On October 17, a press conference was held by the Henan Provincial Government Information Office to discuss the ecological protection efforts in the Yellow River basin. According to Zhao Wei, the Deputy Director of the Henan Forestry Bureau, the province has made significant strides in enhancing its forest area and ecological quality through a strategy that focuses on “expanding greenery” and developing ecological corridors.
Zhao noted that over the past five years, municipalities within the Henan Yellow River basin have planted a total of 6.45 million acres of trees. The forestry department has designed five categories of construction models for ecological corridors, accounting for 31 different types based on various landscape features along the Yellow River, such as the topography and urban shoreline. To date, they have established 1194 kilometers of composite ecological corridors covering 118,000 acres, achieving continuous greening along the right bank of the Yellow River.
Additionally, efforts are being made to improve the ecological corridor of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which ensures that “clear water flows continuously northward.” The province is also focusing on constructing ecological belts along the Grand Canal, with a goal of creating protective and water-retaining forests, alongside agricultural forestry networks covering 13,600 acres.
Zhao emphasized that Henan remains committed to a multi-faceted approach to biodiversity protection. He reported that 95% of nationally protected wildlife species and 80% of typical ecosystems in the province are effectively safeguarded. The province has invested 326 million yuan into projects aimed at enhancing the infrastructure and capabilities of nature reserves. Notable achievements include the completion of pilot projects in 14 national wetland parks and the restoration of 27,800 acres of wetlands, with the historic wetland areas of the Yellow River in Minquan earning a spot on the list of “Internationally Important Wetlands.”
In recent years, the populations of rare and endangered flagship species in the Henan Yellow River basin have been steadily increasing. The globally endangered Baer’s Pochard has become a resident species of the Minquan Yellow River Historic Wetland Park, with populations peaking at approximately 300. Meanwhile, the Great Bustard has established a stable wintering population in the Zhengzhou Yellow River wetlands, and the numbers of endangered plants and animals, such as the Purple Peony, Taihang Flower, and Chinese Kiwi, have significantly risen.
Zhao concluded, “We can say that wildlife has cast its vote of approval for our ecological protection efforts with their wings and footprints.”
