Chinanews.com, February 14th (Shao Wanyun) Hongze Lake is a storage and discharge hub for flood control in the Huaihe River Basin, an important storage lake on the east line of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, and the "mother lake" of the people of Huai'an. 

　　In recent years, Hongze Lake has faced the problems of over-development and degraded ecological environment.

Huai'an City has made great determination and made great efforts to promote the management and protection of Hongze Lake, so as to heal the wounds of the "Mother Lake".

"Two Ships" Remediation

The water is clear, the people are rich

　　For a long time, people on the water around Hongze Lake have made a living by fishing, breeding and other water operations. Catering boats and house boats have stayed in the safe havens along Hongze Lake. The garbage and sewage generated by long-term water life have caused Hongze to a certain extent. Lake water pollution, water environment degradation, water ecological damage and other endogenous pollution problems.

Photo courtesy.

Before the renovation of Laochuantang in Hongze District.

　　In March 2020, Huai'an City fully launched the "two ships" rectification.

According to statistics, there are 30 catering ships and 3,618 residential ships in the city.

　　After solving their worries, fishermen can go ashore with peace of mind.

In the "two boats" rectification work, Huai'an City is problem-oriented, docking with specific reality, turning it into specific plans, and turning it into specific measures, and actively grasping the fundamentals of returning fishermen to change jobs and ensuring their livelihoods.

　　Taking Huaiyin District as an example, in addition to housing resettlement, in response to the employment, entrepreneurship, and training needs of fishermen after returning from fishing, the local government compiled employment and entrepreneurship policy guidelines, sorted out preferential policies, and pushed 647 jobs from 36 companies to fishermen who returned from fishing. Support policies related to information and employment and entrepreneurship encourage fishermen to participate in recruitment to achieve employment.

　　Xie Gang was one of the first group of boat people to disembark. After landing, he continued to do his old job of crab farming. Although he still did the same job, he quickly felt the benefits of going ashore.

　　"I used to farm on the lake, and I was afraid of floods every year. Once the water went in during the flood season, a year's hard work would be wasted." Xie Gang said, "The advantage of farming in the inland is that as long as the aquatic plants, resources, and water quality are guaranteed, you can grow. Guaranteed." Xie Gang's farming area has expanded from 140 mu of land last year to 180 mu of land this year, and his annual income this year has also reached more than 300,000 yuan.

Photo courtesy.

After renovation of Laochuan Pond in Hongze District.

　　Huai'an City adheres to the principle of resettlement first and then rectification, properly handles the issue of resettlement of boat people without houses ashore in various ways and methods, and guides fishermen to promote comprehensive paddy farming in suitable areas, which is conducive to the development of high-quality and high-efficiency planting, special green aquatic products, and characteristic ecological leisure. Fishermen in the "Three Special" agriculture are actively seeking financial support for the project.

　　In June 2021, the renovation of the "two ships" in the waters of Hongze Lake in Huai'an City has been successfully completed.

　　Employment guidance, housing resettlement, and industry support are provided. After the boat people and fishermen who have made their own contributions to the green waters and green mountains go ashore, they have houses to live in, jobs to do, and life security to lead a happy life.

"Sand mining" remediation

Protect aquatic habitats

　　The lake is vast and the reeds are deep, which is the beauty of Hongze Lake in the past.

However, due to the rapid expansion of illegal sand mining boats in the lake, Hongze Lake was "injured".

　　Illegal sand mining not only pollutes water bodies, but also harms coastal ecology.

Illegal sand mining boats destroy the structure of the lake bed and produce various types of pollution, resulting in loss of habitat for aquatic organisms, damage to the germplasm resource bank, and degradation of wetland ecosystem functions.

In order to protect the "Mother Lake", Huai'an has adopted a strict and high-pressure posture against illegal sand mining.

　　In order to severely crack down on illegal sand mining, Huai'an City issued the "Implementation Opinions on the Long-term Management of Prohibition of Sand Mining in Hongze Lake, Huai'an City", insisting on the combination of "land control and water control", the cooperation of criminal justice and administrative law enforcement, and fully launched joint law enforcement crackdowns. Monthly inspections were carried out to form a top-down, cross-departmental and cross-regional joint supervision and crackdown force, and strong measures were taken to maintain a high-pressure situation of cracking down on outcrops and punishing violations, so as to ensure that the ban on mining in Hongze Lake achieved effective results.

　　Up to now, Huai'an City has dismantled 453 illegal sand mining ships in Huai'an waters of Hongze Lake, tried 61 illegal sand mining criminals, and achieved the goal of "clearing" sand mining ships in Huai'an waters of Hongze Lake.

Photo courtesy.

The sand mining ship is being dismantled.

Comprehensive policy

Return

the people a lake of clean water

　　In order to return the people of the city to a more beautiful lake with clear water, Huai'an City formulated the "Key Points of Hongze Lake Treatment and Protection Work" and "Hongze Lake Treatment and Protection Project Construction Plan" to strengthen system governance, comprehensive governance, and source governance to maintain the ecology of Hongze Lake Healthy and functional.

　　From 2020 to 2021, Huai'an City implemented 10 ecological restoration demonstration projects such as the Hongze Lake Embankment in Hongze City, the Huaihe River Mainstream Ecological Corridor, Hongze Lake Ancient Embankment (the West Embankment of the Second River), and afforestation of 17,500 mu in the area around the lake. 10,350 mu of wetlands were restored, 42 demonstration villages of green and beautiful villages in the province were built, and 20 sewage treatment projects were newly built or renovated.

　　On the one hand, pay close attention to the source control of water pollution.

Strengthen law enforcement inspections on the pollution source enterprises along the lake. If the sewage treatment facilities cannot operate normally and discharge beyond the standard, they will resolutely suspend production for rectification. If they fail to meet the standards, they will not resume production.

At the same time, intensify the rectification of the aquaculture industry, implement the work of returning fish to the lake in the Hongze Lake Reserve, and orderly clean up the pen breeding.

Photo courtesy.

Comparison of before and after ecological reconstruction of Hongze Lake embankment.

　　On the other hand, strengthen the source control of ecological degradation.

From the perspective of the integrity of the ecosystem and the systematic nature of the Hongze Lake Basin, promote the comprehensive protection of Hongze Lake, the connectivity of water systems, and ecological restoration, promote the recuperation of the lake, enhance self-purification capabilities, and coordinate the promotion of urban and rural water environment, water resources, and environmental protection around Hongze Lake. Water ecology, build ecological shorelines of rivers and lakes, and form a new pattern of comprehensive protection and green development of Hongze Lake.

　　Move forward with a heavy load and rejuvenate.

Today's Hongze Lake is not only more beautiful and moving, but also has become a green home with rich products and good ecology.

(over)