21st Century Business Herald:

According to the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, major projects for preserving and restoring key ecosystems will be carried out at a faster pace in priority areas, including key national ecosystem service zones, ecological conservation redlines, and nature reserves. What progress has been made in ecological conservation and restoration? What measures and major projects will be undertaken next?

Wang Hong:

As we know, the principal challenge facing Chinese society has turned into the gap between unbalanced and inadequate development and the growing expectation of the people for a better life. Creating a fine eco-environment with lucid waters and lush mountains is one of the goals that we strive for. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, We have earnestly implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Eco-Civilization , strengthened planning and guidance, and enhanced coordination. We have also expedited efforts to implement major projects for preserving and restoring key ecosystems and strived to enhance the diversity, stability and continuity of these ecosystems. Progress is evident in the following two aspects.

First, we have established a strategic pattern for ecological protection and restoration of the national territorial space. The National Territorial Spatial Planning Outline (2021-2035) and Master Plan on Major Projects for the Conservation and Restoration of National Key Ecosystems (2021-2035) specified a national ecological security barrier pattern consisting of Three Eco-zones and Four Shelterbelts — the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Eco-zone, Yellow River Eco-zone and Yangtze River Eco-zone, and Northeast Shelterbelt, North Shelterbelt, South Shelterbelt and Coastal Shelterbelt. Major projects and key tasks such as ecological protection and restoration, natural protected areas, and biodiversity conservation were also arranged accordingly.

Second, we have coordinated and implemented major ecological protection and restoration projects. We have implemented 51 integrated conservation and restoration projects of mountains, rivers, forests, farmland, lakes, grasslands and deserts around Three Eco-zones and Four Shelterbelts. We have also coordinated various ecological elements, taking river basins as the main unit to implement system governance, comprehensive management and source control, completing a total area of 80 million mu of ecological restoration. In 2022, the "Shan-Shui Initiative in China " was awarded as one of the inaugural 10 World Restoration Flagships, and praised as one of the most promising, ambitious and inspiring large-scale examples of ecological restoration in the world. For example, the Wuliangsu Lake Basin Project in Inner Mongolia has adopted regional management and implemented 35 sub-projects in seven categories, according to different natural geographical units and dominant ecosystem types in the basin. A variety of measures have been taken, including desert control, grassland ecological restoration, open pit mining management, artificial wetland restoration and soil erosion control, so as to improve the overall water quality of Wuliangsu Lake. The species and number of resident birds in the area have increased significantly. In addition, in recent years, we have focused on the main body and tributaries of the Yangtze River; the areas surrounding Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province; the Fenwei Plain; and the Yellow River Basin, so as to promote the ecological restoration of historical mining sites in an orderly manner. Additionally, the total area completing the governance for ecological restoration has reached 4.35 million mu. We have also adhered to land-sea coordination and river-sea linkages, and have carried out major projects such as special campaigns to protect and restore marine ecosystems and the coastal zone conservation and restoration project. As a result, a total of 2,000 kilometers of coastline and 600,000 mu of coastal wetlands have been restored.

Next, we will continue to implement the integrated conservation and restoration projects for mountains, rivers, forests, farmland, lakes, grasslands and deserts. It is expected that by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan, the ecological conservation and restoration area will total over 30 million mu. We will also implement ecological restoration projects in mining sites, completing the restoration of 2.8 million mu. Additionally, we will implement marine ecological conservation and restoration projects, so as to complete the improvement and restoration of 400 kilometers of coastline, and 300,000 mu of coastal wetlands. Thank you.