【Beautiful China·Network Media Ecology Tour】The grassland is richer and the herdsmen are richer
——Interview Record of Grassland Ecological Supplementary Award in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia
The grassland ecological protection subsidy and reward policy is the most extensive coverage of grassland and pastoral areas in my country and a policy of benefiting the grass and the people that involves the most farmers and herdsmen.
The reporter conducted in-depth interviews with the Grassland Ecological Observation Station, the local forest and grass bureau and herdsmen's families in Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and learned about the rich practice of grassland ecological compensation from scientific evaluation to implementation, and benefiting grass and people.
Grassland ecological supplement, allowing herdsmen to choose grass to fix livestock
On July 21, the reporter participated in the "Beautiful China · Online Media Ecology Tour" activity and came to the National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Hulun Buir Grassland Ecosystem in Hailar District.
Yan Ruirui, deputy head of the grassland station, introduced that the Sheltala Ranch where the grassland station is located is the hinterland of the Hulunbuir meadow grassland, and it is an area with the most complete and typical preservation of native vegetation.
The grassland station carried out experiments on the sample plot of Sheltala Ranch, established a calculation model of grassland carrying capacity in this area, and obtained the optimal plan to achieve the balance of grass and livestock.
"There is a specific model for the balance of grass and livestock. We must first determine how many livestock can be raised in a certain area of grassland. There is a formula here."
Yan Ruirui introduced to reporters how the grassland ecology changed under different grazing intensities before the experimental site.
"This area with 3 cows has a grazing pressure of 0.34 cattle units per hectare, and this area with 8 cattle has a grazing pressure of 0.92 cattle units per hectare. As you can see, this area with 3 cattle has a grazing pressure of 0.92 cattle units per hectare. The grass grows well in the field, the biodiversity of pasture is relatively high, and there are many local dominant Leymus chinensis, and medicinal plants with ecological value such as windbreak and Bupleurum all appear in this moderately grazing area. The gray wormwood appeared in the grassland with 8 cows, which is an indicator species of grassland degradation." The reporter looked in the direction she pointed, and the grass in the grassland with 3 cows was indeed more lush. Go greener.
Yan Ruirui also used two pastures for comparison.
In the group with 3 cows, the cows were grazing leisurely in front of the reporters, looking fat and strong, while in the group with 8 cows, the cows all went far away.
Yan Ruirui explained: "Why do you think this cow is fat? The grass in this area is delicious grass, and there is enough water, so it will not be hungry. Generally, it will be full after walking 4 kilometers a day. If All that is left is the degraded grass, which is not palatable. The cow doesn't like to eat it. It has to find delicious grass. It has to walk seven or eight kilometers a day, and it has been in a state of semi-starvation. , I can't afford to gain weight."
"In addition, according to the actual situation of the herdsmen, we use animals to determine the grass. Some herdsmen have already raised so many livestock at home, so they need to calculate how much grassland they need. If the natural grassland is not enough, they have to replant a certain area of artificial grassland. The purpose is also to achieve a balance between grass and livestock. The replanted grassland can also provide certain feed resources for livestock in winter.” Yan Ruirui added.
In the end, she concluded: "Grassland has both ecological functions and production functions. It is impossible to use grasslands if they are not used, and it is impossible to overuse them. The balance between grass and livestock is to put grass and livestock on the two ends of a scale, and let the grass and livestock be placed at the two ends of the scale according to the standard we calculated. If the balance is balanced, the grassland can be used sustainably on the premise of protecting the ecology, which will better benefit the lives of herdsmen."
The reporter listened to her example explanation and understood the balance of grass and livestock.
But questions also arise spontaneously: "When you go out and talk to the herders about these more advanced concepts, what is their attitude?"
Yan Ruirui replied: "The herdsmen said, 'We don't have grass, so we definitely hope we have so much grass, raise more animals, and earn more money to increase our income'. But then the national and local policy support came up, and the herdsmen's awareness also increased. It has improved and can accept our local standards. After implementing the standards, they also realized that it is not that the more livestock raised, the higher the income. Taking a family ranch we regularly monitor as an example, they reasonably reduced the number of livestock , so that the output of the pasture and the production capacity of livestock have been improved. Moreover, he raised less and his own investment was also small, so he could develop some tourism on the premise of protecting the ecology, and he could also benefit from the grassland ecological compensation policy. In this way, the income of the whole family has been greatly improved than before. From the perspective of ecology, production and life, this is a benign development.”
"If there is no ecological reward, the herdsmen will definitely use more pastures to raise more animals. But the state has given policy support, and the herdsmen's concept has gradually changed." Yan Ruirui said.
The reporter learned that Yan Ruirui's team participated in the formulation of the local grassland ecological compensation policy.
Their dynamic monitoring of grassland and measurement of grassland carrying capacity provided a scientific basis for grassland ecological compensation policy.
The grassland ecological supplementary award promotes the return of cultivated grassland to grassland
On July 22, the reporter came to Gacha in Sumuburi Capital, East of the Sini River in the Ewenki Autonomous Banner, to learn about the implementation of the local policy of returning farmland to grassland and grassland ecological compensation.
Su Lixin, deputy director of the Forestry and Grass Bureau of the Ewenki Autonomous Banner, introduced that the reclaimed grasslands in this banner were reclaimed in the 1980s. Now, in accordance with the "Grassland Law", reclaimed grasslands with serious soil erosion, desertification trends, and the need to improve the ecological environment are required to be reclaimed. Grassland, return farmland to grassland in a planned and step-by-step manner.
Su Lixin introduced: "In our ecological restoration work this year, we have dispatched more than 400 people from various departments to form a joint force, patrolling more than 3,400 plots of farmland and grassland every day, and successfully completed this year's restoration task. The land is mainly planted with alfalfa and oat grass, and the current amount of alfalfa has reached 220,000 mu, and the amount of oat grass has reached 240,000 mu.”
"A large part of the cultivated grasslands are contracted and managed by herdsmen, and some are collective grasslands." Su Lixin said, "The grassland ecological compensation is divided into grazing prohibition and grass and animal balance. The herdsmen who signed the letter of commitment, the grassland reached According to the standard, they can enjoy the grassland ecological protection subsidy and reward given by the state every year. The grassland management guards, the comprehensive law enforcement bureau of the township and the comprehensive law enforcement team under the Forestry and Grass Bureau conduct random inspections of the areas where grazing prohibition and the balance of grass and livestock are implemented every year. As a result, subsidies will be issued, and penalties will be imposed if there is overloading or other violations of the law. From 2015 to 2020, our grazing prohibited area is a total of 800,000 mu, with a subsidy of 13.75 yuan per mu, and the balance of grass and livestock is 12.2 million mu. The subsidy is 4.58 yuan.”
The standard of grazing prohibition subsidy determined by the central finance is 7.5 yuan per mu, and the standard of reward for the balance of grass and livestock is 2.5 yuan per mu.
In order to ensure that the grassland grazing prohibition measures are put in place, various localities can make differentiated calculations and formulate standards for grazing prohibition subsidies and grass-animal balance incentives based on actual conditions.
According to Su Lixin, Ewenki Banner implements the compensation standard calculated by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
"The central government has designated the grassland ecological supplementary award as a round every five years, and now it is the third round. The central government also takes into account the development of the social economy, and the supplementary award funds are more than one round."
"After returning farmland to grassland and ecological restoration, the herdsmen's pastures and forage varieties have improved, and the output has also increased, which is of great help to the herdsmen's animal husbandry production. So now the herdsmen can fulfill their responsibilities according to the letter of commitment they signed." Su Lixin said.
Grassland ecological supplements ensure the stability of herdsmen's income
After finishing the interview with Su Lixin, the reporter walked into a herdsman's house next to him.
The exterior walls of this family's house are painted a beautiful lake blue. There are vans and several motorcycles parked beside the two yurts in the courtyard, and several large pasture machinery are placed outside the courtyard.
The owner of the house, Baraboul, told reporters: "My pasture has been in operation since my father's generation. It covers an area of more than 3,300 mu and is a large pasture." Sure enough, this is a "big family".
According to Baraboul, his pasture has an area of more than 1,000 mu of grazing prohibition and an area of 2,200 mu of grass and livestock balance, that is, all pastures have applied for grassland ecological supplementary awards.
The reporter asked him: "Will this affect your family's income?" Balabur replied: "The income from the prohibition of grazing is still high, and it is more than 2 yuan per acre for grazing, and more than 13 yuan per acre of grazing prohibition is reported. And after the grazing ban, the quality of the pasture has improved, and there are many kinds of grass growing."
When asked about the livestock breeding situation, Barabul said that he raised more than 50 cattle and hundreds of sheep.
Last year, the price of livestock dropped due to market reasons, but thanks to the grassland ecological compensation, his family did not suffer much loss.
In the past few years, the harvest of the dry grassland was not good, and thanks to the subsidies, the income was stabilized.
The rain has been good in the past two years, and the grass has grown taller and more harvested.
Their family of five earns more than 200,000 yuan a year.
"The grassland ecology has improved in the past few years." Balabur pointed to a slope in the distance and said, "It used to be all white sand, but now pine trees are planted. It's very good, and it took two or three years. time.” The reporter saw the sloping land he was referring to, and the old white sand could still be seen under the sporadic turf, most of which were covered with dark green vegetation.
After a few days of interviews in Hulunbuir, the reporter saw the beauty of the grassland and the lush vegetation, and learned from the herdsmen that their lives are getting better and better.
The grassland ecological compensation policy has effectively promoted the protection of grassland ecology, the improvement of farmers and herdsmen's life, the transformation and sustainable development of grass and animal husbandry production, and is an important measure to achieve a win-win situation for ecological production and life in pastoral areas. The vivid practice of the concept of harmonious coexistence is making positive contributions to the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy and the construction of a beautiful China.
(Kong Xiangrui)