Beijing News (Chief Reporter Li Yukun) From March 1, the "Yangtze River Protection Law" was officially implemented.
After three deliberations, on December 26, 2020, the twenty-fourth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress voted to pass the "Yangtze River Protection Law."
In order to strengthen the ecological protection and restoration of the Yangtze River Basin, promote the rational and efficient use of resources, ensure ecological safety, realize the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, and the sustainable development of the Chinese nation, the promulgation and implementation of the "Yangtze River Protection Law" will form a rigid restraint mechanism to protect the Mother River .
As China's first river basin special law, the "Yangtze River Protection Law" broke the previous situation of the Yangtze River "Kowloon Water Control", and at the same time put forward new requirements for the Yangtze River biological protection, sewage treatment, flood control and disaster relief, and ecological restoration.
A reporter from the Beijing News summarized 8 key words and interpreted the changes that will be brought about after the implementation of the Protection Law.
Keyword 1: Watershed Law
Implementation of my country's first river basin special law
The "Yangtze River Protection Law" is my country's first river basin special law.
Bie Tao, Director of the Department of Regulations and Standards of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, explained that the "Yangtze River Protection Law" and the "Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law", "Water Law", "Waterway Law" and other related laws have different areas of focus and a closer relationship. The cohesive relationship.
The implementation of the "Yangtze River Protection Law" does not affect the application of relevant laws in the Yangtze River Basin. The "Yangtze River Protection Law" focuses on solving the key areas that are not covered by relevant laws or stipulate more principles, but affect the pollution prevention, ecological environment protection and restoration of the Yangtze River Basin ,The key issue.
The Protection Law mentions that the Yangtze River Basin refers to Qinghai Province, Sichuan Province, Tibet Autonomous Region, Yunnan Province, Chongqing City, Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Jiangxi Province, Anhui Province involved in the catchment area formed by the main stream, tributaries and lakes of the Yangtze River. , Jiangsu Province, Shanghai, and the relevant county-level administrative regions of Gansu Province, Shaanxi Province, Henan Province, Guizhou Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangdong Province, Zhejiang Province, and Fujian Province.
This means that in addition to the 11 provinces and cities that the Yangtze River flows through, the protection law also covers the counties where tributaries or lakes are located in Gansu and Shaanxi.
Qiu Li, an associate professor at Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, believes that the Yangtze River is already "very sick". If the existing problems are not resolved in a broad manner, the problems of tributaries or lakes will not be solved, nor can the main stream be preserved.
Keywords 2: Aquatic organisms
Reduce interference with important aquatic life
The "Yangtze River Protection Law" proposes that the State Council's transportation department, together with the State Council's natural resources, water administration, ecological environment, agriculture and rural areas, forestry and grassland departments, shall scientifically delineate prohibited and restricted navigation areas in the important habitats of aquatic organisms in the Yangtze River Basin.
Ships are prohibited from navigating within the designated no-navigation areas.
Due to the national development strategy and the needs of the national economy and people’s livelihood, navigation in areas where navigation is prohibited in important habitats of aquatic organisms shall be agreed by the competent department of transportation under the State Council in consultation with the competent department of agriculture and rural areas of the State Council, and necessary measures shall be taken to reduce interference with important aquatic organisms.
Ma Yi, director of the Yangtze River Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that in accordance with the requirements of the Protection Law, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, in conjunction with relevant departments and local people’s governments along the river, has established a sound biodiversity protection standard system, formulated plans for the protection of precious and endangered aquatic wildlife, and strengthened aquatic life. Protect important habitats, prohibit productive fishing of natural fishery resources, and increase accountability and punishment for related violations.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will work with relevant departments and local people's governments along the Yangtze River to fully implement the protection requirements of the Yangtze River aquatic organisms, implement the rescue plan for rare and endangered species, improve the long-term protection and management mechanism, and expedite the promulgation of the "Regulations on the protection and management of the Yangtze River aquatic organisms."
Keyword 3: No fishing
A series of measures to solve the problem of "no fish" in the Yangtze River
The "Yangtze River Protection Law" proposes that the state implements strict fishing management in key waters of the Yangtze River Basin.
In the Yangtze River Basin Aquatic Life Reserve, productive fishing is completely prohibited; within the time limit stipulated by the state, the main stream and important tributaries of the Yangtze River, large lakes, and the designated area of the Yangtze River estuary, and other key waters are completely prohibited from productive fishing of natural fishery resources.
The agricultural and rural authorities of the State Council, together with relevant departments of the State Council and the provincial people's governments in the Yangtze River Basin, have strengthened the enforcement of bans on fishing in the Yangtze River Basin, and severely investigated and dealt with fishing activities that damage fishery resources and the ecological environment, such as electric fish, poisoned fish, and fried fish.
Local people's governments at or above the county level in the Yangtze River Basin shall, in accordance with relevant state regulations, do a good job of compensation, conversion of production and social security for fishermen returning from catching fish in key waters of the Yangtze River Basin.
Ma Yi believes that the ecological environment of the Yangtze River Basin has been severely damaged, leading to the functional extinction of baiji, white sturgeon, and shad; Chinese sturgeon, Yangtze sturgeon, and Yangtze finless porpoise are extremely endangered, rare and endemic species are in full decline, and economic fish resources are nearly exhausted. .
In order to solve the problem of "no fish" in the Yangtze River, the Yangtze River Protection Law, starting from the integrity and system of the river basin, proposes the establishment of a river basin coordination mechanism, strict planning and control, standardizing resource utilization, preventing water pollution, promoting water ecological restoration, and encouraging green development. A series of measures.
Keyword 4: control sand mining
Delimit sand mining areas and prohibited sand mining periods according to law
The "Yangtze River Protection Law" stipulates that the state establishes a sand mining planning and permit system in the Yangtze River Basin.
Sand mining in the rivers of the Yangtze River Basin shall obtain the permission of the relevant watershed management agency of the water administrative department of the State Council or the water administrative department of the local people's government at or above the county level.
The relevant river basin management agencies of the water administrative department of the State Council and the local people's governments at or above the county level in the Yangtze River Basin delimit sand mining areas and periods when sand mining is prohibited, and strictly control sand mining areas, the total amount of sand mining, and sand mining vessels in the sand mining areas. Quantity.
It is prohibited to engage in sand mining activities in the areas where sand mining is prohibited and during the period when sand mining is prohibited in the Yangtze River Basin.
Zhou Jinfeng, secretary-general of the China Green Development Council, believes that sand mining is first of all serious damage to the aquatic ecology and has a great impact on the biodiversity of the Yangtze River, especially the benthic organisms. Secondly, sand mining changes the natural hydrological characteristics and excessively affects the river. Sand mining has intensified water erosion, and even caused embankments to collapse, affecting flood safety.
Chen Dongming, deputy director of the Policy and Regulations Department of the Ministry of Water Resources, said that the Ministry of Water Resources will work with relevant departments and local governments along the river to formulate the "Regulations on the Management of Sand Excavation in River Courses"; strictly implement the licensing system and continue to carry out joint law enforcement against illegal sand mining. action.
Keyword 5: flood control
Promote the construction of dikes and flood storage areas
The "Yangtze River Protection Law" proposes that relevant departments of the State Council and local people's governments at all levels in the Yangtze River basin should take measures to speed up the danger-removal and reinforcement of dangerous reservoirs, promote the construction of dikes and flood storage and detention areas, raise the standards of flood prevention projects, and strengthen joint dispatch of water projects , Carry out river sediment observation and river regime investigation, establish flood prevention and disaster mitigation engineering and non-engineering systems that are compatible with economic and social development, and improve the overall ability to prevent floods and droughts.
Chen Dongming said that in the next step, the Ministry of Water Resources will strengthen the construction of the Yangtze River flood control system, speed up the risk elimination and reinforcement of dangerous reservoirs, the construction of main and tributary dikes and flood storage and detention areas, strengthen river regime control and comprehensive river management, and improve flood disaster prevention engineering standards; at the same time; , Strengthen the construction of a comprehensive monitoring station network based on the hydrological station network, optimize the layout of the station network, strengthen river sediment observation and hydrological and rain monitoring, forecasting and early warning, and optimize the joint operation of the main and tributary control water projects with the Three Gorges Reservoir as the core.
Key words 6: pollution prevention
The Protection Law clarifies the control of total phosphorus emissions in the Yangtze River Basin
The Yangtze River Protection Law proposes that the provincial people’s government in the Yangtze River basin should supplement the formulation of local water pollutants for characteristic industries and specific pollutants that do not have national water pollutant discharge standards, or specific water pollution sources or water pollutants specifically required by the state. Emission standards shall be reported to the competent department of ecological environment under the State Council for the record.
Bie Tao explained that the "Yangtze River Protection Law" clarified that the Yangtze River Basin controls the discharge of total phosphorus. Phosphate rock, phosphate fertilizer, phosphorus chemical industry and related tailings are all prominent problems in the Yangtze River Basin.
At the same time, restrictive regulations and related penalties have been proposed for the problem of illegal transfer and dumping of hazardous waste across administrative regions that has been prominent in the Yangtze River Basin in recent years.
The environmental risks of key pollution sources affecting groundwater should be investigated and assessed, the transportation of hazardous chemicals in the Yangtze River Basin should be strictly controlled, and local governments should be required to formulate stricter ecological and environmental protection standards.
The "Yangtze River Protection Law" proposes to impose more severe penalties on the basis of the existing "Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law" for illegal activities such as phosphorus-related excessive discharge.
In addition to the penalties imposed by the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, the penalties have been increased, and new penalties have also been proposed, including prohibiting the construction of chemical projects and chemical parks, and newly renovating and expanding tailings ponds.
The violation of the law and the occupation of construction shall be punished by the competent departments of environmental protection and resources, with a fine of up to 5 million yuan, and may be reported to the government for closure according to law.
Keyword 7: Improve water quality
The main stream reaches Class II water quality for the first time, but problems still exist
The "Yangtze River Protection Law" proposes that the state strengthens the protection of drinking water sources in the Yangtze River Basin.
The water administrative department of the State Council, in conjunction with relevant departments of the State Council, formulates a directory of drinking water sources in the Yangtze River Basin.
The water administrative department of the people's government at the provincial level in the Yangtze River Basin, in conjunction with the relevant departments of the people's government at the same level, formulates a list of other drinking water sources in the administrative area.
The local people's governments at or above the county level in the Yangtze River Basin and their relevant departments shall rationally arrange the intakes of drinking water sources.
The Danjiangkou Reservoir Area and the local people’s governments at or above the county level in the upper reaches of the Danjiangkou Reservoir shall, in accordance with the management requirements of the drinking water source safety guarantee area, water quality impact control area, and water conservation ecological construction area, strengthen the overall protection of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes and grasses, and enhance water conservation capacity to ensure The water quality is stable and up to standard.
Bie Tao said that for the first time in the Yangtze River Basin, the inferior Grade V water quality was completely eliminated, and the main stream reached Grade II water quality for the first time.
But we are also soberly aware that there are still some outstanding problems.
For example, the task of treating urban and industrial pollution is still onerous.
In some places, the environmental infrastructure has a lot of debts. The effect of pollution reduction in the treatment of black and odorous water bodies and industrial pollution is still uncertain, and the effect needs to be further consolidated.
The prevention and control of agricultural non-point source pollution urgently needs a breakthrough.
Keyword 8: repair
Ecological restoration should use funds where it should be used
The "Yangtze River Protection Law" proposes that the state implements a systematic governance of the ecosystem of the Yangtze River Basin that focuses on natural restoration and combines natural restoration and artificial restoration.
The competent department of natural resources of the State Council, in conjunction with relevant departments of the State Council, prepares the ecological environment restoration plan for the Yangtze River Basin, organizes the implementation of major ecological environment restoration projects, and coordinates the promotion of various ecological environment restoration work in the Yangtze River Basin.
Wei Lihua, Director of the Department of Regulations of the Ministry of Natural Resources, explained that the "Yangtze River Protection Law" set up a special chapter to clearly stipulate the ecological protection and restoration system of the Yangtze River Basin, and established that the state shall implement natural restoration as the mainstay of the Yangtze River Basin ecosystem, and natural restoration and artificial restoration shall be compatible. Integrated governance principles.
In terms of ecological protection and restoration, the Ministry of Natural Resources will carry out research on major issues of ecological protection and restoration in the Yangtze River Basin, including investigations on the natural environment background and changes in the Yangtze River Basin, and research on the water balance of the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
At the same time, in conjunction with relevant departments, organize the preparation of the Yangtze River Basin ecological environment restoration plan, and organize the implementation of major ecological environment restoration projects in the Yangtze River Basin according to the plan.
"Because ecological restoration is a very expensive thing, through planning, the state's funds should be used where it should be used." Wei Lihua said.