Building Solid Ecological Barriers and Promoting …
757
stressing the development of ecological civilization and ecological protection, and
also reflecting that the Party Central Committee was determined to do a good job in
building ecological civilization and was confident in adhering to green development.
1. The profile of the Qilian Mountains in Gansu
The Qilian Mountains is a huge mountain system located in the northeastern part
of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, to northeast Qinghai, and on the western border of
Gansu. It is made up of several parallel mountains and wide valleys running from
northwest to southeast. The part of the Qilian Mountains in Gansu mainly includes
five cities, namely Wuwei, Jinchang, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Jiayuguan, and a part of
Lanzhou—a populated region serving as Gansu’s most important industrial hub and
agricultural production base. The Qilian Mountains has a wide variety of glaciers,
snow-capped mountains, forests, wetlands and grasslands, and its 2,859 glaciers,
large and small, collectively have an ice reserve of 81.12 billion cubic meters. Its
forest ecosystems are a vital base for preserving biodiversity of China and even the
world—the most important natural barrier that ensures ecological safety in northwest
China. The forests help store precipitation in the mountainous areas, forming 56
inland rivers in the Shiyang River, Ruo Shui, and the Shule River systems. Over the
years, the average self-produced surface water resources have exceeded 5.6 billion
cubic meters, and the groundwater resources, calculated without double counting,
have reached 470 million cubic meters—all of which are used to irrigate 0.7 million
hectares of farmlands, 1.1 million hectares of woodlands, and 8 million hectares
of grasslands in the Hexi Corridor and Ejina, a banner in the far west of Inner
Mongolia, and to ensure the supply of water to thousands of industrial and mining
enterprises, such as Jinchuan Group and Jiuquan Iron and Steel (Group), and the
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. All in all, it’s very important to protect the glaciers
and ecological environment in the Qilian Mountains, improve the forests’ capabilities
of conserving water, and conserve the Shiyang River, Ruo Shui, and the Shule River,
along with the Yellow River. It’s also vital to curb the merging of the Tengger, Badain
Jaran and Kumtag Deserts, protect biodiversity, optimize the regional ecological
environment, and promote social harmony along the Hexi Corridor. All of these
can ensure ecological security and smooth land transportation across China, keep
China’s energy strategic channel unblocked, achieve national unity, prosperity and
development, and stabilize China’s borders.
2. The overall issues faced by ecosystems of the Qilian Mountains
Due to global warming and excessive human activities, the Qilian Mountains is
becoming arid, with some areas seeing retreated glaciers and snow lines, vegetation
degradation, increased desertification, less run-offs from the mountainous region,
and declined biodiversity—environmental degradation that needs to be reversed.
The ecological environments of the Qilian Mountains and the Hexi Corridor are
now in a state characterized by partial improvement yet overall deterioration, with
restoration and conservation far behind destruction and degradation, thus revealing
an apparent conflict between economic development and ecological protection.
757
stressing the development of ecological civilization and ecological protection, and
also reflecting that the Party Central Committee was determined to do a good job in
building ecological civilization and was confident in adhering to green development.
1. The profile of the Qilian Mountains in Gansu
The Qilian Mountains is a huge mountain system located in the northeastern part
of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, to northeast Qinghai, and on the western border of
Gansu. It is made up of several parallel mountains and wide valleys running from
northwest to southeast. The part of the Qilian Mountains in Gansu mainly includes
five cities, namely Wuwei, Jinchang, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Jiayuguan, and a part of
Lanzhou—a populated region serving as Gansu’s most important industrial hub and
agricultural production base. The Qilian Mountains has a wide variety of glaciers,
snow-capped mountains, forests, wetlands and grasslands, and its 2,859 glaciers,
large and small, collectively have an ice reserve of 81.12 billion cubic meters. Its
forest ecosystems are a vital base for preserving biodiversity of China and even the
world—the most important natural barrier that ensures ecological safety in northwest
China. The forests help store precipitation in the mountainous areas, forming 56
inland rivers in the Shiyang River, Ruo Shui, and the Shule River systems. Over the
years, the average self-produced surface water resources have exceeded 5.6 billion
cubic meters, and the groundwater resources, calculated without double counting,
have reached 470 million cubic meters—all of which are used to irrigate 0.7 million
hectares of farmlands, 1.1 million hectares of woodlands, and 8 million hectares
of grasslands in the Hexi Corridor and Ejina, a banner in the far west of Inner
Mongolia, and to ensure the supply of water to thousands of industrial and mining
enterprises, such as Jinchuan Group and Jiuquan Iron and Steel (Group), and the
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. All in all, it’s very important to protect the glaciers
and ecological environment in the Qilian Mountains, improve the forests’ capabilities
of conserving water, and conserve the Shiyang River, Ruo Shui, and the Shule River,
along with the Yellow River. It’s also vital to curb the merging of the Tengger, Badain
Jaran and Kumtag Deserts, protect biodiversity, optimize the regional ecological
environment, and promote social harmony along the Hexi Corridor. All of these
can ensure ecological security and smooth land transportation across China, keep
China’s energy strategic channel unblocked, achieve national unity, prosperity and
development, and stabilize China’s borders.
2. The overall issues faced by ecosystems of the Qilian Mountains
Due to global warming and excessive human activities, the Qilian Mountains is
becoming arid, with some areas seeing retreated glaciers and snow lines, vegetation
degradation, increased desertification, less run-offs from the mountainous region,
and declined biodiversity—environmental degradation that needs to be reversed.
The ecological environments of the Qilian Mountains and the Hexi Corridor are
now in a state characterized by partial improvement yet overall deterioration, with
restoration and conservation far behind destruction and degradation, thus revealing
an apparent conflict between economic development and ecological protection.