Green Peacock VS Hydropower Station: A Game Between Ecological Protection and Economic Development
Behind the nation's first preventive public interest litigation for the protection of endangered wild animals
Our reporter Liu Huang, Wan Yan Wenhao, Pang Mingguang
Li Xinggui, who is thin and dark-skinned, holds a half-meter-long hookah in his arms, aligning his mouth at the top of the bamboo tube from time to time, and inhaling fiercely.
Speaking of the refund of the compensation for land acquisition of the hydropower station, he still expressed a trace of regret in his words: for the green peacock, who had not been seen for many years, he looked at the village's more than 4 million yuan in compensation and "flyed away like a duck to his mouth."
This villager group of only 17 households belongs to Xiangyang Village, Zhelong Township, Xinping County, Yunnan Province. It is only known to the outside world because of its proximity to the green peacock habitat.
The villagers claim to support the green peacock protection action, but the actual benefits of hydropower station construction are more attractive, and they still have more entangled bends than refunds.
"According to the national policy, we must keep the green peacock; according to our idea, we must definitely want to get compensation. However, this matter will have to listen to the court in the end!" Li Xinggui's wife added.
On August 19, the country's first preventive public interest litigation for the protection of endangered wild animals-the Yunnan Green Peacock Habitat Protection Case, the second instance was heard in the Yunnan Higher People's Court.
This tug of war that lasted more than three years is about to usher in the final judgment.
On March 20 this year, the Kunming Intermediate People's Court made a first-instance judgment: the defendant, China Hydropower Consulting Group Xinping Development Co., Ltd. ("Xinping Company") immediately stopped construction of hydropower stations based on existing environmental impact assessments.
Both the plaintiff and the defendant disobeyed the judgment and appealed one after another.
The plaintiff Beijing Chaoyang District Friends of Nature Environmental Research Institute ("Friends of Nature") appealed and ordered the construction of the Jiasa River I Hydropower Station to be permanently suspended, completely eliminating major risks to the survival of rare species such as green peacocks.
From the inundated area of the hydropower station to the habitat of the green peacock, it reflects the conflict between local economic development and the construction of ecological civilization, and how to find a balance point in the game is indeed worth thinking about.
Reluctant to refund the "huge" compensation
On the morning of August 7th, the reporter came to the dam site of the hydropower station near Shuitang Town, Xinping County. It can be seen that at the foot of the mountain on the opposite bank, the diversion tunnel has been built, and several mechanical equipment are scattered on the construction site. Along the knee-less bank of the weeds, the gabion nets wrapped with stones are opened.
According to the initial plan of the hydropower station, the first unit will run to generate electricity in August this year. After the water is stored, it will inundate part of the river valleys of Xinping County and Shuangbai County.
Three years ago, an environmental public interest lawsuit on the grounds of protecting green peacocks attracted great attention from all walks of life and forced the construction of hydropower stations to abruptly cease.
"The three village committees of Long Township involved in the inundation area, more than 24 million yuan in land compensation, were put on the village account for 3 months, and they were returned in May last year." Qi Yun, party secretary of Zhelong Township, told reporters.
According to the compensation standard at the time, Li Xinggui's family could be allocated 200,000 yuan, which is undoubtedly a huge sum of money compared to the annual income of 20,000 yuan from growing flue-cured tobacco and walnuts. 10 years ago, he owed 100,000 yuan in favor of farmers for building a house. Now, every three years, he still needs to collect money from relatives and friends to repay the loan afterwards.
"I am old and have no skills. No one wants to go out to work", the wife interjected. The economic conditions in the village are almost the same, "the family is not rich."
According to Wang Dingzhou, director of the Xinping County Development and Reform Bureau, the approved total investment of the Cansa River I Hydropower Station is 3.887 billion yuan. The "Xinping Company" has completed an investment of 1.225 billion yuan through the account monitored by the development and reform department. Among them, compensation for land acquisition and resettlement is 192 million yuan.
As of the end of July 2017, the county has completed the signing of land acquisition and requisition agreements for the inundation area and the pivot project area, which are 8279.21 mu and more than 2,000 mu respectively, and 2 households of 9 persons have been relocated.
"At that time, the common people had agreed. Because the funds were not in place, they had to sign a contract while requisitioning land and proceed step by step." said Xu Chunwen, director of the Reservoir Immigration Office of the Development and Reform Bureau.
According to Zhao Xingyou, deputy general manager of "Xinping Company", after the suspension of construction of the hydropower station in August 2017, land acquisition compensation payments involving Yuxi and Chuxiong have been frozen at 90 million yuan and 80 million yuan respectively.
Another 19 million yuan of compensation has been distributed to the local villagers. “From the perspective of protecting state-owned assets, this money must be recovered. Of course, the compensation must be compensated for the actual occupied or damaged land.” Zhao Xing Have said.
Due to poor traffic conditions, Li Xinggui went out of the village for a few hours' drive at every turn, and family motorcycles became standard equipment. Villagers’ daughters often get married, but it is difficult for daughter-in-law to marry in.
In the past two years, due to the downturn in the market, sometimes the walnut planting cannot even be paid back. The township is considering introducing deep-processing enterprises. "It's too remote here, and the logistics cost is particularly high." Qi Yun said.
“Foreigners talk about Yunnan with beautiful mountains and clear waters, but we are short of water here, and it gets drier year after year. It is necessary to protect the ecology, but also to consider people’s lives.” Xie Xinggui, secretary of the Xiangyang Village Committee Office Said with emotion to the reporter.
Several local cadres sat together, chatting all the time. What is interesting is that none of them has ever seen the green peacock, the protagonist in the topic.
Li Xinggui, who hadn't seen a green peacock for more than 10 years, recalled, "This guy is very good, and he flies far away when there is a movement, where no one lives."
Compared with these missing green peacocks, the villagers who guard the mountains and live their lives in poverty seem to value the "huge amount" of compensation in front of them.
"When the money was returned, I really couldn't bear it. The villagers had a better life with money, and so would I." Xie Xinggui said frankly.
The confusing green peacock population
It was only 18 kilometers from Xiangyang Village to the river beach where the green peacocks reside, and the off-road vehicle ran for nearly two hours. The winding mountain road has a big turn for tens of meters. The mountains are high and deep outside the car window, and it is frightening to look down.
The turbid and red water of the Red River, known as the Lishe River and the Shiyang River, flows through Shuangbai County of Chuxiong Prefecture into Xinping County, Yuxi City, where it meets the tributary Lvzhi River and is called the Cansa River.
At the forestry management and protection station halfway up the mountain, a forest ranger wearing camouflage uniform walked out of the roadside sentry box and signaled the visitor to do the registration. The roadside was erected to protect the green peacock and the national first-level protected plant Chen's cycad warning sign.
The reporter finally arrived at an open river beach with weeds growing between the sand and gravel gaps, and the surrounding forest and grass showed no signs of damage.
Going upstream for dozens of meters, you can see the clear small rivers that flow into the red Shiyang River, and the intersections are distinct.
"There are more than 30 infrared cameras installed in this area, covering about 1,000 acres of woodland. Generally, green peacocks can be photographed in the evening." Wang Kaiming, the forest manager of Zhelong Township, pointed to a mountain forest on the right bank of Xiaojiang River and said that green peacocks like it. Sleeping on the big tree, going down to the river beach is mainly to play and find water.
According to Li Yongming, head of the Resource Management and Protection Unit of Xinping County Forestry and Grass Bureau, since 2017, the province has approved hundreds of thousands of yuan in special funds to install 106 infrared cameras. The Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences ("Kunming Institute of Zoology" for short) ") Provide support to carry out scientific research surveys on the green peacock habitat.
"Through two and a half years of infrared monitoring image analysis, experts said that small peacocks were found, indicating that the population is multiplying, but it is still unclear how many green peacocks in this area." Li Yongming told reporters.
A large sign in Shuangbai County on the opposite bank of the Xiaojiang River reads "You have entered the Dinosaur River Reserve...It is forbidden to illegally hunt wild animals and destroy wild animal habitats", indicating that it belongs to the border zone of Yuxi and Chuxiong.
The first-instance judgment of the case stated that the green peacocks mainly live in low-altitude areas of the Dinosaur River Nature Reserve, with a number of 50-70.
The Jiasa River I Hydropower Station has a total installed capacity of 270,000 kilowatts and a water storage level of 675 meters. "The limit of the Dinosaur River Reserve has been adjusted to 680 meters or more, which is 5 meters above the water level of the power station. However, some green peacock habitats will be submerged after completion." said Zhang Chengmin, director of the Xinping Branch of the Yuxi City Ecological Environment Bureau.
With the suspension of the hydropower station, Shuangbai County was held accountable for adjusting the boundaries of the reserve, and the original stock-level reserve was upgraded to the official level.
The green peacock is a native peacock in my country. It was once found in many provinces in the southwest. The Han Yuefu poem "The peacock flies southeast and wanders in Wuliyi" is the green peacock. From the bronze mirrors of the Tang Dynasty, the porcelain of the Song Dynasty to the official clothes of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there are green peacock elements.
Li Yongming told reporters that in the 1970s and 1980s, green peacocks were distributed throughout the county, mainly living in the middle of the mountains.
Xu Chunwen believes that, "Before, farmers could not fill their stomachs when farming at high altitudes, so they planted at low altitudes and went to graze around the mountains to compress the green peacock habitat."
Historically, human agricultural activities have always threatened the habitat of green peacocks. As farmers switch to sugarcane, citrus and other crops, the green peacock's food is gradually reduced. Coupled with hunting and using pesticides to coat seeds, the green peacock is hunted and killed, and the habitat continues to disappear.
According to the survey results of the "Kunming Institute of Zoology" from 1991 to 1993, green peacocks are only present in western, central and southern Yunnan, and the wild population is about 800-1100. In the survey conducted by Beijing Zoo Hua Rong and others from 2015 to 2017, the population of wild green peacocks in my country is about 235-280.
The statement that "less than 500 animals" are frequently cited in public information comes from a survey conducted by units such as "Kunming Animal Institute" from 2014 to 2017. Due to its endangered population, the wild green peacock is listed as my country's first-level national key protected animal.
The number of wild green peacocks, which are rumored to be rarer than giant pandas, seems a bit confusing. Even the environmentalists who photographed the green peacock and found its traces have different opinions on its population.
Ecological protection can be prevented, but no punishment
At the end of 2013, a survey of the monsoon forest in the Luju River Valley made Gu Bojian a "whistleblower" for the survival crisis of the green peacock.
This graduate student from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences paid attention to the green peacocks frequently mentioned by the local villagers and the planned hydropower station.
"Because the mid-levels are suitable for farming, the green peacock habitat has been compressed into the river valley. Once the hydropower station is built, the habitat will be submerged." Gu Bojian has responded to this in many ways, but with little success.
Until March 2017, this matter attracted the attention of Yunnan wildlife photographer Xi Zhinong. "Peacocks are very common in Yunnan people's impression, even me, a wildlife photographer, feels this way." Although he had photographed green peacocks as early as 2000, he did not attract much attention.
"I have ignored the green peacock for so many years. I feel that I am very dereliction of duty. I can only make up for it." He began to call for the protection of the "last intact habitat" of the green peacock, and united with environmental organizations such as "Friends of Nature" to give The Ministry of Environmental Protection issued an emergency letter of recommendation to stop the construction of hydropower stations.
During the period, two reports collected and written by reporters from Xinhua News Agency attracted the attention of high-level central authorities.
In July of the same year, the "Friends of Nature" filed an environmental civil public interest lawsuit, arguing that the construction of the hydropower station would inundate the green peacock habitat, and the "Xinping Company", the general contractor and the commissioned environmental assessment unit China Power Construction Group Kunming Survey and Design Institute The limited company sued the court.
In addition, the Chen's cycads in the submerged area have not been included in the world's cycads list during the environmental review and approval of the hydropower station. The EIA neither evaluated them nor adopted protective measures, so it became one of the focus of disputes in the case.
In the view of "Friends of Nature" Director-General Zhang Boju, "All the stamps that should be stamped for the environmental assessment procedures are covered, but the rare species have not attracted attention, which is a major omission."
"The iconic significance of the Green Peacock case is that it breaks through the traditional concept of remedy only if there is damage. In the past, this type of litigation was almost always after the event. This time it is upgraded to in-process or even before the event, which can reduce or avoid damage to the ecological environment." Zhang Boju told reporters in the Hualong Building office outside Beijing's North Third Ring Road.
"Once the ecosystem is destroyed, it is often irreversible, and important organisms may become extinct regionally. Even with hundreds of millions or even billions of compensation, it will not be able to restore to the previous state. If you want to treat the disease before it can be prevented, you will not pursue punishment. "Zhang Boju said.
Zhang Boju, born in 1984, recalled that when he first worked, he saw a forest being cut down and cried at the scene, but he couldn't solve the real problem and felt very powerless.
For a while, he quit his job to study, hoping to look at environmental issues from a public policy perspective.
“Solving problems is not just a confrontational approach. The nature of environmental problems is the management of public goods. From an economic perspective, how to use multi-party effective games to minimize external negative problems as much as possible.” Zhang Boju said.
From controversial EIA reports to silent expert groups, from impassioned environmentalists to cautious local officials, people have different attitudes around the "Yunnan Green Peacock Case", showing diverse interests.
Talking about the draft problem, Li Xinggui pointed to the water tower on the bungalow and told reporters that the water was brought in from Ailao Mountain, 26 kilometers away, "The weather has been too dry in the past 10 years."
"The villagers can only grow drought-resistant crops such as flue-cured tobacco. If a hydropower station is built, water will be more convenient, land utilization will be improved, and the climate will be wetter, which can bring benefits to the people." Qi Yun said.
For Xinping County, which has a population of less than 300,000 and whose main industries are mining and smelting, such large-scale projects are equally important to county economic development. "Xinping has no export industries, its consumer base is small, and its economy is underdeveloped. It is mainly driven by investment." A local official said frankly.
Wang Dingzhou initially estimated that Guang Xinping has no less than 50,000 people benefiting from the hydropower station.
"From a personal point of view, the advantages of hydropower stations outweigh the disadvantages. They can solve downstream flood control, agricultural irrigation, and drinking water problems. The surrounding villagers can develop planting and breeding." According to Wang Dingzhou, the Cansa River Hydropower Station has paid a total of 380 million yuan in farmland occupation tax and vegetation restoration fees in Xinping yuan.
Even if the project is dismantled, the aftermath is very tricky
A few days ago, the reporter came to Shuitang Town, Xinping County, and found the office of "Xinping Company" in a building with no sign on the outer wall facing the street. The owner of a nearby supermarket said that there are still people in and out of the building.
Not far away, on the outer wall of the third floor of the Jiacheng Hotel, a banner of "China Water Resources and Hydropower Eighth Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd." is hung. According to the data, this company has signed a contract for the construction of the Jiasa River I Hydropower Station.
"They have been renting out for 2 months. When the company was crowded, they rented six or seven rooms for office work, and now they are all empty." said the female owner of the Jiacheng Hotel.
In 2018, Yunnan Province issued a red line for ecological protection, covering most of the area inundated by hydropower stations. "The ecological red line is not adjustable, and there is almost no possibility of this project going down." Zhao Xingyou said.
The Jiasa River I Hydropower Station was established as early as 2006, and has since been approved by relevant national and provincial departments until the start of the diversion tunnel project in 2016.
According to Wang Dingzhou, as early as the 1990s, Xinping County planned 3 cascade hydropower stations on the Gasa River, two of which were cancelled due to various reasons.
In the past, in order to ensure power supply and power transmission from west to east, Yunnan accelerated the development of small hydropower. Xinping County has 1 river and 32 rivers of hydropower resources, and more than 20 small hydropower stations have been built one after another.
"Yunnan is rich in biodiversity. It is a good place to cut a piece of wood at random, and it is easy to cause ecological damage during development." Zhang Boju said.
In the first instance, "Xinping Company" argued: "It is very likely that the construction of the hydropower station will not continue. Therefore, the premise for the plaintiff to sue no longer exists."
Zhang Boju revealed to reporters that the other party still insisted on this opinion in the second instance, "but he could not produce factual evidence, nor did he provide relevant administrative documents that were included in the ecological red line, claiming that the failure to build is a high probability event."
In this regard, Zhang Chengmin explained to reporters: “The ecological protection red line was originally led by the environmental protection department and is now handed over to the Ministry of Natural Resources. At that time, the evaluation and adjustment of the ecological red line required specific management measures, including a positive access list and a negative list. At present. , What can and cannot be done within the red line? Many management contents need to be further clarified."
Zhang Boju believes, “If it really proves that there is no way to build it, we will lose the case. We can’t say verbally, and without any facts, let us withdraw the case or lose the case.”
In his view, if the hydropower station can be permanently shut down, the impact on the green peacock habitat will not be so great. “After all, the river has not been intercepted, nor has the reservoir been cleared and stored.” This is precisely the precautionary public interest litigation for the ecological environment. The value of relief.
Today, this hydropower station "waiting for the second instance verdict" has fallen into a dilemma. "Even if you don't do it, there are still a lot of aftermath work to be done, and the follow-up work is very tricky." Xu Chunwen said with emotion that after the project is stopped, the occupied 672 mu of land will be reclaimed for farmers.
"The rent has been paid for the temporary land, and the land has to be reclaimed. But the hillside cannot be restored to its original shape. For example, if you rented 50 acres, the reclamation may become 40 acres. Now it is a legacy issue." Wang Dingzhou said.
In addition, after the project was stopped, the flood control safety level of the downstream of the reservoir dropped sharply. Some planned development projects could not be implemented as planned, and the development of the downstream planting and breeding industry would be restricted.
Zhao Xing introduced that at the beginning the company borrowed 760 million yuan from CCB. After a three-year suspension of work, the interest was repaid 190 million yuan. Now CCB requires the company to pay off the principal and interest at one time. "The company has a huge loss!"
“Hydropower projects are first approved and ecological red lines are drawn later. It is also difficult for enterprises. I hope that the local government will support tax and fee refunds.” Zhao Xingyou said.
"Now, Yunnan Province has issued a document, the project must first do biodiversity evaluation, and then do the environmental assessment." Zhang Chengmin told reporters.
Nowadays, the dam site of the hydropower station stands awkwardly in the valley. No matter what the final judgment is, the loss is inevitable. Either the habitat is submerged and the green peacock loses its home; or the hydropower station is permanently shut down, and hundreds of millions of yuan in the early stage of the project have been thrown away.
However, many issues such as the quality of the environmental impact assessment and the approval of procedures, the risk control of major project investment, and the game of interests in different development stages caused by this case are worthy of reflection.