Chinahadcompletedsettingecologicalconservationredlinesnationwide,theMinistryofNaturalResources(MNR)announcedduringanactivityheldontheWorldEarthDayrecentlyinFuzhou,southeastChina"sFujianprovince.

Theredlinescoverareasthatareecologicallyvitalandvulnerableandhaveimportantpotentialecologicalvalue.Theseareasmustbeputundermandatoryandrigorousprotection.

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PhotoshowsapicturesqueviewoftheJinheGrandCanyonlocatedintheLesserHingganMountainsinHeihecity,northeastChina"sHeilongjiangprovince.(People"sDailyOnline/WeiJianshun)

Chinatooktheleadinproposingandimplementingtheredlinesystemforecologicalconservation.

Thecountryhasputnolessthan3.15millionsquarekmofitsarea,includingnolessthan3millionsquarekmoflandarea,andnolessthan150,000squarekmofseaarea,undertheecologicalconservationredlines.

Ithasformulatedrulesandimplementedstrictmeasurestostrengthenmonitoringandcontrolofareascoveredbytheredlines,achievingeffectivemanagementandcontrolofecologicalredlineareas.

"Theecologicalconservationredlinesarethebottomlinesandlifelinesforsafeguardingnationalecologicalsecurity,"saidZhangBing,anofficialwiththeMNR.

FengWenli,presidentoftheChinaLandSurveyingandPlanningInstitute,saidChinahasmadegreatprogressineconomicandsocialdevelopmentsincethelaunchofreformandopening-up,butecologicalproblemshavebecomeprominentbottleneckshinderingsocio-economicdevelopmentduetoecosystemdegradationandthedeclineincapabilityforthesupplyofecologicalproducts.

Photoshowsblackstorks,ararebirdspecies,inMengzicity,HongheHaniandYiautonomousprefecture,southwestChina"sYunnanprovince,Feb.18,2023.(People"sDailyOnline/LuZhong)

"SettingandstrictlyapplyingredlinesforecologicalconservationisamajorstrategicdeploymentmadebyChinaandanimportantinstitutionalinnovationinitsecologicalprogress,"Fengsaid.

AsthemaindepartmentresponsibleforChina"secologicalconservation,theMNR,togetherwithdepartmentsincludingtheMinistryofEcologyandEnvironmentandtheNationalForestryandGrasslandAdministration,organizedtheassessment,adjustment,anddemarcationofecologicalconservationredlinesandcompletedsettingthelinesforthefirsttimeaccordingtothenationalterritorialspaceplanningoutline(2021-2035)andrelevantplansattheprovincial,municipalandcountylevels.

InHarbincity,northeastChina"sHeilongjiangprovince,around10,700squarekm,orabout20percentofitsterritorialarea,isdemarcatedwithintheredlines,includingmajormountainrangessuchastheLesserHingganMountainsandtheZhangguangcaiMountains,aswellasthemainstreamandtributariesoftheSonghuaRiver,otherrivers,lakes,wetlandsandotherareas,withthemainaimofimprovingecologicalfunctionsincludingwaterandsoilconservation,watersourceconservationandbiodiversitypreservation.

JiamusicityinHeilongjiangputsover12percentofitsterritorialareaundertheprotectionoftheredlines,includingareasthatarecriticalinenvironmentalfunction,ecologicallysensitiveandvulnerable,aswellasnaturalprotectedareasthatincludenationalparks,naturereservesandnaturalparks.

SouthwestChina"sYunnanprovincehasnolessthan113,200squarekm,orover29percentofitsterritorialareaintheecologicalconservationredlines.Theprovince"sprotectedareas,excludingsomeareasofscenicareasthere,arewithintheredlines,with15typicalecosystemsincludingthetropicalrainforestecosystembeingsystematicallyprotected.Theredlinescoverthehabitatsandmigrationchannelsofmorethan90percentofkeystate-protectedplantsand80percentofkeystate-protectedanimalsinYunnan,furtherimprovingthefunctionofecosystems.

PhotoshowsapicturesqueviewinanationalparkinHongyuancounty,southwestChina"sSichuanprovince.(People"sDailyOnline/LiuGuoxing)

FengsaidtheecologicalconservationredlinesmainlycovertheecologicalshieldareaofQinghai-TibetPlateau,keyecologicalareasalongtheYellowRiver,keyecologicalareasalongtheYangtzeRiver,northeastforestbelts,northernsandpreventionbelts,hillyareasinsouthChina,andcoastalareas.Theredlinescovertypicalterrestrialecosystemtypesincludingmostofthenaturalforests,grasslandsandwetlands,typicalmarineecosystemssuchasmangroves,coralreefsandseagrassbeds,aswellasthevastmajorityofuninhabitedislands.

Noratiotargetsofareashavebeenpresetduringtheprocessofdrawingtheredlines.Insomeprovincial-levelregions,theecologicalredlineareasaccountformorethan50percentoftheregions"territorialareasandinotherprovincial-levelareas,thatpercentageislessthan10percent,saidFeng.

Atpresent,provincialregions,includingZhejiang,Jiangxi,Shanghai,Shandong,AnhuiandSichuan,haverolledoutdetailedrulesforthecontrolsoftheecologicalconservationredlines.TherestofChineseprovincialregionsaresolicitingpublicopinionforsimilarrulesorareabouttointroduceonestostrengthenthesupervisionoftheredlines.

"Tostrictlyenforceecologicalconservationredlines,weneedtoimprovelong-termmechanisms,"Zhangsaid.

HeaddedthattheMNRwillfosterstrongercollaborationbetweentheministryandlocalgovernments,regularlyconductconservationperformanceevaluationsoftheredlines,strengthenthecapabilitiesfordynamicmonitoringandearlywarning,acceleratetherevisionofrelevantlawsandregulationsandincreasepublicity,soastobuildamodernChinawherehumanityandnatureexistinharmony.