CGTN: Yellow River: A Chinese tale of ecological protection, high-quality development
PR92504
BEIJING, Oct. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --
Deemed China's "Mother River" and "the cradle of Chinese civilization," the
Yellow River basin has seen remarkable improvements in its ecological
environment over the last few years as the Chinese government attaches
increasing importance to the conservation of China's second-longest watercourse.
Hailing the Yellow River's importance as an ecological barrier, an economic
zone and a cultural heritage site in China, Chinese President Xi Jinping has
reiterated efforts to promote its ecological protection and high-quality
development.
On Wednesday, President Xi inspected the estuary of the Yellow River in the
city of Dongying, east China's Shandong Province. He visited a dock at the
estuary, an ecological monitoring center and a national-level nature reserve of
the Yellow River Delta.
National strategy
"The protection of the Yellow River is critical to the great rejuvenation and
sustainable development of the Chinese nation," President Xi said. This
explains why China has set the ecological protection and high-quality
development of the Yellow River basin as a major national strategy.
Starting from Qinghai Province, the Yellow River runs through nine provinces
and autonomous regions before emptying itself into the Bohai Sea in Shandong.
As an "ecological corridor," the Yellow River, linking the Qinghai-Tibet
Plateau, the Loess Plateau and plains in northern China with severe water
scarcity, plays an important role in improving the ecological environment,
combating desertification and providing water supply.
The 5,464-kilometer-long waterway feeds about 12 percent of China's population,
irrigates some 15 percent of the arable land, supports 14 percent of the
national GDP, and supplies water to more than 60 cities.
Since the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress, the Chinese
president has visited all of the basin's provinces and autonomous regions,
sharing his concerns about China's "Mother River." In less than a year from
August 2019 to June 2020 alone, he inspected the Yellow River basin four times.
What are the challenges?
President Xi pointed out difficulties and problems in protecting the Yellow
River during his inspection tours, such as the fragile ecological environment,
the severe condition of water resources preservation and the need to improve
development quality.
According to Xi, the peace of the Yellow River is significant to the stability
of China. Although the river has not seen major dangers for many years, Xi has
repeatedly told the nation not to relax its vigilance.
The river's natural and geological conditions have led to frequent flooding
since ancient times. Over the past 2,500 years, the Yellow River has broken its
dikes more than 1,500 times and made 26 major changes in its course on the
lower reaches.
Still, busy industrial activities along the Yellow River once put it on the map
as one of the world's most polluted rivers about 10 years ago, which also
resulted in ecological degradation.
Turning a blueprint into practice
To deal with major challenges facing the Yellow River basin, the central
government and the local governments along the river have taken a series of
measures, exemplifying how a national strategy is transforming from a blueprint
into concrete practice while showing China's determination to purse
high-quality development.
Over the past 70 years, China has carried out four large-scale embankment
projects, built water conservancy projects, implemented two phases of flood
control projects on the lower reaches of the waterway and completed the
standard levee construction. By 2019, the accumulated amount of silt and sand
into the Yellow River has been reduced by nearly 30 billion tonnes and the
sediment of the downstream river has been reduced by 11.2 billion tonnes.
High-quality development of the Yellow River basin started with adjustment and
transformation of old industrial cities on the upper stream, developing modern
agriculture in major grain-producing regions as well as exploring ways to help
the impoverished residents along the riversides.
The country has also built more than 400 wetland nature reserves and national
parks in the basin. The Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve, the one
President Xi visited on Wednesday, is one of the examples.
The Reserve spanning about 153,000 hectares, with wetlands making up over 70
percent of its total area, is an important wintering and stopover site for
migratory birds, including oriental storks, an endangered bird species.
Earlier in October, China released an outline for the Yellow River Basin's
protection and development through 2030, serving as a guide for policymaking
and engineering project planning in the basin to address challenges. The
country is also speeding up its legislation to advance ecological conservation
and high-quality development in the Yellow River basin.
Source: CGTN
本プレスリリースは発表元が入力した原稿をそのまま掲載しております。また、プレスリリースへのお問い合わせは発表元に直接お願いいたします。
このプレスリリースには、報道機関向けの情報があります。
プレス会員登録を行うと、広報担当者の連絡先や、イベント・記者会見の情報など、報道機関だけに公開する情報が閲覧できるようになります。