China's past efforts toward green development

China's journey for environmental protection began in August 1973 at a two-week national conference held in Beijing, the first one on environmental protection. At this milestone conference, a 32-character principle was adopted together with draft regulations on the protection and improvement of the environment, thus sounding the marching order for a national campaign to eliminate pollution and conserve the environment. 

Awareness of environmental protection began to emerge in the 1950s and 1960s when production was still backward and there was not yet much damage to the ecosystems and environment. In the 1970s, pollution became more serious in some regions and environmental protection was for the first time put on the agenda. In 1972, China sent its first delegation to the United Nations Conference on Environment. The following year saw the convening of China's first national conference on environmental protection, marking the beginning of a nationwide effort to tackle the problem. Then environmental protection agencies were set up and programs were launched at the central, provincial and prefectural levels in a three-tier structure to prevent and control pollution.

"Six Old Men" and Their Children Building an Oasis in Desert 

Babusha, a place in Gulang County, Gansu Province, where the current forest farm stands, was known for its ferocious sandstorms. In 1981, Shi Man and his five fellow villagers started to plant trees to keep off the sand. Their children and grandchildren followed their footsteps. For 38 years, they have planted trees on 145 square kilometers of land and looked after 251 square kilometers of grassy meadows. With the utmost perseverance, they have built a green barrier to block the advance of desert, thus becoming the inspiring story of the "six old men" from Babusha. 

Kubuqi's Experience in Combating Desertification Won International Recognition 

The Kubuqi Desert in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, covering an area of 18,600 square kilometers, is one of the three sources of the sandstorms that sweep through Beijing and Tianjin every year. Persistent efforts have tamed over 6,000 square kilometers of desert, with forest coverage up to 15.7 percent, and vegetation to 53 percent. Kubuqi has changed from a desert to a "green bank" with mountains, waters, woods, farmland, lakes, grass and sand. Its climate has improved too. Its experience in combatting desertification has been recognized internationally and is spreading far and wide along the Belt and Road. Pictured here is the sea buckthorn in the Kubuqi Desert. 

As China started its reform and opening-up drive, institutional structure was put in place for environmental protection with a number of major steps, such as making environmental protection a fundamental national policy, establishing the State Environmental Protection Administration and passing the Environmental Protection Law. These moves put environmental protection on a sound footing and went a long way toward addressing pollution.

In the 21st century, major progress has been made in environmental protection, with the introduction of new laws and regulations and substantial efforts to promote sustainable development. There is a heightened awareness of the importance of environment and new approaches have been adopted for its protection. During this process, ecological conservation was proposed as a strategy and an important goal for building a modern socialist country, the same as four other goals for economic, political, cultural and social progress. 

Green development marks a new beginning in our environmental effort. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee led by Xi Jinping has placed unprecedented importance on the goal of building a beautiful China: ecological civilization has now become one of the basic principles that underpin our endeavors to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era; green development has been incorporated into the new vision for development; and pollution control is listed as one of the three tough issues to be resolved before China could achieve its goal for a moderately prosperous society. With the resolve and tough policies and measures, we will be able to make steady progress in our endeavor to protect the environment. 

The views don't necessarily reflect those of Qiushi Journal.