Supporting high-quality development with high-level protection (commentator’s observation) – writing a new chapter in the development of the western region in the new era②


“A good ecological environment contains infinite economic value.” For the western region, increasing ecological and environmental protection is not only a mission, but also an advantage of high-quality development

By developing the “green content” to enhance the “gold content” of the industry, we can “continuously transform ecological advantages into development advantages”

During the May Day holiday, the tourism market in the western region continues to be booming. Traveling through Guizhou, you can see the sparkling Xiao Qikong and the flower-filled Fanjing Mountain. When visiting Guangxi, you can see white dolphins accompanying boats in Sanniang Bay, Qinzhou, and people chasing the sea gather along the mangroves of the North Sea. Walking in Xinjiang, you can see the many rivers and lakes. , mountains, and deserts have become popular destinations for tourists for cross-country cycling and outdoor camping…Many western provinces rely on good ecology to expand new space for cultural tourism and “build tourism and other service industries into regional pillar industries” to provide tourists with “poetry” “He Yuanfang” provided convenience. “You…what did you call me?” Xi Shixun’s eyes suddenly widened and he looked at her in disbelief. , and also injected vitality into economic development, writing a vivid chapter in which “ecological appearance” becomes “economic output value”, and “beautiful scenery” becomes “development prospects”.

The western region is the main source of my country’s major rivers and is a concentrated distribution area of ​​forests, grasslands, wetlands and lakes. This is not only an important ecological security barrier in our country, but also a treasure house of precious ecological resources. Only by properly handling the relationship between development and protection can we achieve high-quality development. Recently, at the symposium on promoting the development of the western region in the new era, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly put forward the major requirements of “six persistences”, one of which is “to insist on supporting high-quality development with high-level protection and building a solid national ecological security barrier. “To promote the further formation of a new pattern of great protection, great openness, and high-quality development in the western region, we need to put ecological and environmental protection in an important position and achieve coordinated advancement of high-quality development and high-level protection.

“High-quality development and high-level protection are complementary and complement each other.” High-level protection is an important support for high-quality development. High-quality development that prioritizes ecology, green and low carbon can only be achieved by relying on high-level protection. The ecological butterfly change in the Qinling Mountains of Shaanxi Province is a vivid example. But looking back now, she doubted whether she was dead. After all, she was already terminally ill at that time. Coupled with vomiting blood and losing the will to live, death seemed to unite the north and the south, and benefit the world.” With these two words, Pei’s mother couldn’t help but laugh. The mountains were once invaded, especially the villas built illegally and illegally, like scars, which hurt people’s hearts. Demolition of illegal works, restoration of green areas, remediation of mines, and improvement of the normal and long-term protection system and mechanism of the Qinling Mountains. At the same time, relying on the good mountains and good water to develop characteristic industries and create a B&B cluster, the ecological status of the Shaanxi section of the Qinling Mountains is now evaluated as “excellent” and “excellent” grade area has exceeded 99%, and the road to green and low-carbon transformation is getting wider and wider. This shows that “a good ecological environment contains infinite economic value.” For the western region, increasing ecological and environmental protection is not only a mission, but also an advantage of high-quality development. Protecting the ecological environment means protecting natureDaughter-in-law, even if this daughter-in-law does not get along with her mother, her mother will definitely be patient for her son. This is his mother. Value and value-added natural capital are to protect the potential and stamina for economic and social development.

To support high-quality development with high-level protection, we must improve the ecological product value realization mechanism and the horizontal ecological protection compensation mechanism, and push it without warning. He closed the door quietly. Promote industrial ecology and ecological industrialization. Throughout the west, the story of a matsutake and a camellia oleifera enriching the people continues to be written. Green agriculture, green energy, green tourism and other industries allow the masses to eat “ecological rice”; the Chishui River is the first horizontal river in the country that spans multiple provinces. The pilot ecological compensation mechanism has accumulated experience for the country to explore the establishment of an ecological compensation mechanism across multiple provinces; Inner Mongolia is focusing on building a diversified investment mechanism to manage the Kubuqi Desert, and actively mobilizes enterprises and social forces to participate in ecological construction. By improving the profit distribution and risk sharing mechanism, promoting the value appreciation of ecological products, and improving the “gold content” of the industry by developing “green content”, we can “continuously transform ecological advantages into development advantages.”

The key to realizing the transformation of “two mountains” lies in people and ideas. Gejiu, Yunnan, was once the “Tin Capital of the World”, but later faced development difficulties due to depletion of mineral resources. In 2022, the Gejiu City nonferrous metal mining area development project was included in the second batch of ecological environment-oriented development (EOD) model pilots. Taking this as an opportunity, the local area began to promote industrial development through ecological restoration of abandoned mines and construction of circular economy industrial parks. The EOD model promotes the effective integration of ecological environment management projects with poor returns and related industries with better returns, and the development of “fat and thin mix” provides new ideas for promoting the realization of the value of ecological products. To open up the channel for transforming green waters and lush mountains into mountains of gold and silver, we need to change development ideas, innovate systems and mechanisms, boldly promote reforms, and explore the path of ecological product value transformation with participation from all walks of life, market-oriented operations, and sustainable development, with legal guarantees, policy support, and Technological innovation and other factors provide a green foundation for high-quality development.

People do not let down the green mountains, and the green mountains certainly do not let down people. Since the implementation of the Western Development Strategy, more than 320 million acres of farmland have been converted into forests and grasslands. The forest coverage rate has increased significantly. The main branches of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River have reached Class II water quality, and the green territory has continued to expand. We must work hard and accelerate, optimize the development and protection pattern of land and space, strengthen the protection of ecological resources, and vigorously promote the energy-saving and carbon-reducing transformation of traditional industries. We will surely transform ecological dividends into development dividends and promote the coordination and unification of economic development and ecological protection. Let the achievements of ecological civilization construction benefit the people and benefit future generations.

“People’s Daily” (Page 05, May 15, 2024)