The Hukou Waterfall in Jixian county of Shanxi province takes in a magnificent landscape and witness the mighty force of the Yellow River. [Chinadaily/ Li Jingjing]
MAJOR MISSIONS
1. Strengthen the construction of upstream water conservation capacity
Following the laws of Nature, focusing on key regions, speeding up the restoration of ecosystem degradation, restoring the vital ecosystem, strengthening water conservation functions through the delivery of natural restoration, and implementing major ecological protection and restoration projects.
Building the "Chinese Water Tower". Comprehensively implementing multiple measures to protect the ecological elements including mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts in the Sanjiangyuan area, the cradle of the Yangtze, Yellow, and Lancang rivers. Restoring biodiversity and creating an ecological virtuous circle for future development.
Protecting the important water supply areas of upstream of the Yellow River, such as Yushu and Guoluo of Qinghai province, Aba and Ganzi of Sichuan province, Gannan of Gansu province, and so on.
Strengthening densification control in the key areas. Insisting on relying on the masses and encouraging them to promote the desertification control experience of Kubuqi, Maowusu, and Babusha forest farm, etc. Conducting large-scale desertification control, innovating desertification control mode, and building reliable Northern sand prevention belts.
Reducing the excessive impact of human activities. Properly dealing with the relationship between production, living and ecological environment, and focusing on eliminating the negative effects of human activities such as overgrazing, uncontrolled utilization, and development of resources, too many tourists, etc.
2. Strengthening the conservation of water and soil along the middle reach
Focusing on soil and water conservation of the Loess Plateau, comprehensively protecting the natural forests, consolidating the achievements of returning farmlands to forests and grasslands and returning grazing land to grasslands, strengthening the treatment of soil erosion, steadily increasing the level of urbanization, and improving the ecological environment of the middle reach.
Fully implementing forest and grassland protection. Following the distribution pattern of vegetation in the Loess Plateau, paying close attention to the trend of climate change and its impact, and adopting suitable ecological protection and restoration measures.
Enhancing the capability of soil and water conservation. Focusing on reducing the sediment inflow into the rivers and reservoirs, actively promoting the protection of tableland of the Loess Plateau, comprehensive management of small watersheds, construction of silt dams, improvement of sloping farmland, and other important projects.
Developing efficient dryland farming with the focus on changing the traditional agricultural and husbandry production ways, upgrading agricultural infrastructure, and popularizing water storage and conservation technologies, etc. And coordinating the development of water and soil conservation and efficient dryland farming.
3. Promoting the protection and ecological restoration of downstream wetlands
Building green ecological corridors of the lower reach of the Yellow River, intensifying the protection and restoration of the wetland ecosystem of the Yellow River Delta, enhancing the ecological function of the downstream of the Yellow River and improving the ecological environment of the estuary as well as the comprehensive governance of the beach area, promoting the coordinated development of ecological protection and population and economy.
To protect and restore the Yellow River Delta. To study and prepare the protection and restoration plan of the Yellow River Delta wetland, and to plan the construction of the Yellow River Estuary National Park.
Building a green ecological corridor along the lower reach of the Yellow River. On the premise of stabilizing the downstream river, regulating the flow path, and ensuring the flood discharge capacity of the beach areas, to coordinate the ecological construction of water, shoreline, and beach, to protect the natural shoreline, improve the wetland ecosystem on both side of the river, to build a green ecological corridor of the downstream with the integrated functions of flood control, water conservation, biological habitat and so on.
Promoting the comprehensive ecological governance of the beach area. To properly divide the functional zone of the beach, to implement policies and restoration projects based on the reality of the beach along the lower reach, to integrate the flood control and land use in the high beach areas.
4. Strengthening the conservation and intensive use of water resources of the Yellow River basin
To implement the strictest water resources protection and utilization system, to fully conduct in-depth water conservation and water control actions, to adhere to the priority of water conservation. Coordinating and integrating the water of surface and underground, natural and recycled, local and external, conventional and unconventional. To optimize the allocation of water resources while improving allocation efficiency, and realizing the fundamental transition from excessive to economical, and expanding the development space.
Reinforcing rigid constraints on water resources. Adhering to the priority of water conservation in planning, policy formulation, and industrial distribution, and refining measures based on the local water system and conditions, such as setting up urban development, land use, human activities, and industries. water-defined city, water-defined land, water-defined people, and water-defined industry.
To scientifically allocate the water resources of the basin. Comprehensive considering the allocation of water resources, refining the distribution of water resources in the main and tributaries. Coordinating water resources of local and external, reserving enough ecological water based on the consideration of water conservation, reasonably distributing water for living and production.
Increasing efforts on agricultural and industrial water conservation. In response to problems such as excessive water use in agricultural production, it is necessary to strictly control the total amount of water use, with the focus on the large and medium scaled irrigation areas to modernize the irrigation system, to promote the construction of high-standard farmland, to create high-efficiency water-saving irrigation demonstration areas, and gradually improve the efficiency of irrigation water use.
Forming the lifestyle of water-saving. To promote the construction of water-saving and loss-reduction projects in cities and towns of the Yellow River basin, to implement the renovation of old water supply networks mainly to reduce the leakage rate of the pipes, to popularize water-saving appliances for daily life, and to develop water-saving technical renovation of government departments, schools, hospitals and other public administrations. Strictly controlling the water use of high water-consuming service industries, and encouraging the construction of water-saving cities.
5. Ensuring the long-term stability of the Yellow River
Firmly grasping the key to coordinate the relationship between water and sediment, focusing on water dredging, integrating water dredging with retention, storage water, and desilting sediment, transferring water and sediment, improving the water and sediment control system as well as the flood control layout of "cutting off the upstream and draining downstream with retention along both banks", studying and modifying the flood prevention plan of the Yellow River basin, strengthening comprehensive construction of flood prevention and disaster reduction system, safeguarding people's life and property along the Yellow River.
Scientifically regulating the relationship between water and sediment. In-depth studying the long-term evolution trend of the relationship between water and sediment of the Yellow River as well as its impact on the ecological environment, mastering the main train of thought of regulation of water and sediment while controlling the sediment in a reasonable range, taking action to deal with the sediment in terms of "cutting off, transferring, draining, releasing, and dredging".
Effectively enhancing the flood prevention capability. To implement comprehensive upgrading projects for the river and beach areas, enhancing the capability of flood prevention to safeguard the dikes. To accelerate the renewal and reinforcement of the river section, to strengthen the management of weak sections, upgrade the flood diversion and sediment transfer functions, and effectively control the braided river section.
Strengthening the building of disaster response system and capacity. Intensifying the scientific research on long-term climate change and hydrological conditions, etc. Improving the disaster prevention and mitigation systems, eliminating water disasters while developing water conservancy, and enhancing the ability of regions to cope with various types of disasters along the Yellow River.
6. Strengthening the governance of the environmental pollution system
Yellow River pollution reflects in water quality and the problem lies in the basin with the root of banks. With the focus on Fenhe River, Huangshui River, Sushui River, Wuding River, Yanhe River, Wuliangsu Lake, Dongping Lake, and other rivers and lakes, coordinating and promoting the agricultural, industrial, urban-rural life pollution control and comprehensive management of the ecological environment in mining areas. Conducting the ecological environment management of the Yellow River tributaries and the hinterland of the basin with the specific and applicable policies for particular rivers and lakes, cleaning the tributaries, and linking the effectiveness of water conservation and pollution control with the allocation of water resources.
Reinforcing the comprehensive treatment of agricultural pollution. To promote various forms of agricultural activities with proper scale, to encourage the agricultural technologies including scientific fertilization, safe use of pesticides, farmland water conservation, etc. and advanced and suitable equipment, to increase the utilization efficiency of fertilizer, pesticides, feed, and other inputs, and to establish an integrated comprehensive utilization and harmless treatment system of livestock manure, crop straw, and other agricultural waste.
Intensifying the coordinated management of industrial pollution. To relocate the high water-consuming and high-polluting enterprises to the parks which comply with laws and regulations, to speed up the transformation of ultra-low emission in the iron and steel, coal power industries, and to carry out mandatory clean production in coal, thermal power, iron and steel, coking, chemical, non-ferrous and other industries. Emphasizing the comprehensive treatment of volatile organic compounds and industrial kilns, to implement the special emission limit requirements for industrial pollutants in sensitive and fragile ecological areas.
Integrated promoting urban-rural living pollution control. Developing the urban-rural infrastructure treatment such as sewage and garbage, medical waste, and hazardous waste. Upgrading the collecting and supporting sewage network in both urban and rural areas, combined with the improved local water environmental protection objectives, and promoting the continuous enhancement of sewage treatment efficiency of urban-rural areas along the river while ensuring that all polluters comply with discharge standards.
Improving the ecological environment of the mining areas. To investigate and evaluate the ecological environment damage and pollution in the abandoned mining sites of the Yellow River basin, to implement the ecological restoration and pollution treatment such as recovering the geological environment, reshaping the terrain, and restoring the vegetation community. According to the principle of responsibility to reuse the natural resources and explore the market-based approach to deliver the ecological restoration of the mining areas.
Source:
<http://www.news.cn/english/2021-10/08/c_1310232873.htm>
<http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2021-10/08/content_5641438.htm>
Edited and translated by GUO Xinxin
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