INJuly,2,400guestsfrom35countriesandregionsattendedtheEcoForumGlobalAnnualConferenceGuiyang2018inGuiyang,anationalforestcityinsouthwestChina.Thethemeoftheconferencewas“EmbracingaNewEraofEco-civilization:GreenDevelopmentwithHighPrioritytoEcology.”
ParticipantsexchangedviewsonChina’secologicalprogressandglobalgreendevelopmentatover30themedsessions.
LucidWatersandLushMountainsareInvaluableAssets
ThiswastheconclusiondrawnbyXiJinpingasearlyas2005,whenhewastheprovincialPartycommitteesecretaryofZhejiang.Inrecentyears,peopleacrossChinawereexploring“howtoturnlucidwatersandlushmountainsintoassets”withtheirinnovativepracticesbyunderstandingtheneedtokeepabalancebetweentheecosystemandeconomicdevelopment,aswellaspeople’severincreasingdemandsforabetterenvironment.
Attheforum,LiZaiyong,executivevicegovernorofGuizhouProvince,gaveabriefingontheprogressmadebytheprovinceinecologicalprotectionoverthepastdecade.AccordingtoLi,Guizhouhasalwaysputecologyandgreendevelopmentfirstandhashadalotoftentative,usefulpracticesinbalancingdevelopmentbetweenurbanandruralareasaswellashumanactivitiesandecologicalenvironment.Withadecadeofefforts,theprovincialGDPsurgedfromRMB280billionin2007toRMB1,350billionin2017.Overthesameperiod,itsforestcoverageratehadrisento55.3percentfrom35.9percent.Alltheseprovedthatimprovingecologyhadfacilitatedtheprovince’ssustainableeconomicgrowth.
Internationally,therearealsomanyinnovationsunderwayinecologicalrestoration.Attheforum,independentconsultantMichaelBennettmentionedbiodiversitymitigationbanks.Hesaidthattherewere99suchbanksin33countrieswhichhelptoprotect,restore,andcreatediversifiedhabitatstooffsetimpactsonwetlands,species,andforestsbydevelopers.HetookNewYorkCityasanexample,whichhadinvestedUS$1.7billionintheprotectionofitsbasinecologyandthecontrolofwastewaterdischarge.Asaresult,filtrationisrenderedunnecessaryinNewYorkCity’surbanwatersupply.
MichaelBennettalsosaidthatinrecentyears,theChinesegovernmentwasinnovatingitsmechanismstotransformtheroleofthegovernment.Itaimstobecomeasupervisorandcreatorofecologicalproductsandservicesinsteadofapurepurchaser.
In2017,13regionsacrossChinawereselectedasthefirstpilotsitestopracticethe“lucidwatersandlushmountainsareinvaluableassets”scheme.IntheeyesofHuangRunqiu,viceministerofEcologyandEnvironmentofChina,thepracticesintheseareasarequiteuseful,fullydemonstratingthegoldentruthofthosewordsbyPresidentXi.ForexampleinHuzhouCityofZhejiangProvince,twoinstituteshavebeenspeciallysetupforthedevelopmentofecoindustriesandecoculture.InSihongCountyofJiangsuProvince,institutionalreformwasunderwayinlightofthecounty’sthreeredefinedfunctionalzones:urbanregion,ruralarea,andthezoneforecologicalpreservation.
CircularEconomyandGreenGrowth
Thebuildingofgreencitiesisaworldwidechallenge.An“exploiting,using,discarding”modeliswhatZhangHaifromthesecretariatoftheConferencesummarizedhumanity’spreviouslyestablishedlifestyleas.Thecolossalamountofwastehasalreadygivenurbanmanagersworldwideaheadache,therefore,acirculareconomycityfocusingon“re-planning,re-storing,recycling”willpromotetheefficientuseofresources,benefitingbillionsaroundtheworld.
LiupanshuiCityinGuizhouProvincetookasteadystepinthisfield.Justliketheotherresource-dependentcities,whichtookoffinthe1950s,Liupanshuiconfronteditsworstecologicalchallengeswhensuspendedsolidsintheairwere5.4timesthatofthenationalaverage,anditsforestacreageaccountedforonly7.55percentofthetotalarea.LiGang,mayorofthecity,saysthatinrecentyears,theLiupanshuigovernmentcoordinateditsecology,production,andactivitiesofpeople’sdailylifetomanagetheminasystematicway.Asaresult,pollutantdischargehasreachedtherequiredstandard,wasterecycled,anddamagetotheenvironmentrepaired.Bytheendof2017,thecity’sforestcoverageratereached56.94percent,andtherateofgoodairqualityinthecityreached94percent.StafffromtheHousingandUrban-RuralDevelopmentBureauofSihongCountyinSuqianCityofJiangsuProvincecheckthewaterqualitynearasewagedisposalplant.TurkuinFinlandisaperfectexampleofwhatacirculareconomyis.MinnaArve,mayorofthecity,informedtheconferenceaudienceofthespecificmeasurestaken.First,astrictwastesortingmethodologyappliedwithgarbagedisposalfeescharged,andnext,recyclingwastewaterandsolidwastethroughnewtechnologies,andlastly,promotingasharedeconomy,inwhichmoremanufacturingequipmentandlivingfacilitiesaresharedtoenhanceefficiency.
YokohamainJapanisanotherpioneerinthisfieldwhichdisposesoffurbanwasteinaninnovativeway.ThedirectoroftheResourcesandWasteRecyclingBureauofthecitysaidthecityisnowcarryingouta3RDreamPlan:Reduce,Reuse,andRecycle.Itcollaborateswithitscitizensandbusinessestoreducefoodwastage,reusesecond-handbooks,furniture,andtableware,andrecyclehomeappliancesamongothers.
GreenIndustryandRuralRevitalization
Thecountrysidehasanaturaladvantageinecologicaldevelopment.StatisticsfromtheNationalForestryandGrasslandAdministration(NFGA)showthatpresently,thereare4.6billionmu(15mu=1hectare)offorests,6billionmuofgrasslands,0.8billionmuofwetlands,and0.8billionmuofmanageablesandinChina.Theyworkasaguaranteeforaproductivecountrysideandcreatejobsforfarmersandherders.
Thekeytoruralrevitalizationliesintransformationofthisecologicaladvantageintolocalindustrialstrength.Whenspeakingofruralgreenindustries,PengYoudong,vicechairmanofNFGA,saidthatthesupply-sidestructuralreformhadbeendeepenednationwideintheforestryindustrywiththe“businesses+cooperatives+farmers”mechanismintroducedandimproved;suchgreenindustrieshadboomedastourism,economicforests,woodoilplants,andflowers,meetingpeople’severgrowingneedsforabetterlife.
IntheeyesofFengJiaping,vicepresidentofChineseForestryIndustryAssociation(CFIA),acompetitivegreenindustrycanchangethedestinyofavillageorevenacountry.HecitedthreeexamplesfromChinaandSweden.BaishaVillageofLin’anissituatedinsoutheastChina’sZhejiangProvince.As96percentofitslandsurfaceiscoveredbyforests,thevillagersseizedtheopportunitytodevelopitstouristindustry;asaresult,theannualpercapitadisposableincomereachedRMB50,000.AnothersuccessfulstoryhappenedintheLoessPlateauinthenorthofShaanxiProvince.Inthe1990s,its27countieswerebuiltintoappleorchardbases,whichsolvedthesoilerosionproblem,andalsobroughtareturnoninvestmentasaquarteroftheapplessoldinChinaandoneinsevenintheworldaregrownhere.
AnotherexampleisSweden,whereoilwasdominantinthe1970sastheprimaryenergysource.Swedensetthedevelopmentofbioenergyfromforestbiomassasanationalstrategyandthreedecadeslater,bioenergysurpassedoilastheleadingenergysource,makingup31.7percentofitstotalenergyconsumption.ThissuccessbringsSwedennewopportunitiesindifferentareastillthisdayandprovidescriticalblueprintstoredesignandrebuildhumansocietytopursuesustainablelifestylesinharmonywiththeenvironmentandtheecosystem.Suchstepsareessentialforsecuringahabitableplanetandfunctionalecosystemforfuturegenerations.