NPC deputies, CPPCC members advocate for ecological protection

Ecological protection remains a hot topic at the Two Sessions. Members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) put forward numerous suggestions to advance China's ecological conservation efforts.

The third session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, which concluded on Monday, received 604 proposals related to ecological civilization, accounting for 12.1 percent of all proposals submitted.

Jiang Qi, a CPPCC member and researcher at the Ningxia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, emphasized the urgent need to enhance farmland shelterbelt networks in the Yellow River's square bend region.

He highlighted that scientific planning, integration with agricultural modernization initiatives, and the application of new technologies and management models would help establish a more resilient and diverse shelterbelt system.

In 2024, key projects were launched in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, including ecological conservation, soil erosion control, water source conservation and ecological management along the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains. So far, nearly 230,000 hectares of land have been restored across the region.

For Yang Qinglong, an NPC deputy and mayor of Guyuan City in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, strengthening support for the Three-North Shelterbelt Program is crucial.

He proposed expanding national afforestation and sand control policies to the region while also incorporating Guyuan into the national reserve forest development plan.

Such measures, he noted, would improve forest stability and quality in the Liupan Mountains and bolster regional ecological security.

The need for stronger desertification control in the Qaidam Basin was also emphasized, with calls for scientific methods tailored to local ecological conditions, acceleration of key ecological projects, and the development of diversified financing mechanisms to attract investment in sand control initiatives.

Additionally, integrating solar energy development with desertification control was highlighted as a way to foster a green development model.

Qiao Yaqun, an NPC deputy and governor of Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Qinghai Province, stressed that combining ecological restoration with clean energy expansion would contribute to long-term sustainability.

(Cover: The Yellow River in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, northwest China, August 7, 2024. /VCG)