Hot Comments: Rules and Red Lines for the Protection of the Yellow River

"The Yellow River is peaceful, and the world is peaceful." On October 30, the 37th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress voted to pass the "the People's Republic of China Yellow River Protection Law", which will come into effect on April 1, 2023. Following the Yangtze River Protection Law, China's river basin protection has added landmark legislation, which provides a strong guarantee for promoting ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin on the track of the rule of law.

"The 'wide riverbed' at the mouth of the sea, now there are only thin and weak streams..." This is a thought-provoking text written by the media when they conducted an interview and report on "Walking the Yellow River" in 1999. From 1972 to 1999, the main stream of the lower Yellow River was cut off for 22 years in 28 years. At its worst, the length from the mouth of the sea is 704 kilometers. The river ecosystem was on the verge of collapse, the wetland area shrank, and the production and life of the people were affected. The protection and governance of the Yellow River is a major event in governing the country, and it is also a major plan related to the great rejuvenation and sustainable development of the Chinese nation.

Worry about the disease of the Yellow River and focus on the treatment of the Yellow River. Qinghai Sanjiang source to protect the "China Water Tower", Gansu to promote the integration of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass and sand protection and restoration projects, Ningxia to build the Yellow River basin ecological protection and high-quality development of the pioneering area, Shandong to protect the Yellow River estuary wetland ecological environment ...... Since the 18th CPC National Congress, we have raised the Yellow River basin ecological protection and high-quality development as a national strategy, building the Yellow River protection and management "four beams and eight pillars", remarkable results have been achieved in the control of water and sediment in the Yellow River Basin, the ecological environment has continued to improve significantly, and the level of development has been continuously improved. More than 20 years later, people walking the Yellow River will find that the most beautiful thing in the Yellow River is ecology, and the most confident thing is to solve high-quality development along the river.

In view of the difficult and painful points that have plagued the Yellow River Anlan for a long time, the Yellow River Protection Law has not only a systematic concept of overall planning, but also targeted measures for precise policy implementation. For example, according to the different requirements of different regions, targeted provisions are made to maintain the natural state of rivers and lakes, ecological restoration projects, sand prevention and control, soil erosion prevention and control, comprehensive management of small watersheds, whole ditch management, warping dam construction, ecological water replenishment and other institutional measures; for example, in order to break the situation of "Jiulong water control", it is clear that the state should establish an overall coordination mechanism for ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, proposed the establishment of the Yellow River Basin inter-provincial river and lake chief joint meeting system, and so on.

Only by strengthening the systematicness, integrity, coordination and timeliness of the legal system for the protection of the Yellow River, adhering to a game of chess in the whole basin, and setting rules and drawing red lines for "what to protect" and "what to develop" in the Yellow River Basin, can we better promote green development and promote the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.

The river rushes, nine songs in a chain. The formulation and promulgation of the Yellow River Protection Law is a new milestone in the protection and management of the Yellow River. Whether the legal system can improve the governance efficiency and development potential depends on strong implementation. Taking the Yellow River Protection Law as an opportunity, we will jointly do a good job in the protection of the Yellow River, coordinate the promotion of the great governance, draw a blueprint to the end, one crop after another, and run one stick after another. We will definitely make the Mother River a happy river that benefits the people.