Changting County: Soil Erosion Treatment
Changting County is located in west Fujian Province and in the southern section of the Wuyi Mountains. Mountains and hilly land occupy about 85 percent of its total area.
Changting had suffered serious soil erosion due to natural disasters, population growth and frequent wars. Barren mountains, murky waters, infertile paddies and poor residents once summed up the county. Soil erosion posed a basic and arduous challenge to local economic and social development.
Changting began to address soil erosion in 1983. It initially curbed soil erosion through planting trees and meadows and closing hillsides to firewood gathering.
When Xi Jinping worked in Fujian Province, he made five fact-finding trips to Changting. He called on the local people to green the barren mountains, and made soil erosion control a provincial project. In December 2011 and January 2012, Xi, then in his capacity as a state leader, issued two more instructions on soil erosion control in Changting. He urged the people to press ahead in the quest for success at this critical moment, otherwise they would fall behind. He also demanded greater support for Changting, and suggested summarizing local experience for application elsewhere.
Acting on the idea that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, Changting has continued with soil erosion control. The local Party committee plays the leading role, and the local government directs the work, each holding its own responsibility. The county has introduced new management ideas and technologies, and combined engineering, bio-measures, agricultural technologies, ecological restoration and artificial interference. The local people are fully motivated to contract the barren land, and enterprises are also encouraged to participate, thus forming positive synergy.
The Changting model involves pooling the efforts of the local Party committee, government departments, private enterprises, and the residents, to turn barren mountains into oases. In 2018, Changting was removed from the national list of poverty-stricken counties. It is a model of soil and eco-environmental restoration, and an exemplar in China's quest to build an eco-civilization.
福建长汀县水土流失治理
长汀县，地处福建省西部、武夷山南麓，是闽、粤、赣三省边陲要冲，土地面积3099平方公里，其中山地面积约占85%，是典型的“八山一水一分田”山区县。近代以来，受到自然灾害、人口增长和战乱频发等因素的影响，长汀县水土流失问题愈发严峻。“山光、水浊、田瘦、人穷”，曾是当地自然生态恶化、群众生活贫困的真实写照。治理水土流失，成为长汀推动经济社会发展的首要而艰巨的任务。
1983年，长汀县开始水土流失规模化治理。此后十余年间，通过人工植树种草、封山育林等措施，当地水土流失势头得到初步控制。21世纪初，习近平在福建工作期间，曾先后5次深入长汀调研指导，发出了彻底消灭荒山的动员令，长汀县水土流失治理被列为福建省为民办实事项目，推动水土流失治理和生态建设迈上规范、科学、有效的道路。2011年12月、2012年1月，习近平连续两次对长汀县水土流失治理作出重要批示，指出长汀县水土流失治理正处在一个十分重要的节点上，进则全胜，不进则退，应进一步加大支持力度。要总结长汀经验，推动全国水土流失治理工作。
按照这一要求，长汀人民牢固树立“绿水青山就是金山银山”的理念，持续开展水土流失治理。主要做法包括：坚持党委领导、政府主导，建立党政领导挂钩责任制。创新治理理念和技术，实行工程措施、生物措施和农业技术措施有机结合，人工治理与生态修复有机结合。充分发挥群众主体作用，培育大户引导治理、组织农民承包治理、引导企业积极参与治理，形成水土流失治理的强大合力。长汀人民用成功实践总结出“党委领导、政府主导、群众主体、社会参与、多策并举、以人为本、持之以恒”的水土流失治理经验，实现了“荒山—绿洲—生态家园”的历史性转变，创造了生态文明建设的佳绩，释放出经济社会发展的多重效应。2018年，长汀县摘帽脱贫。长汀县水土流失治理是中国探索生态文明建设的一个生动缩影，为全国水土保持和生态保护修复提供了样本与借鉴。