Yu Aihua, deputy of the National People's Congress: Enhancing the ecological protection of Dabie Mountain

  Over the years, the people of Dabie Mountains in Anhui have worked hard and made tremendous achievements in economic and social development. However, due to the harsh natural conditions and fragile ecology, there is a big gap compared with the developed coastal areas. Yu Aihua, deputy to the National People's Congress and Secretary of the Anqing Municipal Party Committee, suggested that ecological protection in Dabie Mountains should be strengthened and relevant industries suitable for development and ecological protection should be explored locally.

  The Dabie Mountains area in Anhui Province integrates mountainous areas, old revolutionary areas, poverty-stricken areas and flood storage areas along the Huaihe River. Yuexi County, Taihu County, Qianshan County, Susong County, Wangjiang County and other five poverty-stricken counties at the national level and parts of Tongcheng City are all included. Over the years, great achievements have been made in the economic and social development of the Dabie Mountains, especially in the construction of a number of infrastructure projects such as transportation, which has greatly improved the external contacts and exchanges of the old areas. However, due to the bad natural conditions and fragile ecological environment, the gap between the economic and social development of the old area and the developed coastal areas is huge, and there is a trend of further widening. At the same time, the Dabie Mountains is an important geographical dividing line between North and south of China, and an important water conservation area and natural ecological barrier in the central region. In the report of the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, "vigorously promote the construction of ecological civilization" and strengthen the protection of natural ecosystems and the environment.

  So Yu Aihua put forward some suggestions to strengthen the ecological protection of Dabie Mountains. Firstly, the Dabie Mountain National Nature and Ecology Reserve should be planned and constructed, and measures such as afforestation should be vigorously implemented in the reserve to gradually reduce the degree of development so as to restore the natural and ecological functions; a special national protection fund should be set up to be used in the construction of various conservation measures, ecosystem restoration and biodiversity survey in the reserve; and an ecological compensation mechanism should be established to compensate for the damage caused by compensation. According to the principle of using, we should give corresponding compensation to embody the ecological value; carry out migratory poverty alleviation and development, mobilize the masses of mountainous areas to relocate consciously, government subsidies, and concentrate on housing to help solve the livelihood problems of employment, production, life, pension, medical treatment and schooling; and develop relevant industries suitable for ecological protection. It is strictly forbidden to exploit mineral resources on a large scale in protected areas and adjacent areas, to develop heavy chemical industries with "three highs and one capital", to properly develop local light industries and to encourage the development of tourism.