近日，国家发展改革委、自然资源部联合印发了《全国重要生态系统保护和修复重大工程总体规划（2021—2035年）》（以下简称《规划》）。6月11日，国家发展改革委会同自然资源部、国家林草局举行新闻发布会，就当前我国生态保护和修复面临的形势、怎样保护和修复母亲河等热点问题进行了回应。

《规划》称，目前，我国生态环境质量呈现稳中向好趋势，各类自然生态系统恶化趋势基本得到遏制，稳定性逐步增强，重点生态工程区生态质量持续改善，国家重点生态功能区生态服务功能稳步提升，国家生态安全屏障骨架基本构筑。

《规划》明确，到2035年，通过大力实施重要生态系统保护和修复重大工程，全面加强生态保护和修复工作，全国森林、草原、荒漠、河湖、湿地、海洋等自然生态系统状况实现根本好转，生态系统质量明显改善，优质生态产品供给能力基本满足人民群众需求，人与自然和谐共生的美丽画卷基本绘就。

《规划》提出了“坚持保护优先，自然恢复为主”“坚持科学治理，推进综合施策”等基本原则；将重大工程重点布局在青藏高原生态屏障区、黄河重点生态区（含黄土高原生态屏障）、长江重点生态区（含川滇生态屏障）、东北森林带、北方防沙带、南方丘陵山地带、海岸带等重点区域，根据各区域的自然生态状况、主要生态问题，研究提出了主攻方向。

《规划》是推进全国重要生态系统保护和修复重大工程建设的总体设计，是编制和实施有关重大工程专项建设规划的重要依据，对推动全国生态保护和修复工作具有战略性、指导性作用。

《规划》在长江重点生态区布局了横断山区水源涵养与生物多样性保护，长江上中游岩溶地区石漠化综合治理，大巴山区生物多样性保护与生态修复，三峡库区生态综合治理，洞庭湖、鄱阳湖等河湖、湿地保护和恢复，大别山区水土保持与生态修复，武陵山区生物多样性保护，长江重点生态区矿山生态修复8个重点工程；在黄河重点生态区布局了黄土高原水土流失综合治理、秦岭生态保护和修复、贺兰山生态保护和修复、黄河下游生态保护和修复、黄河重点生态区矿山生态修复5个重点工程。

《规划》提出，到2035年，以国家公园为主体的自然保护地占陆域国土面积18%以上，濒危野生动植物及其栖息地得到全面保护。

据悉，2015年以来，我国先后开展了三江源国家公园、祁连山国家公园、东北虎豹国家公园、大熊猫国家公园、热带雨林国家公园等10个国家公园试点，覆盖面积22.29万平方公里。近年来，我国大力推动国家公园的保护和建设，国家公园内的生态系统得到了恢复。

另外，国家公园体制试点稳步推进，各个国家公园都建立了国家公园管理局、管理分局和管护站，管护体系初步建立起来。

今后要实施好国家公园保护修复工程，健全国家公园的保护制度，推动建立统一的国家公园管理体制，出台国家公园设立标准，制定国家公园总体布局和发展规划，推动国家公园立法工作，发挥典型引路作用，推动国家公园高质量发展。

China released a comprehensive 15-year plan for ecological protection and recovery work, setting a target to improve the country's environment and achieve the goal of building a Beautiful China by 2035.

In an effort to strengthen the shields for ecological security and protect biodiversity, nine major projects and 47 key tasks have been underlined in the plan, which was jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Trees cover a hillside in Wuqi, Shaanxi province, the first county involved in the Conversion of Cropland to Forest and Grassland Program, in last June. [Photo/Xinhua]

In the next 15 years, China will expand its forest coverage to 26 percent and have 75 percent of recoverable sandy land under control, according to the plan released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Moreover, China will maintain the area of natural forest at 200 million hectares and guarantee that 60 percent of its wetlands will be under protection, according to the plan.

The plan also aims to safeguard at least 35 percent of the country's natural coastlines and prevent the marine ecological condition from worsening.

In the past decades, China has built 2,750 natural reserves covering 1.47 million square kilometers, accounting for 15 percent of the country's land area, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

In August, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration announced that China's forest coverage had soared from 12 percent in the 1980s to 22.9 percent last year. In the area of the Three-North Shelterbelt Program alone, forest coverage rose from 5 percent in 1977 to 13 percent in 2017, reclaiming 336,000 square kilometers of desertified land.

However, there are still some challenges as the quality of its ecological systems still needs to be improved, and some regions are sacrificing the local environment to boost short-term economic growth, said Wu Xiao, director of the NDRC's department in charge of agriculture and rural economy.

"We are also facing the great challenge of protecting the country's water resources as well as its marine ecological system. A multiple solution system should be built with more involvement from new technology support," he said at a news conference on June 11.

"Ecological protection and recovery is comprehensive long-term work. The plan will serve as a guide for related departments at all levels to make detailed plans. And all those efforts will lay a solid foundation for China to realize its goal of building a beautiful country," Wu said.

Under the plan, nine major projects on ecological protection will be promoted in the next 15 years, covering many parts of the country, including the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, the forest area in Northeast China, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has specified efforts that need to be made in those core regions and made detailed protection plans under the nine projects, said Zhou Yuanbo, a senior official with the ministry.

Along the Yellow River, for example, he said five protection plans will be conducted to tackle water loss and soil erosion, further improve the environment along the Yellow River and protect endangered wildlife in the region, such as the giant panda and crested ibis.

According to the plan, China will have at least 18 percent of the country's territorial land as natural reserve by 2035 via the establishment of a natural reserve protection mechanism, with national parks as a crucial part.

Since 2015, China has approved 10 pilot national parks covering more than 220,000 square kilometers across the country, including the Qilian Mountains National Park in Gansu and Qinghai provinces, and the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces.

The pilot national parks have successfully contributed to saving endangered wildlife, according to Yan Zhen, an official from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

In Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, for example, the Siberian tiger and Amur leopard－two species noted as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List－have seen their numbers increase. The total population of the Siberian tiger now stands at 27, with the Amur leopard at 42.

With the pilot program ending this year, Yan said the programs that will become China's first batch of national parks will serve as a model for environmental protection work in other regions.