China's Shan-Shui Initiative has recently been recognized by the UN as one of the first 10 "World Restoration Flagships". This is one of the most promising, ambitious and inspiring examples of large-scale ecological restoration in the world, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Its systematic approach and energetic practice of restoration by treating all ecosystems as "a shared community of life" demonstrate the Chinese wisdom, Chinese solutions and Chinese strength for addressing the world’s common environmental problems.
Mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands constitute a life community. China's Shan-Shui Initiative is a government-driven project for integrated protection and restoration of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands, and a landmark project that puts into practice the philosophy of life community. China is a vast country with abundant natural resources and almost all natural features on the planet, including rivers, forests, wetlands, lakes, grasslands and deserts. Different from the original practice in which most ecological protection and restoration campaigns were designed for single targets or single ecological elements and are therefore not holistic or systematic, China's Shan-Shui Initiative advocates the integrated protection, systematic restoration and comprehensive improvement of ecosystems. 44 projects under the Shan-Shui Initiative, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei water source conservation area in Hebei Province, the Loess Plateau in Shaanxi Province and the ecological barrier in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River (the Chongqing section), have been mapped out and implemented in important ecological barrier areas, or the so-called "three zones and four corridors", with the goal of restoring 10 million hectares of natural ecosystems by 2030.
As a Chinese saying goes, "All beings flourish when they live in harmony and all receive nourishment from Nature." The Chinese people have always valued the idea that human beings are an integral part of nature, preferred to abandoning themselves to nature and pursued harmony between man and nature. Since the beginning of the industrial civilization, humanity has created tremendous material wealth, but has meanwhile accelerated the exploitation of natural resources and interrupted the original cycle and balance of the earth's ecosystems, leading to the stress between man and nature. There is a limit to the capacity of environment, and the ecosystems are actually very fragile. Therefore, nature cannot bear the disorderly development or brutal exploitation of humanity. Regarding the question of the times "where the world is heading", China has provided a "Chinese answer" by engaging itself into global environmental campaign in a constructive way for the sustainable development of human civilization by upholding the philosophy of a shared future for all life on Earth.
"Luxuriant trees and grass imply wealth to a country." Today in Anji County, Zhejiang Province, the village of Yucun has transformed from "selling rocks" to "selling sceneries" by tapping into its rich bamboo resources, and therefore from "living off mountains" to "conserving and fostering mountains"; in Youyu County, Shanxi Province, the rate of woody plant cover has increased from less than 0.3% to 57%, and ecological pastures and featured tourism have made the wallets of the villagers bulge with money. More and more localities are seizing development opportunities from the systematic management of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, deserts and glaciers, turning eco-environmental advantages into those of ecological economy such as eco-agriculture, eco-industry and eco-tourism. It has been proven that we must protect nature and the ecological environment as if they were our eyes, and unswervingly follow the path of civilized development featuring increased output, higher living standards and healthy ecosystems to realize the sustainable development of the Chinese nation.
If we humanity do not fail Nature, Nature will not fail us. Building an ecological civilization is vital for sustaining the development of the Chinese nation. As long as we press ahead with perseverance, a bright future will beckon.
[Photo / Fan Peishen from Xinhua News Agency]
As one of China's first pilot areas for ecological protection and restoration of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands and lakes, the Qilian Mountain in Qinghai Province is implementing the project of "connecting mountains and rivers, nurturing forests, fertilizing the fields and protecting lakes" to explore the way of the systematic management and integrated protection of ecosystems. The photo shows the pilot area for the Qilian Mountain National Park system.
