Promote the high-quality development of wetland protection with the power of “law”

The staff introduced the planning status of Dulan Lake National Wetland Park to the inspection team.

The inspection team checked the wetland protection brochure and management ledger on site.Photo by Qinghai Daily reporter Qiao Xin

Wetlands are known as the “kidneys of the earth”. For thousands of years, wetlands have built the green space of China. From rivers, lakes and seashores to plateau deserts, they exist in an important but low-key manner, containing vitality and infinite scenery. The wetland area of ​​Qinghai Province is 7.1239 million hectares, accounting for 12.64% of the total wetland area in the country, ranking among the top in the country. The importance of protecting wetland resources is self-evident.

Based on this, the Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress has regarded the enforcement inspection of the Wetland Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Wetland Protection Regulations of Qinghai Province as a “highlight” of the People’s Congress supervision work this year. For this purpose, a law enforcement inspection team was specially set up. From June to July this year, it went to Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Hainan Mongolian Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and Goluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture for on-site inspections, and entrusted other city, state (county) and district people’s congress standing committees to conduct on-site inspections. Inspections will be carried out in this administrative area to achieve full coverage of law enforcement inspections.

Through on-site inspections, random inspections, reporting discussions, information review, etc., the law enforcement inspections focus on inspecting the publicity of laws at all levels of government and the formulation of supporting regulations and standards, the implementation of legal responsibilities for wetland protection and law enforcement and judicial situations, wetland protection and rational utilization, Repair status, and at the same time, through inspections to understand the main problems and causes existing in the implementation of laws and regulations, further promote the implementation of laws and regulations, and continuously build a solid national ecological security barrier.

Promote legal education and publicity

Accelerate the construction of a wetland protection system

Since the promulgation of the Wetland Protection Law in 2022, the Standing Committee of the Qinghai Provincial People’s Congress immediately organized an implementation symposium to promote the good publicity, implementation and implementation of the Wetland Protection Law. Cooperate with the Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau and other relevant units to carry out publicity month activities with the theme of “protecting wetlands in accordance with the law and promoting the harmonious coexistence of man and nature” to widely publicize and interpret laws and regulations among cadres and the masses. At the same time, we use opportunities such as World Wetlands Day, Bird Love Week, and Wildlife Publicity Month to launch wetland protection initiatives, tell the story of “people and wetlands” through publicity brands such as “Environmental Protection Century Tour”, urge the publication of wetland nature education books, and comprehensively use ” “Newspaper, screen, Internet, micro and terminal” platforms have increased publicity efforts from all aspects and angles, continuously improved public participation, and formed a good atmosphere for the whole society to care about, support and participate in wetland protection work.

The province currently has 4 internationally important wetlands, Qinghai Lake Bird Island, Zhaling Lake, Eling Lake and Longbaotan, 19 national wetland parks, 32 provincially important wetlands, and the first batch of 13 small and micro wetlands. National parks and wetland nature reserves have independent wetland management agencies, and national wetland park management agencies are being continuously established and improved.

Through the inspection, the members of the inspection team had a more comprehensive understanding of the main situation and results of the province’s implementation of “one law, one regulation” for wetland protection: In 2014, important wetland monitoring and evaluation work was launched, and important international wetlands, wetland nature reserves, The National Wetland Park carries out systematic monitoring and evaluation; in 2018, a peat swamp carbon bank survey was launched to basically identify the area and reserves of peat swamps in the province, providing data support for promoting “double carbon” work; in 2020, the Qinghai Provincial Wetland Expert Committee was established to adopt The “wetlands + scientific research institutes (universities) + experts” model will be used to carry out research on important wetland resource monitoring and protection and restoration technologies; in 2021, a wetland monitoring network with full coverage will be formed to carry out wetland monitoring and evaluation on a regular basis to provide real-time information on the province’s Wetland resources and wetland ecological evolution… All work is within the scope of the “One Law, One Regulation” for wetland protection and is subject to its supervision.

　Improve laws and regulations

Implement legal responsibilities in detail

The Standing Committee of the Qinghai Provincial People’s Congress insists on taking laws and regulations as the criterion, in accordance with legal responsibilities, within the legal scope, abiding by legal procedures, and closely following legal regulations, and promotes the legal system of wetland protection to become a rigid constraint and an untouchable high-voltage line. As early as 2013, Qinghai Province innovatively promulgated the “Qinghai Province Wetland Protection Regulations” and successively formulated Qinghai Province Wetland List Management Methods, Grassland Wetland Ecological Manager Management Methods, Wetland Park Management Methods and Important Wetland Occupation Management Methods (Trial) and other rules and regulations, drafted and compiled the “Qinghai Province Wetland Protection Plan” and the “Overall Plan for Wetland Protection and Restoration in the Yellow River Qinghai Basin”, and issued wetland monitoring technical regulations, important wetland identification design specifications, provincial important wetland identification general rules, and small and micro wetland identification Specifications, Huangshui Basin Aquatic Plant Breeding Technical Regulations and other local standards, Qinghai Province National Wetland Park Franchise Management Methods, Wetland Violation Issues Rectification and Cancellation Work Methods, National Wetland Park Wetland School Identification and Evaluation Methods are being drafted to continuously improve Qinghai characteristics Wetland protection regulations and standards system.

Members of the inspection team believe that forestry and grassland departments and relevant units at all levels have jointly carried out work related to wetland protection, restoration and management according to the division of responsibilities, promoting the transformation of wetland protection from general protection to refined management and protection. It is particularly worth mentioning that Qinghai Province has established a cooperation mechanism for administrative law enforcement and public interest judicial cooperation in the field of wetland protection. Since the implementation of the Wetland Protection Law, the provincial procuratorial organs have handled 16 wetland ecological environment and resource protection cases. Various regions have strictly controlled the use of wetlands, and have successively carried out special rectification activities such as digging fields to build lakes, digging lakes and landscaping, illegal construction and illegal occupation of important wetlands, and resolutely investigated and punished illegal occupation of wetlands; through measures such as “bypass, avoidance, and reduction”, the maximum Minimize the impact of project construction on the wetland ecological environment.

“The Environmental Resources Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress and the provincial forestry, public security, natural resources, ecological environment and other departments jointly carried out special projects such as the comparison and rectification of wetland protection laws and regulations, special rectification of wetland resource violations and crimes, and the investigation and rectification of illegal occupation of national wetland parks and other natural protected areas. Actions have been taken to severely crack down on, investigate and deal with illegal and criminal activities, and have achieved remarkable results, effectively protecting the safety of wetland resources.” After the law enforcement inspection, the research report stated.

Pay close attention to shortcomings and weaknesses

Improve wetland protection capabilities

Wetland protection is a long-term systematic project. In view of the reality that wetlands in Qinghai Province are mostly distributed in ecologically sensitive areas such as river source areas and plateau oases, and wetland protection and restoration tasks are heavy, involve a wide range of areas, require large investment, and have a long construction period, the Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress insists that the quality of the ecological environment “can only The bottom line of “better, not worse” clearly requires governments at all levels to adhere to a problem-oriented approach, make up for shortcomings in work, and promote high-level wetland protection and high-quality development to complement each other.

When reviewing the law enforcement inspection report, members of the Standing Committee suggested that departments at all levels in the province should unswervingly move in the direction guided by General Secretary Xi Jinping, comprehensively and effectively implement the Wetland Protection Law and Wetland Protection Regulations, and more comprehensively and effectively implement the Wetland Protection Law and Wetland Protection Regulations. Protect wetland ecosystems on the track of the rule of law, help create a highland of ecological civilization, and build a modern society where man and nature coexist harmoniously.

——Strictly implement legal responsibilities for wetland protection. Start the revision of the “Qinghai Province Wetland Protection Regulations” as soon as possible, further strengthen the construction of relevant supporting laws and regulations, and improve the responsibility system and working mechanism. Deeply implement the National Wetland Protection Plan (2022-2030), accelerate the preparation and implementation of provincial wetland protection plans, and adhere to the integrated protection and systematic management capabilities of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass and sand. Further rationalize the wetland management system and mechanism, consolidate the main responsibilities of wetland protection and management, implement the legal responsibilities of the government and its relevant departments item by item, improve the total amount of wetland management and control, confirmation and registration of wetlands, wetland inventory and classified protection, Important systems such as dynamic monitoring assessment and early warning ensure the implementation of wetland protection goals and management tasks.

——Effectively increase wetland protection and restoration efforts. Make full use of relevant policy dividends, make every effort to promote the implementation of national ecological protection and restoration plans such as the “Master Plan for the Protection and Restoration of Important National Ecosystems (2021-2035)”, and focus on the key layout of the “dual” plan to actively strive for the national wetland Wetland protection projects such as protection projects and central financial subsidies. Continue to increase provincial fiscal capital investment, encourage local governments to coordinate multi-level and multi-field funds, strive to form a multi-investment guarantee mechanism with fiscal priority guarantee, financial focus tilt, and active social participation, and continue to increase the construction of wetland protection and restoration projects. Launch an expert consultation system for wetland protection, strengthen scientific and technological support for wetland protection, integrate modern scientific and technological means such as the Internet of Things, big data, satellite remote sensing, and artificial intelligence, scientifically carry out special research on the restoration of alpine degraded wetlands, and explore nature-based solutions for wetland protection and restoration. Plan to support high-quality development of wetland protection.

——Promote the rational utilization of wetland resources in an orderly manner. Adhere to the people-centered development concept and adhere to the combination of protection and utilization in accordance with the law, so that the people can enjoy green waters and green mountains. Develop an ecological benefit compensation mechanism that is compatible with the ecological role of wetlands and the level of economic development, and form spatial protection for wetlands through various methods such as relocation, immigration, and hiring of caretakers. Protecting wetlands is for long-term development, and rational utilization is for better protection. We will further improve the rational utilization policy of wetlands and encourage the development of eco-tourism, ecological education, natural experience and other activities that meet the requirements of wetland protection. Actively explore the “protection priority, separation of management and economics, franchise, and shared development” mechanism of national wetland parks and other natural reserves to give full play to the ecological, production and cultural functions of wetlands.

The law enforcement inspection has come to an end, but the topic of “wetland protection” is only in progress, not completed. The Standing Committee of the Qinghai Provincial People’s Congress will continue to strengthen follow-up supervision, tell “environmental protection stories” while promoting the rule of law, promote the concepts of green development and ecological civilization construction, improve the environmental awareness and concept of the rule of law in the whole society, and use the power of “law” to promote Wetland protection and high-quality development.

(Editors: Kuang Yu, Liu Peiran)

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