Yellow River protection efforts making progress

China has made significant strides in enhancing the ecological environment of the Yellow River Basin, according to Li Hongzhong, vice-chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

Reporting to the country's top legislature on Sunday, Li highlighted key achievements under the Yellow River Protection Law, which took effect on April 1, 2023, following its adoption in October 2022.

For the second consecutive year, the quality of the Yellow River's main course has met Grade II standards, the vice-chairman said. China uses a five-tier quality system for surface water, with Grade I being the highest.

Li also pointed to a significant increase in vegetation coverage in the basin, with 84.9 percent of the area showing positive trends. Over the past two decades, the basin's "green line" has shifted westward by about 300 kilometers.

In 2023, nine provincial-level regions along the Yellow River completed afforestation efforts covering 1.7 million hectares. Additionally, around 16,000 square kilometers of areas affected by water loss and soil erosion were treated.

Progress has also been made in pollution control, water conservation and energy transition. For example, in a campaign to address violations involving solid waste, nearly 118 million metric tons of trash were cleared from 4,084 locations.

Li noted that water consumption per unit of GDP and unit of industrial value added in the nine provincial regions of the basin decreased by 22.8 percent and 40.9 percent, respectively, from 2018 to 2023.

Thanks to ongoing efforts to promote the construction of wind and solar energy bases in the desertification-prone river's upper reaches, non-fossil energy generation in these areas now accounts for more than 48 percent of the total installed capacity.

Despite these advancements, Li acknowledged challenges remaining in further strengthening conservation efforts in the basin.

"The overall coordination mechanism for governance in the basin still needs improvement," he said, emphasizing the complexity of managing the Yellow River's upper and lower reaches, left and right banks, and main and tributary streams.

Li noted that while some inter-regional joint prevention and control projects have been signed, they lack effective coordination, leading to inadequate implementation. He also pointed to deficiencies in monitoring and information-sharing systems across the basin.

"Inconsistencies in basic monitoring data standards in certain regions are impeding collaborative information exchange," he stated.

To address these challenges, Li called for the rapid establishment of a comprehensive, intelligent information-sharing platform that spans various government levels throughout the basin.