Yellow River Basin on course for greener future

Efforts stepped up to ensure ecological protection, high-quality development

Tourists visit the Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River in Jixian county, Shanxi province, on Aug 8. ZHU XINGXIN/CHINA DAILY

In mid-September, the Maqu wetlands in Gansu province are a picturesque scene of lush grasslands stretching toward the horizon like a green carpet, with rivers and waterways shimmering under the late summer sunshine.

A bridge spanning the Yellow River connects Qinghai province, where the river originates in the west, with the Maqu wetlands in the east.

The Yellow River winds its way through Maqu county for 433 kilometers, with over 300 of its tributaries flowing through vast grasslands and wetlands.

These waterways replenish the Yellow River with nearly 10 billion cubic meters of water annually, making it a crucial water source conservation area in the upper reaches of the river.

Ma Jianyun, the chief engineer of the forestry technology comprehensive service station at the county's natural resources bureau, points at photos taken before and after to show the success of restoration efforts in recent years. "Look at how the barren riverbanks have turned lush and green. The effects of desertification control are evident," he said.

President Xi Jinping stressed improvement in conservation efforts of the river basin and its high-quality development when he chaired a symposium in Lanzhou, Gansu's capital, on Sept 12.

Xi underlined the need to promote new progress in ecological protection across the basin, green transformation, high-quality development, and improvement in the people's livelihood.

Revered as China's "Mother River" and a cradle of civilization, the Yellow River flows through nine provinces and autonomous regions, and impacts the lives of 420 million people.

Despite facing challenges such as frequent flooding, efforts are already underway to strengthen the protection and development of this key waterway.

In October 2021, China released a comprehensive outline for the protection and development of the Yellow River Basin, aiming to guide policy formulation and engineering projects to address the basin's unique challenges.

The implementation of the national Yellow River Protection Law in April last year, along with provincial regulations tailored to local conditions, further enhances governance and protection of the river.

"The ecological protection and high-quality development strategy in the Yellow River Basin, as well as policies and regulations such as the Yellow River Protection Law, have provided us with a foundation for our work," said Chen Xiaowei, director of the Yellow River channel management station in Lanzhou.

Chen and his team not only patrol the river to monitor ecological challenges, but also disseminate policies and regulations to the public to enhance people's awareness about environmental protection.

"Today, the banks of the Yellow River in Lanzhou are shaded by lush trees, and filled with the fragrance of flowers, attracting a continuous flow of residents and tourists," said Chen.

Tourists visit the Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River in Jixian county, Shanxi province, on Aug 8. ZHU XINGXIN/CHINA DAILY

Wetlands preservation

In the 1990s, Maqu faced significant grassland desertification issues along the Yellow River due to permafrost degradation, frequent river course changes, and wind erosion. This led to water conservation and biodiversity being compromised. On windy days, for instance, sand would blanket the grasslands, posing problems for local herders.

In 2021, Gansu launched an integrated protection and restoration project for its mountains, waters, forests, lakes, grasslands and sand resources in the upper Yellow River Basin to restore degraded grasslands and wetlands, and to control erosion.

By the end of 2023, over 42,000 hectares of land along the Yellow River in Maqu had been restored.

Chopa Dondrub, 32, has long been aware of the ecological changes in Maqu, his hometown.

In 2019, after graduating from Southwest Minzu University with a master's degree in ethnology, he returned home and established the Maqu County Ecological Environment Protection Association.

One of his responsibilities involves collaborating with the local community to address the issue of black soil patches. The patches are a consequence of alpine vegetation degradation and create bare spots in the grasslands. If left unattended, they can expand, impacting soil conservation and posing an environmental threat.

"Black soil patches are soft, and one may find their shoes sinking in when walking on them," said Chopa Dondrub.

The process of restoring black soil patches is not complex but requires attention to detail and patience, he said.

Chopa Dondrub and his volunteers plant grass seeds in spring, which are a meter high by November, successfully covering the black soil patches.

Over the past five years, Chopa Dondrub and his team have restored tens of thousands of spots affected by black soil patches, with the areas varying in size from 1 square meter to 10 sq m.

Fighting a 'green desert'

In Dongying, Shandong province, where the Yellow River flows into the sea, a different problem is being dealt with – controlling the spread of an invasive plant species.

"For many years, we have been in a battle with this 'green' in the delta," said Zhou Licheng, head of the planning and construction department in the Shandong Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in Dongying.

The "green" he is referring to is smooth cordgrass, or Spartina alterniflora, a plant native to the US Atlantic coast and a dominant species in coastal intertidal wetlands due to its tolerance to fluctuating water depths and salinity.

"A large part of the reserve appeared to be lush and green, but it was actually a deceptive 'green desert' where most of the native flora and benthic organisms had died. The soil smelled foul whenever roots were dug out," said Zhou.

Now the "green desert" has disappeared thanks to years of effort to eradicate the cordgrass.

In the reserve is a stone monument inscribed with the words "Shengli Oilfield Kendong 12", marking a former oil extraction site and the primary battleground for controlling smooth cordgrass.

From a vantage point on a high platform, visitors can see the vast expanse of tidal flats stretching toward the distant horizon. Next to the stone monument, there is a row of display boards showcasing photos of the area in the past – endless expanses of lush, green cordgrass.

Beside the display boards are withered specimens of smooth cordgrass, with roots resembling a bird's nest and stems stretching up to 2 meters in length.

"Its name sounds romantic and poetic, with an appearance resembling rice ears," said Zhou, adding the plant has strong salt tolerance.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the plant was introduced to Dongying to stabilize embankments and slow coastal erosion.

"At the beginning, we did not fully understand its harm and simply saw it as scenic. Later, its growth became too vigorous, making other salt-tolerant plants disappear. Birds had nowhere to find food, so they flew away," Zhou said.

"We dug up a smooth cordgrass and found that its roots could penetrate nearly one meter into the soil. The roots contained many clam and crab shells, and emitted a putrid smell," he added.

The area of smooth cordgrass in Dongying covered 8,733 hectares by 2010, posing a severe threat to the delta's wetland ecosystem.

The city began to explore ways to control the spread of the plant in 2016. In the reserve, workers set up an experimental field and tried six control methods, incorporating both physical and chemical technologies.

Eventually, they worked out a control strategy tailored to specific areas, and in 2020 began to clear the smooth cordgrass.

They removed all aboveground vegetation before their seeds matured and were dispersed. Workers then enclosed specified areas with a special film to trap and hold up to 60 centimeters of seawater, which killed the plant's root system by subjecting it to high salinity levels for 90 days.

Another method involved continuous plowing to crush the roots to about 10 centimeters so they could be cleared away.

Meanwhile, workers restored native species such as Suaeda salsa and seagrass beds, which helped conserve biodiversity and improve soil quality.

More than 99 percent of smooth cordgrass has been removed from the reserve, leading to the return of some fauna that had been absent for years.

Birds return home

The increasing number of creatures and improved ecological environment have attracted flocks of birds to the reserve and some have settled there permanently, said Zhou.

The Yellow River estuary migratory bird sanctuary was listed as a World Natural Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in July.

As the ecological environment improves, the Hukou Waterfall area on the Yellow River in Shanxi province has also transformed into a "bird paradise". Species such as black storks, herons, egrets, black-winged stilts, and geese have become the subjects of photographer Lyu Guiming.

The 52-year-old grew up along the banks of the Yellow River. He has been taking photos while working at the waterfall scenic area for over two decades.

"This is a photo I took of the Hukou Waterfall in 2005, with very turbid water; and this one was taken in 2015, where the water flow is noticeably clearer," said Lyu.

"The ecological environment here has substantially improved during the past years," he added.

Cranes fly over the Yellow River Delta wetland in Dongying, Shandong province. ZHANG XIAOLONG/FOR CHINA DAILY

The sand and mud carried by the Yellow River has significantly decreased thanks to a series of ecological protection and restoration projects such as wetland restoration and desertification control in the upper reaches of the river.

Located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, Shanxi benefits from these protection and restoration projects. The province, once heavily dependent on the coal industry, is now committed to achieving results in ecological environment protection.

The forest coverage rate in Shanxi has increased from 18.03 percent in 2010 to 23.57 percent in 2020, with the rate in the Yellow River Basin reaching 25.25 percent, according to provincial government statistics.

In the Hukou Waterfall scenic area, Jixian county had invested more than 23 million yuan since 2020 to expand forest coverage, planting over 15,000 evergreen trees, more than 20,000 flowering shrubs, 17,000 lilacs, 50,000 ivy plants, and cultivating over 40,000 sq m of perennial flowers and grasses, according to the statistics released in 2023.

The province will implement the Regulations on Ecological Protection and High-Quality Development in the Yellow River Basin of Shanxi Province on Oct 1.

The regulations request the integration of key afforestation projects across the province to build a forest system, and a gradual increase in the forest coverage rate in the Yellow River Basin, said Sun Junrong, deputy director of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the Shanxi Provincial People's Congress.

"With the collaborative efforts along the river, I believe the Yellow River will become more beautiful," said Lyu.