Research and Practice on Ecological Environment Protection in Water Conservancy and Hydropower Development Projects

Author: None
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Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: In recent years, with the intensification of water resource development and hydropower construction, environmental issues have become increasingly prominent, and the social impact has deepened, making harmonious development imperative. The Party Central Committee proposed establishing a scientific development concept and building a harmonious society, laying the foundation for environmental protection to participate in macro-level social development decisions. Through the efforts of all sectors, significant shifts have occurred in the national energy development strategy and power development policies. Hydropower development has been adjusted from "active development of hydropower" in the 10th Five-Year Plan to "orderly development of hydropower on the basis of ecological protection" in the 11th Five-Year Plan. This is a strategic decision by the Party Central Committee, the result of the work of comrades from environmental protection and hydropower-related fields, and the guiding principle for hydropower development in the coming period.
In January 2005, the State Environmental Protection Administration and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the "Notice on Strengthening Environmental Protection in Hydropower Construction" (No. [2005] 13 of Huanfa), proposing that macro-level long-term issues in planning be gradually addressed through environmental impact assessments, while also introducing hydropower environmental technical policies to resolve current issues in key development basins.
In December 2005, the Technical Policy Symposium on Water Environment and Aquatic Ecological Protection for Hydropower and Water Conservancy Projects studied the new situations and problems faced, grasped the main contradictions in the environmental impact of hydropower and water conservancy projects, and proposed policy recommendations and technical methods to address prominent environmental protection issues in hydropower and water conservancy.
This collection compiles the outcomes of the symposium and plays an important role in guiding environmental impact assessments and environmental management for hydropower and water conservancy construction. At the same time, strategic research must be strengthened. The basic spirit of the 11th Five-Year Plan outline in the field of resource development is to reflect "orderly and limited" development, implementing a comprehensive sustainable development strategy through the of the four major national functional zones. Hydropower is an indispensable energy resource for the country. Based on this principle, and considering the local hydropower resource endowment, environmental capacity, ecological conditions, and economic development needs, combined with ecological functional zone planning, hydropower development planning for the 11th Five-Year Plan should be formulated as soon as possible according to the principles of "unified planning, reasonable layout, orderly development, and priority protection." This will determine regions for priority development, restriction, and prohibition, achieving orderly development on the basis of ecological protection.