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E-mail China.org.cn, July 5, 2024
National Business Daily:
We are all aware that today, June 5, is World Environment Day. What efforts has Chongqing made to protect the eco-environment in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, as the largest riverfront city in the region? And what progress has been made? Thank you.
Hu Henghua:
Thank you for your important questions. I would like to invite Mr. Chen to answer.
Chen Xinwu:
Thank you for your questions. Today is World Environment Day, and China's major thematic event is being hosted in Guangxi. Next year the baton will be passed to Chongqing. Mr. Hu just mentioned that Chongqing is the largest riverfront city in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, which runs 691 kilometers from west to east through the city. 85% of the Three Gorges Reservoir region is located in Chongqing. It is Chongqing's major political duty to protect the ecological environment and strengthen the ecological shield in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. We strive to ensure well-coordinated environmental protection, prevent overdevelopment, and advance the integrated management of water, air, soil, waste, plastics, mountains, shores, and urban and rural areas. With all these efforts, the quality of the city's environment has been rising. Today, the landscape of Chongqing features lucid waters and lush mountains, blue skies and green fields.
We have ensured the comprehensive management of water, air and soil, strictly implemented the river chief system, enforced a 10-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River, enhanced management of 4,012 sewage outfalls into rivers, set up a big data application system for the management of the water environment, and enabled smart monitoring of 120 rivers in the city. The efficiency in locating water environment issues, tracing their sources, and handling them has increased by over 80%. We have promoted the green transformation of enterprises, and advanced green and smart upgrading of urban transportation, with no severe air pollution for six consecutive years. We have prevented and controlled soil contamination at the source, realizing safe land utilization in all major construction projects.
We insist on coordinating waste and plastic management. We have carried out a pilot project to construct a "zero-waste city," achieving a comprehensive utilization rate of 76% for general solid waste. Notably, in terms of garbage treatment, we have transitioned from landfill to waste-to-power generation. Last year, Chongqing's waste-generated electricity exceeded 3 billion kilowatt-hours, meeting the annual household electricity needs of more than 3.7 million residents. This is equivalent to over one-third of the electricity needs of the city's central area being met through waste-to-energy power generation. At the same time, we have promoted the reduction of "white pollution," promoted bamboo products to replace plastic ones, reduced secondary packaging for e-commerce express deliveries, and decreased the volume of single-use plastic products by more than half in the past two years, with 99% of agricultural plastic films now recyclable.
We insist on managing ecological conservation of mountains and rivers in a holistic manner. We have launched management programs for mountains such as Jinyun Mountain and Tongluo Mountain, creating green mountains and forest belts along the riversides. We have planted 15.22 million mu (1 million hectares) of forests and restored 92,000 mu of mined land. For example, the Tongluo Mountain mining area, once the largest limestone mining area in the downtown region with 41 abandoned mines, has undergone ecological restoration and has been transformed into a downtown ecological park. It is a new must-see destination in the city. At the same time, we have also strengthened the conservation of the Yangtze River, managing 109 kilometers of riverbanks and creating a 400-kilometer stretch of river with clear waters and green banks.
We insist on coordinating urban and rural governance. Based on Chongqing's unique landscape, where rivers, gorges and mountains intertwine, we are creating an ecological city with a rich mountainous charm. In conjunction with promoting comprehensive rural revitalization, we are building 100 beautiful and harmonious villages. At present, 164 villages have been selected as traditional Chinese villages.
Next, we will make greater efforts to solve several prominent ecological and environmental problems, create landmark achievements recognized by the public, and take concrete actions to build a strong ecological shield in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in preparation for the national-level World Environment Day event to be held in Chongqing next year. Thank you.
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