Full Text: Integrated Reform Plan for Promoting Ecological Progress (4)

7. Improving the state system of management for natural resource assets

In accordance with the principles of separating owners from regulators and assigning the responsibility for one matter to one single department, the currently diffuse duties and responsibilities of ownership of natural resource assets owned by the whole people will be integrated, and one body will be established to carry out the unified exercise of ownership rights for all types of natural resources owned by the whole people, such as mineral deposits, water flows, forests, mountains, grasslands, uncultivated land, marine areas, and tidal flats, and take responsibility for the sale of these natural resources.

8. Exploring the establishment of a system for exercising ownership rights at different levels

Research will be conducted to explore how a system can be put into practice in which, in accordance with the type of resource and its importance in relation to the ecological environment, the economy, and national defense, the central and local governments act as the agents of the owners of natural resource assets owned by the whole people, in order to achieve both efficiency and equity. Resources and territorial space for which the ownership rights are owned by the whole people and directly exercised by the Central Government will be distinguished from those for which the ownership rights are owned by the whole people and exercised by local governments. The Central Government will primarily exercise directly the ownership rights for petroleum and natural gas, valuable and rare mineral resources, key state-owned forests, major rivers and lakes, trans-boundary rivers, ecologically important wetlands and grasslands, marine areas, tidal flats, rare and endangered species of wild fauna and flora, and some national parks.

9. Launching trials for determining property rights for water flows and wetlands

Explorations will be made into establishing a water ownership system. Trials will be carried out in determining ownership of bodies of water, coast lines, and other aquatic ecospace. On the basis of respecting the systematic nature and integrity of water ecosystems, the ownership rights, use rights, and allowable volumes for water resource use will be delineated. Trials will be launched in Gansu, Ningxia, and other areas for determining the ownership of wetlands.

III. Establishing a System for the Development and Protection of Territorial Space

10. Improving the functional zoning system

National- and provincial-level planning of functional zones will be coordinated. Regional policies which are based on the functional zones will be improved. On the basis of the different functions- urban areas, primary production areas for agricultural products, or key ecosystem service areas - adjustments and improvements to policies regarding finance, industry, investment, population flow, land to be used for construction, resource development, and environmental protection will be stepped up.

11. Improving the regulatory system for the use of territorial space

The top-down land-use indices control system will be simplified and the method of allocating indices based on administrative district and baselines for land use will be adjusted. Development intensity indices will be broken down and assigned to the county-level administrative districts as binding quotas to control the total amount of land used for construction purposes. Land use regulation will be extended to all natural ecological spaces, ecological redlines will be defined and strictly observed, and arbitrary changes to land use will be strictly prohibited. Efforts will be made to protect against ecological redlines being crossed by unreasonable development and construction activities. The monitoring system for all territorial space will be improved and a longitudinal approach will be used to monitor changes within China's territorial space. (mo