carbon development in key areas, and promote the whole society to enter a benign development track. The "Opinions" put forward the optimization of layout, adjustment of structure, control scale and other control strategies and guiding environmental governance requirements for different ecological environment management and control units, and carry out list management. For key management and control units, with the goal of solving outstanding ecological and environmental problems, and focusing on pollutant emission control and environmental risk prevention and control, we will promote the optimization of industrial layout and structural upgrading, and effectively curb the blind development of "two highs and one low" projects. For priority protection units, focus on ecological and environmental protection, ensure the overall stability of the ecological security pattern, and improve the diversity, stability and sustainability of the ecosystem.

Support comprehensive decision-making and deepen the reform of the system and mechanism for building a beautiful China. Implement zoning control of the ecological environment, improve the source prevention management system of environmental impact assessment, promote the transformation of environmental management services to intelligence and digitalization, and provide innovative ideas and accumulate practical experience for the construction of the institutional system and institutional mechanism of Beautiful China. The zoning control of the ecological environment adheres to the front-end thinking and bottom-line thinking, and sorts out the management requirements for ecological protection, environmental quality, resource and energy utilization, etc., and stands in the front. The "Opinions" proposes to take the evaluation of the effectiveness of the implementation of ecological environment zoning control as an important basis for optimizing the management of environmental impact assessment, improve the scientificity, reliability and effectiveness of source prevention measures, and leave more space for green, low-carbon and high-quality development. At the same time, it serves the local party committee and government and relevant departments to make scientific decisions on investment promotion, and guides the accurate and rapid implementation of projects.

Maintain the pattern of ecological security and guard the bottom line of building a beautiful China. The ecological security barrier is an important guarantee for maintaining national ecological security, supporting the overall political, economic and social stability, and realizing the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. The "Opinions" proposes to include the ecological protection red line and the statutory protection areas outside the red line, such as drinking water source protection areas, important wetlands, ecological public welfare forests, and aquatic germplasm resources protection areas, into priority protection units for key protection, which is highly consistent with important ecological security barriers such as "three zones and four belts" in terms of space. By implementing zoning control of the ecological environment and strengthening the systematic protection and restoration of natural ecological barriers, we can give full play to the function of ecological services, ensure that the natural environment and conditions on which we rely for survival and development are not threatened and destroyed, and build a solid foundation for the construction of a beautiful China.

Promote the improvement of environmental quality and meet the core demands of the construction of a beautiful China. "Green mountains are always there, green water is always flowing, the air is always fresh, and the ecological environment is fundamentally improving" is the key symbol of the construction of a beautiful China. The "Opinions" proposes to strengthen the overall coordination and connection with the spatial management of various environmental elements, promote the solution of outstanding ecological and environmental problems, and prevent structural and layout ecological and environmental risks. Based on the regional characteristics of the structure, function, quality, and bearing of the ecological environment, the zoning control of the ecological environment systematically integrates the environmental control requirements of the air, water, soil, ecology, sound, ocean, etc., focuses on solving outstanding ecological and environmental problems, and further promotes more scientific, systematic and refined zoning and classification pollution prevention and control, and improves the precision and scientific pollution control. The level of pollution control in accordance with the law, the bottom line of ecological environment quality, and the promotion of the fundamental improvement of ecological environment quality are in line with the original intention of building a beautiful China, aiming to continuously meet the people's growing needs for a beautiful ecological environment and enhance the people's sense of gain and happiness.

Strengthen the coordination of ecological and environmental protection, and form a joint force for the construction of a beautiful China. Policies and systems are the basic support and strong guarantee for the construction of a beautiful China, and it is necessary to clarify the responsibilities of departments, enhance the coordination of various policies, and consolidate the institutional foundation for the construction of a beautiful China. The "Opinions" put forward that the basic role of ecological environment zoning control in the source prevention system of ecological environment should be given full play, and the coordination of relevant policies of ecological environmental protection and ecological environment zoning control system should be strengthened. It is necessary to fully implement the strategy of the main functional zone, and carry out the refinement and spatial implementation of environmental management for the four types of development areas with a clear strategy of the main functional zone. It has its own focus on land use control and environmental quality management in terms of supporting the preparation of major plans, optimizing the layout of productive forces, and guiding investment promotion, so as to promote high-quality development in a coordinated manner. It is necessary to study and implement differentiated regulation and control policies based on carbon emissions and pollutant emissions, promote the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, carry out targeted pilot demonstrations, and promote the formation of a joint policy force for the construction of a beautiful China.

Strengthening the zoning and control of the ecological environment is a concrete measure to thoroughly implement Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and the spirit of the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection, a specific action to implement the requirements of accurate, scientific and law-based pollution control, and a specific deployment to comprehensively promote the construction of a beautiful China. It is necessary to make every effort to promote the implementation of the "Opinions", further improve the problem-oriented, precise management and control, and global coverage of the ecological environment zoning control system, continue to promote the application and digital construction, provide support for scientific decision-making of major policies, the preparation of major plans, and the rational layout of major productive forces, continuously optimize the development and protection pattern of land space, promote high-quality development and create a high-quality life with high-level protection of the ecological environment, and accelerate the construction of a beautiful China where man and nature coexist in harmony.

(Author: Wang Jinnan, Deputy Director of the Population, Resources and Environment Committee of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Honorary President of the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Ministry of Ecology and Environment)