Uncovering the truth about "Ten thousand mu of Dunhuang acres of protection forests were shaved down"
The central ecological and environmental protection inspector has gone to the scene to investigate
All Media Reporter of the Rule of Law Daily Jianrong Jianrong Zhao Zhifeng
In the past ten years or so, Dunhuang has “continued to encounter large areas of'shaved head' logging, and 10,000 acres of public welfare shelter forests have been cut and sawed.” If this is true, it is extremely vulnerable to the ecological environment of Dunhuang City, Gansu. It is undoubtedly a devastating disaster.
On January 20, as soon as a media report with this core content was published, it immediately appeared on the hot search.
And Liu Changgen, who has recently assumed the post of deputy governor of Gansu Province, also led the investigation team to Dunhuang City for investigation and verification.
On January 26, the Gansu Provincial Government held a press conference to disclose the results of the provincial government's investigation.
Guo Chunwang, deputy secretary-general of the Gansu Provincial Government, pointed out at a press conference that after comparison and analysis of satellite remote sensing data over the years, no large-scale reduction of forest land has been found since 2000.
It is worth noting that in the investigation conclusions of Gansu Province, the illegal issues of Dunhuang Feitian Ecological Industry Co., Ltd. were publicly exposed.
According to a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily, as early as 2016, when the first round of central environmental protection inspectors and the second round of central ecological and environmental protection inspectors were stationed in Gansu Province in 2019, the inspection team received multiple reports about Feitian, and the inspection team will also The report shall be forwarded to the local authorities for investigation.
The investigation team revealed that the Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Supervisory Office has also sent personnel to Dunhuang to conduct an independent investigation in response to the "10,000 mu of protection forests in Dunhuang being shaved down." The results of the investigation will also be announced.
No significant reduction in forest land has been found since 2000
Established in 1963, Yangguan Forest Farm was originally a forest farm owned by the whole people.
In 2000, the total operating area of Yangguan Forest Farm was 25,700 mu, of which the shelter forest area was about 6,500 mu, the garden area was 3270 mu (including about 3,000 mu of vineyard land), and the other land was about 15,900 mu (including living land and unused land).
The survey results of the Gansu investigation team show that in 2006, in order to improve the operating efficiency of the forest farm and solve the livelihood problem of the forest farm employees, the forest farm was restructured into a self-income and self-supporting institution, and the enterprise management was implemented. The 3283 acres of vineyard land surveyed on the All contracted management methods are contracted to forest farm employees.
In the process of restructuring, 21 acres of vineyard land was newly reclaimed to accommodate 3 laid-off workers, and the area of vineyard land increased to 3304 acres.
The investigation team said that in 2007, Yangguan Forest Farm cooperated with Dunhuang Wine Industry Co., Ltd., Dunhuang Feitian Ecological Industry Co., Ltd., and Yongdeng Bibo Industry Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Dunhuang Wine Industry Company, Feitian Company, and Yongdeng Bi Park Company) signed a forest land contract and leased 5000 acres of forest land to these three companies.
The lease contract is clear that the company must strengthen forest management and maintenance to ensure the sustainable development of forest land.
"However, in actual work, because the lessee did not strictly fulfill the responsibility of forest management and protection, the quality of the forest was lowered. From 2014 to 2017, Yangguan Forestry Farm terminated the contract with three lease companies and took back Feitian Company and Yongdengbi. The 3000 acres of woodland leased by the company; and 1433 acres of woodland leased by the Dunhuang Wine Company." The investigation team said that during the lease period, from 2009 to 2012, the Dunhuang Wine Company converted 567 acres of woodland into 400 acres of vineyard land and 167 acres. Mu Zaoyuan has not yet been recovered.
The crux of the question is what kind of changes have been made in the area of forest land in Yangguan Forest Farm, and has there been any substantial reduction?
In this regard, the investigation team pointed out that according to the 2000 survey data of Dunhuang City, the Yangguan Forest Farm actually had an area of 6,500 mu of shelter forest that year.
After comparison and analysis of satellite remote sensing data over the years, no large-scale reduction of forest land has been found since 2000.
Guo Chunwang said that satellite remote sensing data from 2018 to 2019 show that there are 3 suspected forest damage plots with an area of about 42.98 mu within the forest farm. After on-site verification, the Yangguan Forest Farm has carried out infrastructure reconstruction, new sandstone roads and U-shaped irrigation canal, laying pipelines and irrigation lines.
"According to the latest satellite remote sensing data, the area of existing shelter forests in the Yangguan Forest Farm area is 6,979 mu." Guo Chunwang said that the "more than 20,000 mu of forest land" reported by the media is actually the management area of the forest farm, and "13,000 mu of ecological forest area. "In fact, it includes arbor forest land, shrub forest land, nursery land, vineyard land and part of unfforested forest land, as well as roads, water areas, construction land and other forest farm production and living land.
The satellite images provided by the investigation team show that the management area of Yangguan Forest Farm can be roughly divided into two major areas: the southwest and the northeast. “This 13,300 acres of forest land is actually this area in the southwest. The forest farm has only 6,000 acres of shelter forest for a long time. , Are basically located in the southwest area of the forest farm." Guo Chunwang said.
There is no threat to the ecological environment of Dunhuang
Destroying public welfare forests to plant grapes on a large scale is one of the focal issues reported by the media. In this regard, the investigation team of the Gansu Provincial Government also conducted an investigation.
According to the investigation team, since the 1970s, in order to improve the economic income of employees and accumulate funds for forest management and protection, the employees of the forest farm have introduced and screened fruit tree varieties, including grapes, for promotion and cultivation according to local climatic conditions. Fruit tree varieties have become the main source of income for farmers in the forest farm area.
The investigation team said that according to the investigation, in 2006, when the forest farm was contracted and restructured, there were 3304 mu of vineyard land.
Through the comparison of satellite remote sensing data, the area of vineyards did not change from 2006 to 2011.
In 2012, the Dunhuang Wine Company, which leased the forest land, built 400 acres of vineyards through the reconstruction of the dilapidated forest.
So far, the forest farm has 3704 mu of vineyard land.
Since 2013, the vineyard area has not increased.
At the same time, the investigation team also consulted three national land survey data. Among them, the "First Adjustment" in 1999 showed that Yangguan Forest Farm had 1,488 mu of irrigated land and 2,688 mu of orchards, totaling 4176 mu; the "Second Adjustment" in 2009 showed that Yang Guan Forest Farm has 2 mu of irrigated land and 4452 mu of orchard, totaling 4,454 mu; the “Three Adjustments” in 2019 showed that the forest farm has 19 mu of irrigated land and 4706 mu of orchard, totaling 4,725 mu.
From 1999 to 2019, the area of irrigated land and orchards increased by 549 mu.
The investigation team pointed out that after deducting land occupation factors such as roads, ditches, and ridges, the land survey data and satellite remote sensing data comparison data are basically the same.
Guo Chunwang said that on-site investigations and access to satellite images did not reveal the cutting down of trees to reclaim vineyards.
Regarding the changes in the public welfare forests of Yangguan Forest Farm, the investigation team pointed out that in the national public welfare forest zoning work carried out in 2004, the forestry department identified the national key public welfare forest area of Yangguan Forest Farm as 5,500 mu.
"In the national public welfare forest demarcation work carried out in 2013, because most of the national key public welfare forests of Yangguan Forest Farm are about 50 years old, they are naturally aging and dead. According to the standards of the "Gansu Province Forest Land Delimitation Implementation Rules" (2012) The 5,500 acres of forest land in the forest farm no longer meets the national-level public welfare forest definition standards.” The investigation team said that after the former Provincial Forestry Department organized experts on site surveys, all the national public welfare forest compensation scopes were transferred and listed as local public welfare forest management.
"This is a loss for Yangguan Forest Farm, because the national public welfare forest compensation is gone after the transfer." Guo Chunwang said that in recent years, through strengthening the construction of afforestation and reforestation projects, especially the planted shrub forest part has reached As for the forest standard, Yangguan Forest Farm is striving to be included in the national public welfare forest.
While clarifying that the grape planting area has not expanded, the investigation team also specifically mentioned the ecological impact on Dunhuang.
According to the survey team, the area of Dunhuang City is 31,200 square kilometers, mainly desert landforms.
However, there are two oasis, Dunhuang and Yangguan, which are about 70 kilometers apart, with a total area of about 1,400 square kilometers, of which Yangguan Forest Farm is a small part of Yangguan Oasis.
The investigation team said that in order to ensure the objective and truthfulness of the investigation, Gansu Province specifically requested the Satellite Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment to carry out satellite remote sensing monitoring and analysis of the Yangguan Oasis.
Data from the Satellite Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment shows that since 2009, the area of Yangguan Oasis and vegetation conditions have not changed significantly.
The operation behind Feitian puts pressure on the government
Judging from the situation notified by the Gansu Provincial Government, subsequent hidden dangers caused by illegal renting etc. continue to occur.
The investigation team pointed out that in 2007, Yangguan Forestry Farm leased 5000 acres of forest land to three companies including Dunhuang Wine Company.
“However, the examination and approval procedures for the forest land leased by the forest farm are not standardized enough, and the contract text is not complete, especially after the lease management has not kept up, resulting in ineffective woodland renovation and tending during the lease period.” The investigation team said, especially the Feitian Company for the development of fish farming. In the industry, flood control dams, Moon Lake, Jiulian Lake and 13 flood control dams have been implemented in Xitugou upstream of Yangguan Forest Farm. The Xitugou River was blocked and rerouted, causing the overflow springs in the lower section of the river to be blocked by wind and sand. Water for agricultural production and ecological irrigation in the downstream Yangguan Forest Farm.
The investigation team pointed out that some of the projects implemented by Feitian Company were located in the Yangguan Nature Reserve and the Yangguan Site, which violated the relevant regulations on the protection and management of nature reserves and cultural relics and constituted illegal construction activities.
These issues are reflected in the feedback opinions of the Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Inspectorate and the National Audit Office of the provincial party committee and the provincial government's main leaders' economic responsibility audit and natural resource asset outgoing (in-service) audit.
Guo Chunwang said that in recent years, the divergence between Feitian's own development interests and the interests of the masses and ecological protection requirements has become more prominent, and conflicts and disputes have appeared. The provinces and cities have organized working groups to investigate and guide problem rectification and conflict resolution. The demands are too high, resulting in the inability to completely resolve the contradiction, and the problem has not yet been rectified.
The relevant person in charge of the Dunhuang Municipal Government revealed to a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily that this media report was the result of Feitian's operation behind the scenes, and the purpose was to put pressure on the government to obtain higher compensation.
At the same time, the investigation team also found that the Yangguan Forest Farm has cut the aging and dead Xinjiang poplar trees in some areas and replanted shrub species such as Haloxylon ammodendron and Tamarisk. This has led to a decrease in the area of arbor and shrubs. The area has increased, especially during the lease of forest land, that is, between 2007 and 2017, the area of arbor decreased by more than 1,000 mu.
The investigation team said that based on the on-site investigation, when Yangguan Forest Farm hired workers to harvest aging and dead trees some time ago, due to the lack of strict management of the forest farm, individual workers violated regulations and saw more than 10 roadside trees that were not completely dead. , There are obvious traces of live wood on the saw section.
Two rounds of inspectors transferred to Feitian company several times
In the "Dunhuang 10,000 mu of ecological forest being shaved down", Feitian's problems are far more than those disclosed by the investigation team.
According to the reporter of the Rule of Law Daily, during the first round of central environmental protection inspectors in 2016 and the second round of central ecological and environmental protection inspectors in Gansu Province in 2019, they received multiple reports about Feitian.
Among them, the first round of central environmental protection inspector transfer in 2016 involved 8 complaints about Dunhuang Feitian Company, and the second round of central ecological and environmental protection inspector feedback in 2019 involved 1 item from Dunhuang Feitian Company and 2 complaints related to transfer of petition. .
In the first round of 8 petitions and complaints about Feitian Company transferred by the Central Environmental Protection Inspectorate, there was a complaint: “Dunhuang Feitian Ecological Industry Company dug mouths for drinking water in the lower reaches of Xitugou without authorization, destroying Yangguan irrigation water, and artificially changing the original situation. There are waterways, which caused the rainy season floods to inundate the Yangguan site (antique beach), the ancient tombs of the Han Dynasty in Xitugou and other provincial cultural relic protection areas, destroying the natural topography of the Gobi, causing serious dust and severe damage to the ecological environment." The inspection team thoroughly investigated the approval procedures of Feitian Company's construction project, saying that this related project did not solicit the opinions of nearby residents, and the person in charge of the company falsely reported to the government the achievements of sand control and took the shelter forest planted by the local people as his own.
There are also complaints saying: “Yangguan is located on the edge of the Kumtag Desert, and the ecological environment itself is fragile. Since He Yanzhong, a native of Yongdeng County, came to Yangguan in 2006, he has engaged in'desert Dujiangyan' in the name of greening, wind prevention and sand control, and tourism development. ,'Desert Great Wall' and'Desert Eco-Tourism Scenic Area Project' fraudulently obtained state funds and illegally constructed the Yangguan Cultural Relics Reserve and the upper reaches of Xitugou, causing devastating damage to the natural ecological environment and historical and cultural heritage."
The Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Inspector revealed that the complaint received during the first round of inspectors stated: “Dunhuang Feitian Ecological Industry Co., Ltd. built landscapes and changed flood discharge channels under the name of wind prevention and sand control, and introduced floodwater into the desert, so that a large area of Xitugou river was covered by reservoirs. The landfill of sand in the Mutag Desert caused massive deaths of tens of thousands of mu of woodland, grapes and other vegetation such as river wetlands, Yangguan forest land, Erdun Village, Longle Village, etc., and destroyed the natural and armored Gobi topography, causing serious dust. Residents move; since 2013, companies have used media public opinion and the support of certain provincial leaders to reverse black and white, conceal the top and deceive, and have not resolved it. The relevant departments are required to thoroughly investigate the matter and hold relevant personnel accountable in accordance with the law."
In 2019, the second round of central ecological and environmental protection inspectors once again stationed in Gansu Province and received another report on Feitian.
In the second round of the central ecological and environmental protection inspector’s feedback to Gansu Province and the transfer of petitions and complaints, it was clearly stated: “The inspector has learned that in 2007, Dunhuang Feitian Ecological Industry Co., Ltd. built a so-called'flood diversion dam' to develop aquaculture. The Xitugou River was closed and rerouted. Due to the long-term dry-off of Xitugou, the overflow springs in the lower section of the river were blocked by wind and sand, and the sand accumulation in the river was serious. Some rivers changed from more than 10 meters deep to less than 2 meters. Changes have taken place. More than 1,700 trees died in the downstream Henan Forest Farm due to lack of water, and people’s irrigation water has been reduced. Complaints have continued over the years. Jiuquan City and Dunhuang City have not dared to deal with violations of laws and regulations in nature reserves. The problem will not be resolved by the day of the inspection."
The Gansu Provincial Government pointed out that Dunhuang’s historical and cultural status is extremely important, and the ecological environment is extremely fragile. It is even more important and urgent to protect Dunhuang’s ecological environment.
Gansu Province will put forward rectification measures in response to existing problems, consolidate rectification responsibilities, ensure that comprehensive rectification is in place, and deal with relevant responsible persons seriously in accordance with laws and regulations.