Comprehensively promote the modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature

Comprehensively promote the modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature

Lu Hao

On April 30, 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech when presiding over the 29th collective study of the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee, emphasizing the need to fully, accurately and fully implement the new development concept, maintain strategic focus, and stand by people and people. To plan economic and social development at the height of natural harmony and symbiosis. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech highly clarified the important position of ecological civilization construction in the overall development of the party and the country. We must study and understand it thoroughly, fully implement it, and strive to promote the modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

1. In-depth understanding of Xi Jinping’s ecological civilization thought, and correctly grasp the relationship between protection and development, and between man and nature

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has strengthened the Party’s overall leadership in the construction of ecological civilization, continued to promote theoretical innovation, practical innovation, and institutional innovation of ecological civilization, and proposed a series of new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. This is a major leap in our party’s theoretical understanding of ecological civilization construction, and it provides direction and fundamental guidance for promoting the construction of a beautiful China and realizing the modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization profoundly clarified the dialectical and unified relationship between protection and development in the process of human social development. In August 2005, Xi Jinping, then secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, pointed out when he went to Yucun to investigate, we used to say that we want both lucid waters and lush mountains, but also invaluable assets. In fact, lush waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. In 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping further elaborated on this concept: We want both lucid waters and lush mountains, but also invaluable assets; we would rather have lucid waters and lush mountains than invaluable assets; lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. In 2019, when General Secretary Xi Jinping participated in the deliberation of the Inner Mongolia delegation at the second session of the 13th National People’s Congress, he emphasized that just because economic development encounters a little difficulty, we should not start to spread the project, sacrifice the environment in exchange for economic growth, or even try to find ways to do it. Break through the red line of ecological protection. During the 29th collective study of the Political Bureau of the 19th Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that ecological environmental protection and economic development are dialectically unified and mutually reinforcing. Building an ecological civilization and promoting green, low-carbon and cyclical development can not only meet the needs of the people’s growing It can promote the realization of higher quality, more efficient, more equitable, more sustainable and safer development, and embark on a civilized development path with production development, affluent life and good ecology. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important exposition fully clarified the relationship between economic development and ecological and environmental protection, and revealed that protecting the ecological environment is the protection of productive forces, and improving the ecological environment is the development of productive forces.

Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization profoundly clarified the dialectical and unified relationship between man and nature in the development of human society. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that man is born of nature, and man and nature are in a symbiotic relationship. In August 2005, Comrade Xi Jinping wrote in the “Zhijiang Xinyu” column of “Zhejiang Daily” that we pursue the harmony between man and nature, and the harmony between economy and society. In May 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Marx that natural objects constitute the natural conditions for human existence. Human beings produce, live and develop in the interaction with nature. Human beings treat nature kindly, and nature will also give human beings. In 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping further pointed out at the seventh meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Commission that more and more human activities continue to touch the boundaries and bottom lines of natural ecology. It is necessary to maintain the safe boundary and bottom line for nature, and form a pattern of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important exposition fully clarified the relationship between man and nature as a community of life, and revealed that human development activities must respect nature, conform to nature, and protect nature.

The concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets and harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and has consistently adhered to it, fully reflects General Secretary Xi Jinping’s profound thinking on protection and development, and the relationship between man and nature, and on issues related to the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. The lofty spiritual realm of foresight and adherence to truth. Correctly handling the relationship between protection and development, as well as the relationship between man and nature, not only contains a major change in the concept of development, but also highlights the bottom line requirement of harmony between man and nature. We must continue to learn and understand the profound connotation of Xi Jinping’s ecological civilization thought, consciously take the important ideological viewpoints, important thinking methods and major work requirements contained in Xi Jinping’s ecological civilization thought as the fundamental compliance of natural resources work, and unswervingly and persistently promote ecological progress. Civilization construction.

2. Deeply comprehend the historic achievements and historic changes that have taken place in my country’s ecological civilization construction guided by Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, under the personal planning, deployment and promotion of General Secretary Xi Jinping, our party has made unprecedented efforts to build ecological civilization, and carried out a series of fundamental, pioneering and long-term work. The strength and effectiveness are unprecedented, and the construction of ecological civilization has undergone historic, turning and overall changes from the realization to the practice.

In recent years, Donghai County, Jiangsu Province has actively practiced the concept of “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”, and the ecological, economic and social benefits of wetland resources have gradually emerged. The picture shows the Xishuanghu National Wetland Park in Donghai County, taken on March 24, 2022. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Natural Resources Shao Guangming / photo

The concept of ecological civilization has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization accurately grasps the laws of development of human society, scientifically summarizes our party’s valuable experience in socialist modernization, stands at the strategic height of realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and based on the practice of ecological civilization construction in the new era, profoundly answers why the construction Major theoretical and practical issues such as ecological civilization, what kind of ecological civilization to build, and how to build ecological civilization. Contents related to ecological civilization have been written into the party constitution and constitution. The whole party and the whole society have continuously deepened their understanding of Xi Jinping’s thought on ecological civilization, especially the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and that mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass and sand are a community of life, and the awareness of environmental protection and green development has been significantly enhanced.

The institutional system of ecological civilization is being formed at a faster pace. The Party Central Committee and the State Council have successively issued the “Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of Ecological Civilization” and the “Overall Plan for the Reform of Ecological Civilization System” to establish and improve the property rights and paid use of natural resources assets, and a “multi-planning” land and space planning system. The natural reserve system with parks as the main body, the river and lake chief system, the forest chief system, the protection and restoration of natural forests and grasslands, wetlands, ecological protection compensation, environmental protection “Party and government responsibilities” and “one post with two responsibilities”, evaluation of ecological civilization construction goals A series of laws and regulations such as assessment and accountability. Reform and improve the resource and environmental management system. Formulate and revise a number of laws and regulations such as the Environmental Protection Law, the Land Management Law, the Forest Law, the Yangtze River Protection Law, and the Wetland Protection Law.

Ecological protection and environmental governance have been greatly enhanced. Coordinate the delineation of cultivated land and permanent basic farmland, ecological protection red lines, and urban development boundaries. Vigorously promote the economical and intensive use of resources, and the national energy consumption, water consumption and land consumption per unit of GDP have dropped significantly. Promote the optimization and integration of nature reserves and establish national parks. Formulate and implement overall plans for major national conservation and restoration projects for important ecosystems. Continue to carry out land greening. Strengthen the ecological protection and systematic management of the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and other major rivers and important lakes and wetlands, strictly control the reclamation, strengthen the protection and restoration of coastal zones, and implement special actions for the improvement of “blue bays” and the protection and restoration of mangroves. The three major action plans for the prevention and control of air, water and soil pollution will be implemented in depth. Strengthen the central supervision of ecological and environmental protection, and strengthen the supervision of natural resources law enforcement.

The quality of the ecological environment continued to improve. According to the third national land survey, from 2009 to 2019, the area of ​​lands with strong ecological functions, such as woodland, grassland, wetlands, rivers, and lakes, increased by 260 million mu. The area of ​​desertified and sandified land in the country continues to shrink. In 2020, the national forest coverage rate will increase to 23.04%, and the forest stock volume will increase to 17.56 billion cubic meters. Populations of some endangered species are steadily increasing. The proportion of national surface water with excellent water quality will increase from 61.7% in 2012 to 84.9% in 2021. In 2021, the proportion of days with good air quality in cities at the prefecture level and above will increase by 6.3 percentage points compared with 2015. In 2020, carbon emissions per unit of GDP will be Compared with 2005, it decreased by 48.4%. The achievements made in my country’s ecological civilization construction have won the heartfelt support of the broad masses of the people, and have also been widely recognized by the international community.

3. Fully understand the current challenges and problems faced by my country’s ecological civilization construction

At present, the construction of ecological civilization in my country still faces many contradictions and challenges. The foundation for the improvement of the ecological environment is not stable. The inflection point from quantitative change to qualitative change has not yet arrived. Compared with the people’s expectations for a better life, the quality of the ecological environment is Compared with the goal of building a beautiful China, and the requirements of building a new development pattern, promoting high-quality development, and building a modern socialist country in an all-round way, there is still a big gap.

From the point of view of the relationship between man and nature. Global climate change is causing accelerated melting of glaciers, rising sea levels, frequent extreme climate events, and human activities are seriously threatening biodiversity. According to the report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global surface temperature from 2011 to 2020 has risen by 1.09 °C compared with the period of the Industrial Revolution (1850-1900). Most scholars believe that it is related to cumulative human activities, especially carbon dioxide emissions. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences pointed out that from 1979 to 2017, the average annual melting ice body in Antarctica was about 400, 500, 1660, and 252 billion tons per decade, respectively. Several studies have shown that if carbon emissions are not controlled, global sea levels will rise significantly by 2100. Statistics from the China Meteorological Administration show that the number of (super) severe typhoons that landed in my country from 2000 to 2019 was more than twice that of 1980 to 1999.

From the perspective of the relationship between conservation and development. In some places, the relationship between the current and the long-term, and the choice and trade-off in development cannot be well handled, and the inertia of scale expansion still exists. In some places, the spatial development and protection pattern of territorial land is unreasonable, and the reclamation of arable land and the greening of the land are not compatible with the natural geographical pattern. The pressure of safe supply of natural resources and extensive utilization coexist, the situation of cultivated land protection is still severe, and there is still a great potential for economical and intensive use of land. The quality and stability of ecosystems and the scientific and systematic nature of ecological protection and restoration still need to be improved. Achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality is a daunting task.

Engels pointed out that we should not be too intoxicated with our human victory over nature. For every such victory, nature takes its revenge on us. Changes in nature, especially the bad changes caused by cumulative human activities, will inevitably bring disasters to mankind if they are allowed to evolve for a long time. We should insist on making choices and guarding the bottom line, control the unreasonable desire of human beings to demand from nature indiscriminately, guard the tangible and intangible boundaries of human activities, and limit the unreasonable behavior of human beings who make excessive use of nature, including some technically and engineering feasible but unreasonable behaviors. Acts that go against ethics and nature, minimize the destructive impact on nature, and truly build a harmonious and symbiotic relationship between man and nature.

4. Thoroughly implement Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, continuously improve the protection and utilization of natural resources, and promote high-quality development

The Ministry of Natural Resources is an important department in the construction of ecological civilization. We adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, earnestly implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions, and carry out a series of tasks to ensure that the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council are implemented and effective.

Promote the construction of major systems. Implement the top-level design of the CPC Central Committee, take the lead in drafting and submit to the Central Committee for approval and issuance of property rights of natural resources assets, land and space planning, overall delineation and implementation of three control lines, nature reserves system, ownership agency, secondary market for construction land, real estate registration, enclosure More than 10 major systems related to the construction of ecological civilization, such as marine management and control, ecological protection and restoration.

Strengthen major basic work. Explore the construction of a unified natural resource survey and monitoring system that comprehensively reflects information on four levels of underground resources, surface matrix, surface coverage, and management elements, and unify important classification standards for land and sea use in the field of natural resources. The third national territorial survey was completed, and special surveys such as basic surveying and mapping, coastline repair surveys, potential geological hazards, minerals, forests, and mangroves were carried out. New breakthroughs have been made in geological prospecting.

We will steadily advance major reforms. Promote the unified registration of natural resources in an orderly manner, carry out pilot projects for the entrustment-agent mechanism for ownership of natural resource assets owned by the whole people, explore the establishment of a mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products, and report to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on state-owned natural resource assets as entrusted by the State Council. The main functional area planning, land use planning, urban and rural planning, etc. will be integrated into a unified national land space planning, and the pilot program for the delineation of “three districts and three lines” in five provinces will be completed and rolled out nationwide. In-depth investigation and research on issues such as interest balance, market use, market regulation, market participants’ will, and farmers’ right to choose, put forward suggestions for steadily advancing the reform of rural collectively-owned commercial construction land into the market. Introduce policies to encourage and support social capital to participate in ecological protection and restoration. Reasonably increase the supply of residential land, optimize bidding rules, and fully disclose to the market various types of residential land stock information and important information about land parcels in the process of land transfer, so as to maintain market fairness. Fully implement the competitive assignment of mining rights, and promote the realization of an integrated system of oil and gas exploration and production based on technical principles. Combined with the integration of institutional reform functions, land, planning, surveying and mapping implement “multi-examination in one, multi-certificate in one, and multi-measurement in one”.

Remediate outstanding problems, strive to stop new problems, and properly handle problems left over from history. In response to problems such as “greenhouses”, the construction of “private manor houses” that damage the ecological environment, and the indiscriminate occupation of farmland to build houses in rural areas, the inventory and rectification are steadily promoted. In addition to major national projects, new reclamations have been strictly controlled. Since the implementation of relevant regulations in July 2018, the scale of illegal reclamation has dropped from hundreds of thousands of hectares in the past year to more than ten hectares in the past three years. At the same time, classify and deal with the problems left over from history. We have established a mechanism for linking construction land increment arrangements and digested stocks, and worked together with local governments to digest 13.72 million mu of land approved before 2018 and 4.36 million mu of idle land in the past four years.

In recent years, Chongqing has taken comprehensive land improvement as the starting point to coordinate the promotion of the system management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes and grasses and the construction of beautiful and livable villages. The picture shows that on August 25, 2021, the rice in the comprehensive land improvement project area of ​​Xinmin Village, Xipeng Town, Jiulongpo District ushered in a bumper harvest season. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Natural Resources Gong Anping / photo

Delve into big issues. Only by thoroughly understanding the technical logic can administrative decision-making have a scientific basis. For example, what are the major impacts of the retreat of glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the reduction of permafrost, and the increase in the thickness of the active layer on surface runoff and ecosystems? Is the grassland degradation in the Three-River Headwaters area caused by overgrazing and prohibition of grazing, or is it caused by a drop in groundwater level and soil drying caused by changes in the permafrost layer? In some places, the “little old poplar” problem is caused by the age of the trees, or the decline of the groundwater level due to the long-term accumulation of increased evapotranspiration and water consumption by planting trees where grass should be planted? and many more. Some related issues have achieved phased research results, and some are still under in-depth research.

We deeply feel that the current work still has many gaps and deficiencies compared with the requirements of the Party and the people. We must adhere to the spirit of the Party Central Committee and the position of the country, grasp the changes in national conditions, especially the differentiated national conditions under the same theme, and grasp the technical logic and administration. Unify the logic, grasp the order, rhythm and proportion of work, and promote high-quality development under the condition of keeping the bottom line, saving and intensive, and multi-objective balance.

Adhere to the bottom line of food, energy and mineral resources security. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that it is necessary to enhance the domestic resource production and security capabilities; the Chinese people’s rice bowls must be firmly in their own hands at all times. We must strictly abide by the red line of 1.8 billion mu of arable land, improve the protection intensity of all arable land, assign arable land protection tasks with locations, and ensure that the “number, line and map” are consistent. Strengthen and improve the balance system of arable land occupied by non-agricultural construction, and establish a new system of “balance in and out” of arable land converted to other agricultural land and land used for agricultural facility construction. Strengthen the domestic safe supply of strategic mineral resources, implement a new round of domestic prospecting for strategic minerals, adhere to and implement differentiated policies for mineral exploration and development within the ecological protection red line, actively promote “net ore” sales, and carry out pilot projects for land use reform for open-pit coal mining .

Continue to deepen the reform of territorial space governance. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that it is necessary to strengthen land space planning and use control, implement spatial control boundaries such as ecological protection, basic farmland, and urban development, implement the strategy of main functional zones, and delineate and strictly observe ecological protection red lines. With the goal of optimizing the development and protection of territorial space, we must establish a “one map” of territorial space planning that connects the five levels of the country’s provinces, cities, counties, and townships. Adhere to the “uniqueness” of land and space, and coordinate and solve the space needs and conflicts of various special plans on “one map”. The delineation of “three districts and three lines” lays an important foundation for the preparation of national territorial spatial planning. It is necessary to play the role of strategic guidance and rigid constraints on territorial spatial planning, and strictly abide by the three control lines. Formulate differentiated land and space use management and control rules, and reform the land approval system for major projects.

Comprehensively improve the level of resource conservation and intensive utilization. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that it is necessary to seize the source of resource utilization, promote total resource management, scientific allocation, comprehensive conservation and recycling, and comprehensively improve resource utilization efficiency. At present, the contradiction of land resource utilization is very acute, and the next 10-15 years will face greater challenges. It is necessary to take major innovative measures to vigorously promote the economical and intensive use of land. It is necessary to strictly control the newly added construction land in mega, super large cities and shrinking cities, comprehensively revise the land use standards for all walks of life, and significantly improve the level of economical and intensive utilization. Special evaluation of economical and intensive land use should be clearly carried out in the generation stage or feasibility study stage of various construction projects, and new projects should strive to reach the advanced level of economical and intensive land use in the same industry in China. Improve the land composite utilization policy, promote the construction of multi-storey factory buildings, and significantly increase the building density and floor area ratio of the park. Give full play to the role of the price mechanism in the allocation of land elements, explore the transformation of industrial land supply and transfer methods, and improve the market mechanism for revitalizing idle and inefficient industrial land. Explore ways to effectively revitalize the rural stock of construction land. Comprehensively improve the level of protection and utilization of mineral and marine resources.

Increase ecological protection and restoration efforts. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that it is necessary to adhere to the system concept, proceed from the integrity of the ecosystem, promote the integrated protection and restoration of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass and sand, and pay more attention to comprehensive management, systematic management, and source management. We must coordinate the layout of ecological construction, and gradually adjust the land use methods that do not conform to the natural geographical pattern and water resource constraints. Overall arrangements will be made for the future ecological restoration of farmland and land greening, and the greening tasks will be assigned with the location. Continue to promote the construction of a natural reserve system with national parks as the main body, and strengthen the protection of wild animals, plants and biodiversity. Coordinate the implementation of major projects for the protection and restoration of important ecosystems, strengthen the protection and restoration of forests, grasslands and wetlands, scientifically promote comprehensive control of rocky desertification and desertification, and carry out restoration and control of abandoned mines left over from history. Strictly control the reclamation, and “leave blank” for the strategy of undeveloped uninhabited islands. Improve the monitoring and early warning system for geological disasters and marine disasters, and continue to implement key projects for natural disaster prevention and control. Take townships as units to promote the comprehensive improvement of land and space in the whole region.

Consolidate and improve the carbon sink capacity of the ecosystem. In March 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over the ninth meeting of the Central Finance and Economics Committee and emphasized that it is necessary to improve the ecological carbon sink capacity and effectively play the role of carbon sequestration in forests, grasslands, wetlands, oceans, soil, and frozen soil. We must strive to reduce the occupation of ecological space and the loss of carbon pools, scientifically arrange the space for afforestation, carry out rational forest management and regeneration, give full play to the potential of ocean “blue carbon”, and continuously increase the increment of carbon sinks. Actively explore new ways of carbon sequestration and increase in carbon sequestration, such as carbon sequestration by karstification, mineralization and carbon sequestration of basic-ultrabasic rocks, carbon sequestration by marine fisheries and microorganisms, and carbon dioxide capture, utilization and storage.

Continuously improve the ecological civilization system. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that it is necessary to further promote the reform of the ecological civilization system, strengthen the legal and policy guarantees for green development, and improve the property rights system and laws and regulations of natural resources assets. The outstanding problems existing in the current ecological protection and natural resource development and utilization cannot be dealt with only through ex post punishment, but must be solved from a deeper level and with a more scientific governance mechanism. It is necessary to continuously deepen the understanding and practical exploration of the top-level design of the Party Central Committee, further promote the reform of the property rights system of natural resources assets and the market-based allocation of factors, fully implement the entrusted-agent mechanism for the ownership of natural resource assets owned by the whole people, and improve the natural resource law enforcement and supervision system. We will further improve the investment mechanism of financial funds and social funds for ecological protection and restoration, and deeply explore the mechanism of ecological protection compensation and ecological product value realization. Establish and improve an ecosystem survey, evaluation and monitoring system based on natural resource surveys. Actively participate in and cooperate with the introduction of relevant laws and regulations.

Author: Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources