During the 14th Five Year Plan period, China's water ecological environment protection has gradually shifted from pollution control as the main focus to the coordinated and systematic management of the "three waters". The goal of water control in the new era is to provide the people with clean water, green shores, and shallow bottoms with fish flying. The Scoring Rules propose an assessment index system centered on "water ecosystem health" and supported by "water habitat protection", "water environment protection", and "water resource guarantee". The water habitat indicators are highly anticipated and have become an important driving force for guiding local efforts in water ecological protection and restoration.
1、 Fully implement the new development concept and raise awareness of the importance of water habitat protection
The protection of water habitats reflects a systematic view of ecological environment protection. Water habitat refers to the environment of living areas in rivers and lakes, including necessary living conditions and other ecological factors that affect organisms. Habitat conditions are closely related to the growth and reproduction of aquatic organisms, as well as the quality of water environment and water resource conditions, which collectively affect the health of aquatic ecosystems. The Scoring Rules adhere to the principles of ecological priority and system protection, highlight the health of water ecosystems, and coordinate the protection of water habitats, water environment, and water resource systems, reflecting the systematic concept of ecological environment protection and governance.
The setting of water habitat protection indicators reflects the principle of "problem oriented". Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, there have been historic, transitional, and global changes in China's water ecological environment protection. In 2022, China's water environment quality reached a historic high, and the proportion of surface water quality has approached the level of developed countries. However, at the same time, many rivers and lakes still face problems such as excessive development of important ecological spaces such as water source conservation areas, river lake water bodies, and their buffer zones, resulting in damage to water habitats and imbalanced water ecosystems, which have become a bottleneck for the overall improvement of China's water ecological environment quality. The "Scoring Rules" target prominent issues in the Yangtze River Basin and select four water habitat protection indicators, including natural shoreline rate, water connectivity, ecological system quality in water conservation areas, and human activity impact index of aquatic habitats, to guide local governments to carry out targeted water ecological protection and restoration work.
The protection of water habitats embodies the ecological environment protection concept of "harmonious coexistence". The quality of water habitats represents the most intuitive perception of water ecological environment quality among the people. The smooth flowing water from top to bottom, the natural shoreline shaded by green trees, the quiet and serene habitat, and the lush forests and grasslands can provide a good habitat for aquatic organisms, as well as beautiful scenery for the people, meeting their hydrophilic needs, and is the most direct manifestation of "harmony between humans and water".
2、 Strengthen technological support and comprehensively carry out water habitat surveys
Conduct comprehensive basic surveys and build a basic database of water habitats. Aquatic habitat is the habitat and carrier of aquatic organisms, which is not only the core element of the aquatic ecosystem, but also the key element to improve the living environment of aquatic organisms and enhance the quality of the aquatic ecological environment. To carry out the pilot work of water ecological assessment in the Yangtze River Basin in a practical and detailed manner, and guide local governments to scientifically carry out water ecological protection and restoration work in the Yangtze River Basin, the prerequisite is to comprehensively grasp the water ecological environment status of the Yangtze River Basin. One of its important tasks is to conduct a comprehensive survey of basic information on water habitats, understand the current situation of water habitats, systematically analyze the background and shortcomings of water habitats, and construct a basic database and a map of water habitats.
Utilize the advantages of remote sensing technology to more efficiently and accurately grasp the status of water habitats. Habitat elements have both in-situ and regional characteristics. To truly and comprehensively grasp the local water habitat status and its changes, it is necessary to conduct a full coverage survey. Traditional ground monitoring methods based on sampling are difficult to meet assessment needs, while remote sensing technology with large area and full coverage capabilities can achieve full line and full area monitoring of water habitats. It has been widely applied in shorelines, water blooms, aquatic vegetation, and other aspects, making it the best choice for habitat surveys. At present, remote sensing technology has entered a new stage of high space, high time, and high spectrum. Most regions of the country have achieved monthly coverage of 2-meter resolution remote sensing images, and multiple hyperspectral and full spectrum satellites have been put into use one after another, providing guarantees for monitoring water habitats in large regions.
Strengthen regulatory capacity building to achieve dynamic monitoring and precise control of water habitats. Remote sensing has become the main means of monitoring water habitats at the national level, with the integration of heaven and earth. To promote the practical and detailed assessment of water ecology, and to implement and promote it, it is necessary to plan ahead and work hard to improve regulatory capabilities. Various regions need to accelerate the construction and improvement of water habitat monitoring networks, strengthen the basic capacity of satellite remote sensing monitoring and the construction of personnel teams. Fully relying on existing capabilities, we will gradually establish a five base collaborative remote sensing monitoring network consisting of "space-based satellites, space-based remote sensing, aerial drones, mobile patrol monitoring vehicles, and ground observation equipment", forming a "high-precision, all-round, and short-term" water ecological environment remote sensing monitoring system, achieving rapid monitoring and precise control of water habitat changes.
3、 Deeply understand the detailed rules and scientifically refer to the restoration of water diversion habitats
Overall planning and scientific assessment of the current situation of water habitats. On the basis of understanding the bottom line, it is necessary to fully consider the characteristics of water habitat elements, take into account the natural geographical environment and economic and social development characteristics and differences at the source of the Yangtze River, as well as in the upper, middle, and lower reaches, adhere to the principles of problem oriented, goal oriented, and result oriented, scientifically construct a water habitat assessment technology system, and reasonably determine the expected value of the assessment. By conducting assessment work to identify the current situation and shortcomings of clean water habitats, support is provided for the scientific formulation of water ecological restoration goals.
Based on the actual situation, formulate reasonable goals for water habitat restoration. The purpose of aquatic habitat restoration is to restore aquatic ecology, which is the restoration of the entire ecosystem. Firstly, based on the investigation, a systematic analysis should be conducted to identify the true causes and main factors of ecological damage in clean water. On this basis, combined with the characteristics of regional natural geographical environment and economic and social development, reasonable recovery goals are determined, and scientific and reasonable recovery plans and measures are formulated.
Take multiple measures simultaneously and scientifically carry out water habitat restoration work. Fully consider the integrity and watershed systematicity of the water ecosystem. Focusing on areas with scarce water resources and fragile aquatic ecosystems, we will construct water system connectivity projects to open up pathways for aquatic life and enhance water connectivity. Focusing on channelized shorelines and irrational utilization of areas, we will strengthen the ecological restoration and buffer zone construction of river and lake shorelines, restore and enhance the ecosystem function and species diversity of river and lake shorelines. Accelerate the withdrawal of human activities and ecological restoration progress in important aquatic habitats and aquatic germplasm resources protection areas. With the goal of improving the water conservation capacity of the watershed, we will carry out forest land conservation in water conservation areas and scientifically implement protection and restoration projects.
The "Scoring Rules" concisely propose four categories and fourteen assessment indicators based on the overall integrity of the water ecosystem and the characteristics of the watershed region, and propose methods for evaluating the current situation and amplitude of the water ecological environment, pointing out the direction for achieving precise monitoring and scientific governance of the water ecological environment. I believe that in the future, through the implementation of the "Grading Rules", we will gradually promote the co governance of water and banks, effectively improve the quality of the water ecological environment in the Yangtze River Basin, and achieve the goal of "clear water, green banks, smooth rivers, and beautiful scenery".
Transferred from: International Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Network
Contact Person: Ms. Jing
Tel: +86 17381899613
