Protect the "one river and three mountains" and make the "crossing Jiangnan" more and more beautiful
The vast Yellow River meanders, the orchards under Helan Mountain are fragrant, the sky above Liupan Mountain is high and the clouds are clear, and the Luo Mountains are verdant like the vast sea. "One River and Three Mountains" are not only important ecological coordinates for Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, but also the baseline for Ningxia's planning of reform and development.
Ningxia deeply practicesXiJinpingGuided by ecological protection and the construction of high-quality development pilot areas in the Yellow River Basin, the idea of ecological civilization carefully protects the Yellow River, promotes the ecological protection and restoration of the "three mountains", collaboratively promotes carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion, and growth, and strives to write a harmonious coexistence between man and nature. The Chinese-style modern Ningxia chapter of symbiosis has made the "Western Jiangnan" increasingly beautiful.
High-value ecology: Reappearing beautiful nature
In early autumn, sand and water depend on each other, and egrets and birds flock together, attracting tourists to linger.
Shahu is an important wetland in the Yellow River Basin and an important migration channel for migratory birds in northwest China. Just a few years ago, this "Pearl on the Wall" suffered from pollution.
Due to the closure of the water body, large evaporation, and small recharge, coupled with the impact of surrounding non-point source pollution and the development of the Shahu Scenic Area, the water quality of the Shahu once dropped to worse than Class V, and the ecosystem suffered serious degradation.
"I clearly remember that one day in 2016, there were large amounts of dead fish with white bellies floating on the lake. It was heartbreaking to see it." Some employees in Shahu Scenic Area recalled. In the same year, the water quality problem of Shahu was named and ordered to be rectified by the Central Environmental Protection Inspection Team.
Clean up 1.5 million cubic meters of sediments at the bottom of the lake, build 13.2 kilometers of anti-seepage isolation ditches, build 6000 acres of artificial wetlands, plant calamus, reed and other plants to absorb and purify pollutants, and move out of the sewage treatment plant in the scenic area...
After the treatment of "scraping bones and treating poison", the water quality of Shahu has improved year by year and has now stabilized at Class III to IV. Li Dongping, manager of the ecological protection department of Ningxia Shahu Tourism Co., Ltd., said with joy that in recent years, rare birds such as curling feathered pelicans and jade belt sea eagles have been monitored many times in Shahu."The ecology has improved, and there are more and more tourists., now we have established a regular monitoring and protection mechanism for Shahu."
Scenery of the Shahu Scenic Area in Shizuishan City, Ningxia (taken on August 6, 2024, drone photo). Photo by Xinhua Agency reporter Feng Kaihua
Ningxia takes the lead in governing the great river.
As the only province along the Yellow River Basin, Ningxia continues to fight in depth to defend blue sky, clear water, and pure land, keeps a close eye on key areas and key links of pollution prevention and control, and makes up for shortcomings, strengths and weaknesses in a targeted manner. Solid foundation, steadily promote the continuous improvement of ecological environment quality.
The proportion of days with good air quality in prefecture-level cities in the region has exceeded 80% for nine consecutive years. The water quality in the Ningxia section of the main stream of the Yellow River has remained at Class II for seven consecutive years, and the safe utilization rate of contaminated cultivated land has reached 100%... In 2022 and 2023, Ningxia will be in the central government. In the evaluation of the effectiveness of the fight against pollution, they have all won excellent grades, and the beautiful nature of "crossing the Yangtze River" has reappeared.
The system protects the ecology of high-quality beauty.
Ningxia took the lead in promoting the "river chief + prosecutor + police chief" management model across the region, signed horizontal ecological protection compensation agreements with Gansu and Inner Mongolia, becoming the first province in the Yellow River Basin to establish compensation mechanisms both upstream and downstream.
"At present, Ningxia has established an ecological compensation mechanism that is coordinated vertically by fiscal finance and horizontally between regions, which has consolidated the responsibilities of ecological and environmental protection of municipal, county and district governments, and the awareness and investment in improving the environment in various places have been significantly strengthened." said Zhang Shoujun, deputy director of the Science, Technology and Finance Department of Ningxia Department of Ecology and Environment.
High-level protection: Building a strong ecological barrier
"Look, the Snow Leopard F1 has been staying here for several days. It may have been hunting." At the Ningxia Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve Administration, Zhu Yachao, deputy chief of the scientific research section, checks the latest movement trajectory of snow leopards sent back by satellite collars from time to time. Since Ningxia released two female snow leopards in Helan Mountain this year, Zhu Yachao has begun to "raise leopards in the cloud".
A wine grape planting base located at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain in Ningxia (photo taken on June 12, 2024, drone photo). Photo by Xinhua Agency reporter Wang Peng
Helan Mountain is one of the important habitats and distribution areas of snow leopards in my country. Since the 1950s, snow leopards once disappeared with the increasing frequency of human activities. In September 2020, an infrared camera set up on Helan Mountain accidentally photographed a snow leopard, which excited Zhu Yachao and others.
In recent years, Ningxia has carried out snow leopard population protection and restoration work under the guidance of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration. "Currently, a total of 4 snow leopards have been monitored in Helan Mountain. We have monitored and found that they are delimiting their own territories, but their action paths overlap each other. We look forward to having good news about the birth of the leopard next spring." Zhu Yachao said.
The return of the snow leopard is a vivid example of the improvement of the ecological environment.
Tourists visit Liupanshan National Forest Park (photographed on August 4, 2024). Photo by Xinhua Agency reporter Mao
Helan Mountain, Luoshan Mountain and Liupan Mountain stand tall from north to south. They not only protect the reproduction of all living things, but also constitute an important ecological security barrier in northwest my country. However, in the past, due to long-term disorderly mining, reclamation, grazing and other behaviors, the "three mountains" were damaged to varying degrees.
Since 2017, Ningxia has fully launched the battle to clean up and renovate the "three mountains" and the protracted battle to protect and restore them with the determination of "a strong man breaking his wrist". In Helan Mountain, all coal mines, non-coal mines, coal washing and storage plants in the nature reserve were completely closed, and 169 human activity sites were specially renovated; in Liupan Mountain, all illegal buildings in the nature reserve were demolished, and all enterprises in the Sanguan Kuangqu were cleared, and the ecological restoration area was approximately 1.15 million square meters; In Luoshan, all 38 wind turbines and ancillary facilities in the nature reserve have been withdrawn... At present, all problem points in the "Sanshan" nature reserve have been rectified and dynamically cleared.
Standing on a cinder-top mountain in the Shanbijing Kuangqu mining area of Helan Mountain, you can see that the slag platforms have been cut and covered with soil, and dots of new green have grown. Liu Shulong, captain of the Helan Mountain Management and Protection Team of the Ecological Protection Forest Farm of Shizuishan City, pointed to a tree-lined area at the foot of the mountain and said: "It turns out that this area is a coal washing factory. We dare not come in wearing white clothes. It's dark in a few minutes. Now the blue sky here is back!"
Return the tranquility to the mountains and slowly heal the "scars". In 2021, Ningxia issued a special plan for ecological protection and restoration of the "Three Mountains" to accelerate the construction of a natural reserve system with national parks as the main body. So far, it has invested a total of more than 10.6 billion yuan and launched more than 400 implementation projects. The ecological function of the "Three Mountains" has been steadily improved.
Sand control workers laid brush-like net-rope-type grass grid sand barriers in the Tengger Desert in Zhongwei, Ningxia (photo taken on May 30, 2024, drone photo). Photo by Xinhua Agency reporter Feng Kaihua
Ningxia coordinates the integrated protection and systematic management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass and sand. Since the battle against the "few words bend" of the Yellow River started last year, Ningxia has responded to orders. At Shapotou, Zhongwei, at the intersection of the Yellow River and the Tengger Desert, a sand-fixing and lock-edge belt about 153 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide has been formed.
The intersection of sand control forest belt and desert located on the edge of the Tengger Desert in Shapotou City, Zhongwei, Ningxia (photo taken on September 6, 2023, drone photo). Photo by Xinhua Agency reporter Wang Peng
At present, the forest coverage rate in Ningxia has reached 11.35%, the comprehensive grassland vegetation coverage has reached 56.8%, and the wetland protection rate has reached 29%. The ecological barrier of "one river, three mountains" has become increasingly stable.
High-quality development: promoting the "six powers" reform
Two months ago, the Ningdong Energy and Chemical Industry Base Management Committee and Ningxia Baoting New Energy Co., Ltd. completed the energy use rights transaction of approximately 64,000 tons of standard coal to ensure the energy use indicators of the latter's high-end new material projects.
This is the first energy-use rights transaction completed in Ningxia since it launched the energy-use rights reform. It marks an important step in Ningxia's use of market-based means to solve energy consumption resource constraints and promote green, low-carbon and high-quality development.
Green and low-carbon development is the fundamental solution to ecological and environmental problems. Starting from 2021, Ningxia has successively launched the "six rights" reforms of water rights, land rights, forest rights, emission rights, energy rights, and carbon emission rights, deepened the reform of market-oriented allocation of resources and environmental factors, and promoted the continuous improvement of ecological environment quality and economic development. Green transformation.
Dadenggou Ecological Restoration Demonstration Area in Shifujing, Shizuishan City, Ningxia (Photo taken on August 6, 2024, drone photo). Photo by Xinhua Agency reporter Feng Kaihua
At Ningxia Daming Activated Carbon Company, Ltd. located in Shizuishan City, Ningxia, combustible flue gas generated during activated carbon processing is collected along a set of pipes and incinerated to generate heat energy to power the waste heat boiler, realizing "turning waste into treasure."
"In the past, the company has been heating water in boilers by burning coal to produce water vapor, consuming about 10,000 tons of coal every year. In recent years, through technological innovation, we have recycled and reused the flue gas that was originally discharged directly into the atmosphere during the activated carbon production process, replacing coal burning and reducing nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide emissions." said Wang Wen, deputy general manager of Ningxia Daming Activated Carbon Co., Ltd.
The company's technological innovation stems from the promotion of Ningxia's emission rights reform. Ningxia has changed the total emission index of major pollutants from free government allocation to open market trading. For new reconstruction and expansion projects, emission rights must be purchased on the market. After enterprises reduce pollutant emissions through measures such as standard upgrading and cleaner production, the savings can be traded on the market.
Wang Wen told reporters that last year, the company posted the savings in emission rights on the Ningxia Public Resource Trading Platform for trading. Unexpectedly, it became a "hot commodity". The nitrogen oxide emission indicators were quickly snapped up, earning a total of more than 190,000 yuan. "We have invested this money in the construction of desulfurization towers and domestic sewage treatment, further improving the process and reducing pollutant emissions."
At present, Ningxia is taking the in-depth advancement of the "six powers" reform to lead the comprehensive deepening of reforms and create a new situation. As of the end of June this year, the district has completed a total of 4705 "six-rights" transactions of more than 34.6 billion yuan, and mortgage financing of 4.34 billion yuan, further strengthening the ecological "background" and consolidating the "base" of resources.
