CCTV News (Focus Interview): The Yellow River is the mother river of the Chinese nation. Protecting this mother river is a thousand-year plan related to the great rejuvenation and sustainable development of the Chinese nation. In order to promote ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin on the track of the rule of law, on April 1, 2023, following the Yangtze River Protection Law, my country's second river basin law, the Yellow River Protection Law, was officially implemented. Now, it has been more than a year since the Yellow River Protection Law was implemented, and the ancient Yellow River is quietly changing.
From the source of the Sanjiang River to the mouth of the sea, the ancient Yellow River has been rejuvenated with new vitality in the past year.
Li Xiaojing, first-level inspector of the Policy and Regulations Department of the Ministry of Water Resources: "In the past year since the implementation of the Yellow River Protection Law, the ecological flow rate of the main stream and main tributaries of the Yellow River has all reached the standard, and the ecological flow and ecological water level compliance rate of key rivers and lakes is more than 90%. Ecological flow and ecological flow The water level is a minimum value set to maintain the basic ecological security of healthy aquatic life in rivers and lakes. In order to strengthen the ecological protection and restoration of the Yellow River Basin, the Yellow River Protection Law also specifically stipulates the ecological flow and ecological flow of important river sections and lakes. Water level protection system.”
On April 1 last year, following the Yangtze River Protection Law, my country's second major river basin law, the Yellow River Protection Law, was officially implemented, providing a strong guarantee for promoting ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River basin, and also providing a means for punishing crimes that damage the mineral resources of the Yellow River. legal weapons.
While in custody, the defendant Yang studied the "Yellow River Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" and realized the importance of ecological protection of the Yellow River. This is the first case in the country where the Yellow River Protection Law was applied to punish crimes of damaging the mineral resources of the Yellow River after the implementation of the Yellow River Protection Law.
Li Xin, President of the Criminal Tribunal of Zhengzhou Railway Transport Court: "River sand is a precious non-metallic mineral resource in our country. Illegal sand mining disrupts the dynamics of the Yellow River water flow, aggravates the siltation of the river, changes the morphology of the river bed, and increases the number of Flood control hazards have also had an irreversible impact on the aquatic life environment of the Yellow River."
In 2023, as the court with centralized jurisdiction over environmental resource cases in the Yellow River Basin in Henan Province, the two-level Zhengzhou Railway Court concluded 784 cases, involving soil and air pollution, ecological environment damage compensation, repairing damaged ecology, and combating illegal fishing and endangering wildlife. Animals and plants, deforestation and other illegal crimes. The Yellow River Protection Law is a basic, comprehensive and guiding special law for the Yellow River Basin. In 2021, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Outline Plan for Ecological Protection and High-Quality Development in the Yellow River Basin", which clearly pointed out the shortcomings and weaknesses of the development of the Yellow River Basin. The biggest contradiction in the Yellow River Basin is water shortage, the biggest problem is ecological fragility, the biggest threat is floods, the biggest shortcoming is insufficient high-quality development, and the biggest weakness is insufficient development of people's livelihood.
Li Xiaojing: “The Yellow River is one of the most difficult rivers to manage in the world. Historically, it has breached twice every three years and changed its course once every century. Flood disasters have affected Tianjin in the north and Jianghuai in the south. The Yellow River has less water and more sand, and the relationship between water and sand is inconsistent. Coordination. The average water resource of the Yellow River over the years is less than one-seventh of that of the Yangtze River, accounting for only 2% of the country. Water resources are scarce, but the Yellow River basin supports 15% of the cultivated land and 12% of the population. In response to these special problems of the Yellow River, With the river as the link, water as the core, and the basin as the basis, we should establish a set of legal systems that are in line with the water conditions and conditions of the Yellow River Basin, and promote ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin on the track of the rule of law."
It is a characteristic of the Yellow River Protection Law to be problem-oriented and provide special institutional measures to address various outstanding issues in the Yellow River Basin. For example, water shortage in the Yellow River Basin is unavoidable, so water conservation is imperative. Water conservation is also an inevitable choice for the future high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin.
Binzhou is an area with severe water shortage. Yellow River water is the main water source for Binzhou irrigation. How to maximize the benefits of the limited Yellow River water is the top priority of the current Yellow River diversion work. Farmland irrigation technology has been improved in several major irrigation districts in Binzhou. The water supply department must grasp water demand in real time, monitor water supply progress, and implement precise water distribution.
In September 2019, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the symposium on ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin that water should be used to determine cities, land, people, and production, and water resources should be regarded as the largest Rigid constraints. In response to the biggest contradiction of water shortage, the Yellow River Protection Law makes comprehensive provisions on total water consumption control, mandatory water quotas, and water resource allocation project construction.
Zhao Lin, Director of the Rural Water Conservancy Division of the Shandong Provincial Department of Water Resources: "To do a good job in the 'Four Waters and Four Determines', we strictly supervise canal water and actively carry out water-saving renovations in projects. Based on the development and utilization of water and land resources in the province and the matching of water and land resources, we determine The goal of developing the province’s irrigation area by 2035 has been achieved.”
"Four Waters and Four Certainties" are rigid constraints for the conservation and intensive use of water resources. The entire Yellow River Basin must strengthen measures such as agricultural water conservation and efficiency improvement, industrial water conservation and emission reduction, and urban water conservation and loss reduction. The Yellow River Protection Law contains 17 "expressly prohibited" clauses, 10 "no" behavior clauses, and 16 "strict" control and restriction clauses. These are red lines that cannot be crossed.
Li Xiaojing: "The Yellow River is short of water resources. The development and utilization rate of the Yellow River water resources has reached 80%, and there are still problems with extensive water use. For this reason, the General Secretary proposed to implement the maximum rigid constraints on water resources in the Yellow River Basin. How many soups and bubbles are there? How many buns, that is to say, the water resources in an area are overloaded, which means that the water consumption has exceeded the carrying capacity of the area, which is what we often call water resources overdraft. In addition to domestic water and other guarantees, new water withdrawal permits It will not be approved."
The scope of application of the Yellow River Protection Law is not the 795,000 square kilometers of the traditional natural watershed. Instead, based on the needs of ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin, it covers 439 county-level administrations in 9 provinces, 72 cities, and lake catchment areas. area, totaling 1.32 million square kilometers. The Yellow River Protection Law stipulates 82 responsibilities of local people's governments at or above the county level, making it one of the laws that stipulates the most responsibilities of all parties.
The Yellow River water flowing out from Qinghai meanders in Linxia, Gansu Province, and then enters Lanzhou. In the past two years, after comprehensive and detailed investigation, there are 874 drainage outlets on the main stream and tributaries of the Yellow River in Linxia. Most of them are stormwater drainage outlets or abandoned drainage outlets, but there are also 30 drainage outlets mixed with domestic sewage. The environmental protection department has traced the source of all sewage outlets and carried out rectification one by one according to the source of the sewage.
The sewage collected through the pipe network enters the sewage treatment plant for treatment. In order to improve the effectiveness of sewage treatment, sewage treatment plants in eight counties across Linxia Prefecture have been upgraded.
Han Zhenze, person in charge of the Yanguoxia Sewage Treatment Plant in Linxia Prefecture, Gansu: "The COD (chemical oxygen demand) we import is 95.28 mg per liter, and the ammonia nitrogen is 28.53 mg per liter. The effluent ammonia nitrogen can reach 0.14 mg per liter, and the COD (chemical demand) Oxygen content) can reach 13.31 mg per liter, which is the national Class A treatment standard."
There is also a water quality monitoring station where the Yellow River water flows out of Linxia. The monitoring here is automatic and cannot be intervened by humans.
In terms of sewage treatment, it is stipulated that local people's governments at or above the county level in the Yellow River Basin should organize inspections and rectifications of sewage outlets in rivers and lakes in their respective administrative regions, identify responsible entities, and implement classified management. This clarifies the boundaries of powers and responsibilities in legal form and strengthens the government's regulatory responsibilities.
Li Shenggang, deputy director of the Ecological Environment Bureau of Linxia Prefecture in Gansu Province: "Territory management is to implement the responsibility to protect the soil and the responsibility to protect the soil. The goal is to ensure the environmental quality and provide the people with a better and more beautiful production and living environment. We ensure that better water quality is delivered to the downstream .”
The Yellow River Basin is a unique, complete, complex, and huge social and ecological system. A law for a large river basin must strengthen the overall concept to ensure that "one blueprint is drawn to the end." Collaborative cooperation across regions and provinces, ecological water replenishment, ecological protection compensation, etc., have become legal and inevitable actions.
Peng Cheng, deputy director of the Water Regulation Division of the Shandong Yellow River Bureau: "The ecology of the Yellow River Delta has suffered serious damage, with shrinking river channels, degradation of wetlands, and seawater intrusion. Water is an important factor in ecological factors, and the improvement of the ecological environment cannot be separated from the improvement of water resources. To ensure this, the Shandong Yellow River Conservancy Bureau of the Yellow River Conservancy Commission will take the initiative to carry out ecological water replenishment in the Yellow River Delta every year.”
In the past, ecological water replenishment was relatively passive, mainly before the flood season. The Yellow River Protection Law clearly puts forward overall requirements for ecological water replenishment and maintenance of ecological functions of the estuary. Not long ago, Shandong Province formulated local regulations "Shandong Province Yellow River Protection Regulations" in accordance with the Yellow River Protection Law, which further refines and clarifies the positioning, paths and measures for ecological protection of the delta. With on-demand water replenishment and scientific management, the delta wetland has not only been well restored, but has also become larger and wider.
The Yellow River is the birthplace of the Chinese nation and gave birth to Chinese civilization. The Yellow River Protection Law stipulates specific measures to protect, inherit and promote the Yellow River culture in the form of a legal system. After the implementation of the Yellow River Protection Law, many areas along the Yellow River are acting in accordance with the law to protect and inherit the Yellow River culture.
There is a manor in Jiyang District, Jinan, Shandong Province. It is a Ming Dynasty building, which relatively completely displays the ancient architectural culture and historical style of the Yellow River Basin. However, due to wind and rain erosion and inadequate management and protection, there are hidden dangers such as house damage and wall collapse in the manor. After receiving the clues, the Jiyang District Procuratorate filed a case for review in accordance with the law and issued pre-litigation procuratorial recommendations to relevant administrative agencies.
One year after the implementation of the Yellow River Protection Law, the results have been seen. Governing according to the law and protecting the mother river with the power of the rule of law is becoming the practice of hundreds of millions of people. However, we must also see that problems such as water shortages, ecological fragility, flood threats, and insufficient high-quality development still exist, and are still prominent in some places. Under the escort of the Yellow River Protection Law, if we stick to our goals and work hard over time, the Yellow River will surely become a happy river that benefits the people.