Mother River Protection Day | Protect the "health" of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers and look at China's "remedies"

For thousands of years, the surging Yellow River and the Yangtze River have nurtured the Chinese nation and given birth to Chinese civilization. March 9th of each year is Mother River Protection Day. This festival was established in 2002 by the National Mother River Protection Action Leading Group. Do you know what we have done in recent years for the "health" of the two major Chinese mother rivers, the Yangtze River and the Yellow River?

01 Sanjiangyuan : Building a national park in the " Chinese Water Tower "

The Yangtze River, Yellow River and Lancang River originate from Qinghai. The mighty rivers flow endlessly, nourishing the vast land. The Sanjiangyuan area in southern Qinghai is known as the "Chinese Water Tower" and is a natural reserve with concentrated biodiversity in the world's high-altitude areas.

In 2021, the Sanjiangyuan National Park was officially established. Qinghai insisted on natural restoration as the main method, and strengthened the integrated protection and restoration of mountains, waters, forests, fields, lakes, grasses, and ice at the source. Through the implementation of ecological protection and restoration projects such as the comprehensive treatment of black soil beaches, improvement of degraded grasslands, management of desertified land, and water conservation, the degradation trend of the ecosystem at the source of the Three Rivers has been basically curbed, the total amount of water resources has increased significantly, and the grassland vegetation coverage and grass production have increased by 11% and more than 30% respectively compared with 10 years ago. The vegetation coverage of the black soil beach treatment area increased from less than 20% before treatment to more than 70% after treatment.

This is the Eling Lake in the Yellow River Source Park of Sanjiangyuan National Park photographed on May 25, 2021 (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

Persistent protection and construction have brought back the "Thousand Lakes" at the source of the Three Rivers. Snow leopards, Tibetan antelopes, white-lipped deer, wild yaks, Tibetan wild donkeys... Various rare plateau wild animals that were once rare now frequently appear in the vast Sanjiangyuan land. The number of animal and plant populations has increased, and the vast grassland presents a beautiful scene of green mountains, green waters and lakes interweaving and shining. Gan Xuebin, full-time deputy secretary of the Yellow River Source Park Management Committee of Sanjiangyuan National Park, introduced that in recent years, with the implementation of ecological protection and restoration projects such as returning grazing land to grassland, the ecological governance has achieved remarkable results, and the wonder of the Thousand Lakes at the source of the Yellow River has reappeared.

The scenery of Zhaling Lake photographed in the Yellow River Source Park of Sanjiangyuan National Park (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

02 Wuliangsuhai Lake: The beautiful scenery of the “Pearl of the Great Wall” reappears

Wulansuhai Lake is the largest lake wetland in the Yellow River Basin. In the 1990s, due to the reduction of natural water supply and industrial and agricultural drainage, the ecological function of Wulansuhai Lake was significantly degraded and the water quality once dropped to Class V.

In recent years, the local area has strived for ecological water replenishment and implemented seven major projects, including comprehensive desert control, soil and water conservation and vegetation restoration, and lake water environment protection and restoration...

According to Bao Wei, director of the Wulansuhai Ecological Protection Center, the overall water quality of Wulansuhai has improved, biodiversity has continued to recover, and the beauty of the "Pearl of the Great Wall" has reappeared. It has become an important habitat for migratory birds, with more than 260 species of birds migrating and breeding here every year.

Wulansuhai Lake is a microcosm of the ecological protection achievements of the Yellow River Basin. In recent years, the provinces and regions along the Yellow River have significantly improved the ecological appearance of the basin by fighting hard to rectify environmental problems and protect and restore the ecology.

Wulansu Lake in Urad Front Banner, Bayannur City, Inner Mongolia, photographed in June 2023 (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

03 Yibin: The first city along the Yangtze River, a ten-year fishing ban and green waters

Yibin, located at the confluence of the Jinsha River, Min River and Yangtze River, is known as the first city of the Yangtze River and shoulders the important mission of building a strong ecological barrier in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. In the past few years, the fishing ban and withdrawal tasks in key waters of the Yangtze River Basin have been fully implemented, and the comprehensive ecological management and restoration of the Yangtze River have achieved remarkable results.

Starting from January 1, 2021, the "Ten-Year Fishing Ban" in the Yangtze River will be officially implemented. Yibin is the core area of ​​the National Nature Reserve for Rare and Endemic Fishes in the Upper Yangtze River, with a river section of 321.86 kilometers. In order to protect the ecology of the Yangtze River, Yibin has completed the retirement of 630 fishing boats and 1,186 fishermen five months ahead of schedule since July 2020, and has made every effort to ensure the resettlement of retired fishermen; set up a fishery law enforcement team, assist patrol teams, and network management personnel teams, set up video surveillance systems in key areas of the Yangtze River, and realize a new supervision pattern of "human defense + technical defense"; artificially increase and release Yangtze sturgeon, rosy fish, rock carp, grass carp, silver carp, bighead carp, etc., to help restore fishery resources and maintain the ecological balance of the Yangtze River.

On June 27, 2023, at the breeding base jointly established by the Yibin Rare Aquatic Animal Research Institute and the Institute of Fisheries of the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, researchers checked the physical recovery of the Yangtze sturgeon that had been artificially bred not long ago (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

Nowadays, there are more fish in Yibin, and the number of birds that feed on fish has also increased. The red-billed gulls that fly south to Yibin for the winter every year, the evergreen forests surrounding the three rivers, and the people who relax and enjoy the water along the Yangtze River have formed a harmonious integration of man and nature, which is the best testimony to the green Yibin.

04 Hubei Tian'ezhou: The smiles of the Yangtze River elves are increasing!

Since 2023, the number of fish in the Yangtze River has been visibly increasing in videos posted online by netizens. Even encountering finless porpoises in the Yangtze River has become a normal occurrence that can happen at any time. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs also received good news. The number of finless porpoises has stopped falling and rebounded for the first time. The distribution range and frequency of rare species such as Yangtze River knife fish and mullet have increased significantly. Aquatic biological resources have recovered and improved. The three-year fishing ban has achieved gratifying results.

At the Hubei Yangtze Tianezhou Baiji National Nature Reserve in Shishou, Hubei, the plan to release finless porpoises into the Yangtze River in 2024 has been put on the agenda. Staff are busy checking the activity and health of the finless porpoises to ensure the smooth progress of the release. The reserve is located in the Jingjiang River section of the Yangtze River, which has excellent hydrological conditions and is very suitable for the Yangtze River finless porpoises to live and reproduce. More than 100 finless porpoises already live here. As the flagship species of the Yangtze River, the number of finless porpoises directly reflects the health score of the Yangtze River ecosystem. However, since the 1990s, the number of finless porpoises has dropped from about 2,700 to about 1,012 in 2017. It is for this reason that the reserve has taken on the responsibility of ex situ protection of finless porpoises. For the staff here, the first unshakable job every day is patrolling.

The Tian'ezhou Baiji National Nature Reserve in the Yangtze River, Hubei Province, photographed on June 27, 2023 (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

In addition to patrols, restoration of the ecological resources of the Tian'ezhou old course and the Yangtze River mainstream is also an important part. Planting emergent plants such as fragrant lotus and reeds, submerged plants such as black algae, Vallisneria, and foxtail algae, and building artificial fish nests can not only provide food for migratory birds, but also provide a better habitat for fish.

In parallel with the work of the reserve, there has been a coordinated promotion from the national level to the provinces and cities along the Yangtze River over the past three years. On March 1, 2021, the Yangtze River Protection Law of the People's Republic of China came into effect. As the first special law on the river basin in my country, it puts forward higher requirements for the protection of Yangtze River organisms, sewage treatment, flood prevention and disaster relief, and ecological restoration.

Comprehensive sources: Xinhuanet, West China Metropolis Daily, China News Network, etc.