鈥淚tisamovedesignedtosafeguardtheenironmentalbalanceinJiangxi,鈥漵aidQiuShuiwen,directorofJiangxiProvincialDepartmentofForestry,inanewsbriefinAugustthisyear.Bytheendof2018,headsoflocalgovernmentandPartycommitteesatfivelevelsofprovince,prefecture,county,township,andvillagewillhaveworkedasforestchiefsandwillbeheldaccountableforallmountainsandforestsacrosstheprovince,accordingtoQiu.
Lakeandriverchiefs,aswellasmountainandforestchiefsareallpartofthereformofChina鈥檚environmentalgovernancesystem.InJiangxi,thededicationtobuildagreenenvironmentisanexampleofthecountry鈥檚effortstobuildabeautifulChina.
InstitutionalInnovation
Forestprotectionisthepremiseofenvironmentalconservation.鈥淭hepracticeofappointingforestchiefsisaninstitutionalinnovationtoreformtheoversightsystemforenvironmentalprotection.Theinstructivemoveisreinforcedbythesystemsofriverandlakechiefs,鈥漵aidQiu,explainingthatriverandlakechiefscouldnotworkeffectivelywithoutthesupportofforestchiefs.
Waterandforestsformanecosystem.Oncetheforestisdestroyed,theresultingsoilerosionwillexacerbatethesiltationofriversandlakes,whichwillinturnthreatentheriverecosystemandenvironmentthathumanbeingsrelyon.
JiangxiboastsrichwaterresourcesthankstothereputablePoyangLake,thepassingYangtzeRiver,andtheGanjiangRiver.Forestsaccountfor63.1percentoftheentirearea,makingitoneofthe鈥済reenest鈥漰rovincesinChina.OldcamphortreesstandtallinNiutianTownshipofLe鈥檃nCounty,JiangxiProvince.PhotoscourtesyoftheDepartmentofForestry,JiangxiProvince.However,withacceleratingindustrializationandurbanization,Jiangxifacesthedauntingchallengeofprotectingforestryresources.Insomeplaces,forestsandwoodswereoverexploitedforshort-termgains,whilerampantpoaching,disorderedwoodlandoccupation,anddeforestationarejeopardizinglocalforestryandenvironmentalconservation.Unclearaccountabilityandsupervisionsystemsarealsocontributingfactorstothischallenge.
ChinesePresidentXiJinpingurgedlocalgovernmentstoprotectthenaturalenvironmentandstrikeabal-ancebetweeneconomicgrowthandecologicalconservationduringatourtoJiangxiinFebruary2016.FollowingXi鈥檚instruction,Jiangxihasbeensteppingupeffortsinthisregard.ItfirstpilotedthepracticeofappointingmountainandforestchiefsinFuzhou,Wuning,andgainedvaluableexperiencebeforeexpandingthepracticeprovincewide.
GreenIncome
鈥淢yfamily鈥檚yearlyincomehasnowgrowntooverRMB40,000(aboutUS$5,848)morethantenfoldofthepastaswehaveanagritouristbusiness,offeringbedandbreakfastservicesandsellingvegetablesandhome-madehoney,鈥漵aidGuoZhihong,aresidentinChangshuiVillage,WuningCountyofJiangxi.Insteadofexploitingtheforestandwoodsonmountains,localvillagerslikeGuoturnedtotourismbasedonrichlocalforestresources,andsawtheirlivelihoodsgreatlyimprove.
WuningCountywasthefirsttoadopttheforestchiefpracticeacrosstheprovincein2016.Withforestchiefsheldaccountableatthelevelsofcounty,township,andvillage,thecountyhasreachedabalancebetweenenvironmentalconservationandeconomicdevelopment.
鈥淥verthepasttwoyears,WuningCountyhasexploredasuccessfulpathofgreengrowth,鈥漵aidDuShaohua,thecounty鈥檚Partychiefandgeneralchiefofforests.Thereare29forestresorts,severalforestsightseeingbasesandleisurecentersinthecounty,whichisdenselycoveredbywoods.Inthefirstquarterof2018,theseplacesreceivedabout100,000touristsintotal.
Inaddition,thelocalgovernmenttookadvantageofitsrichresourcesandfosteredagribusinessesbysupportingorchards,plantingherbs,flowersandtea,andraisinglivestockandbees.LuxiTown,forexample,turnedavastwastelandintoatea-plantingbase.Atotalof66poverty-strickenhouseholdsinthetownsecuredastablesourceofincomefromthisinitiative.Oneoftheprioritiesforlocalgovernmentthisyearistobuilda140-km-longgreencorridoralongitsmainhighways.
Atpresent,thecountyhas96forestrydemonstrationbasesincluding9,867hectaresoforchards,2,667hectaresofherbfields,1,733hectaresofflowerfields,abee-keepingfacilitywithacapacityof35,000cases,and6,133hectaresofhigh-yieldcamelliasasanquafarms.
WuningCountytooktheinitiativeinJiangxitoallowfarmerstoraiseamortgageonmanagementrightsofthewoodland,expandingthefinancingchannelforstartinganagribusiness.Meanwhile,itencouragestransferofthemanagementrightsforintensiveforestryonamoderatelylargerscale.Asaresult,therearesixagriculturalenterprisesatprovincialorhigherlevelsand40forestrycooperativesthroughoutthecounty.OnecooperativespecializinginplantingChinesechestnutshasbeenapprovedasanationaldemonstrationcooperative.
Thesereformshavegivenmomentumtogreendevelopment.Besidesoverseeingenvironmentalconservation,forestchiefsalsofunctionasleadersofpovertyalleviationcampaignsineveryvillage.Agreeneconomyisprioritizedastheycombinethesetwotasks.Whilelearningfromsuccessfulpracticesinboostingforestry-relatedbusinessesadoptedbyotherregions,theforestchiefshavepassedontheirknowledgetoruralresidentssothattheyarecapableofself-development.
InLe鈥檃nCounty,localgovernmenthaslaunchedfourtrainingprogramsonplantationandanimalhusbandryforforestkeepers,enablingthemtospearheadpovertyalleviationefforts.Localvillagesareabletoincreasetheirincomebydevelopingforestry-relatedagribusinessinsteadoffellingtrees.
ForSustainability
AccordingtoQiuShuiwen,Jiangxi鈥檚forestchiefsystemaimstoachievefivegoals:First,toprotectforestsbycarryingoutthestrictestmanagementsystem.Second,toharnesstheforestresourcesfollowingtheprincipleofensuringafforestationinsteadofdeforestation.Third,toacceleratethebuildingofagridmanagementsystem(amanagementsystemdowntotheprimarylevel)forforestconservation.Fourth,totightenoversightonforestsusingtechnologyandonsiteinspections.Fifth,toimprovethesupervisionsystemthroughcultivatingcapablepersonnelsothatmanagementcanbeconductedonaregularbasisandcovertheentirearea.
Tothisend,theprovincialgovernmentintroducedasystemtoevaluatetheforestchiefs鈥檖erformancesandincorporatedtheirworkintotheassessmentofprefecturalandcountygovernmentsintermsofhigh-qualitydevelopmentandeffortsforecologicalprogressandecologicalcompensation.Officials鈥檖erformanceasforestchiefsareusedasimportantreferencesforpromotion.Thosewhofailtheirresponsibilitiesandcausedamagetotheenvironmentwillstillbeheldaccountableeveniftheyhaveleftoffice.
Theprovincehassetoutspecificgoalsoftheforestchiefsystem.Bytheendof2018,amanagementsystemwithforestchiefscoveringfivelevelsofprovince,prefecture-levelcity,county,township,andvillagewillbeputinplace.By2020,theprovincewillmaintainawoodlandareaof10.7millionhectares,andaforestareaof9.87millionhectares,morethan63.1percentoftheprovince鈥檚totalarea.Thegoalofsecuringexpandingforestresourceswithahighquality,beautifulenvironment,andthrivingforestry-relatedbusinesseswillbeachieved.By2035,theprovincewillbasicallyachieveitsforestrymodernizationwithwell-preservedforests,improvedecologicalfunctions,andmoreprominentgreenbenefits.