In the golden autumn of October, fruitful fruits abound; The land of China is full of beautiful mountains and rivers. This is a very important conference held at a critical moment when the entire Party and people of all ethnic groups in the country are embarking on a new journey of comprehensively building a socialist modernized country and advancing towards the second centenary goal. It is related to the continuation of the Party and the country's cause, the future and destiny of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. We are filled with joy and spirit, and on behalf of the vast number of water conservancy cadres and workers, we warmly congratulate the successful convening of the conference!
Looking back at the past decade, with wind and rain, spring blossoms and autumn fruits. In the process of the development of the Party and the state, this has been an extremely unusual and extraordinary decade, as well as a decade of overcoming difficulties and achieving brilliant breakthroughs in water conservancy.
Flags lead the direction, ideas determine the way out.
"Green mountains and clear waters are like mountains of gold and silver." "We should work together to protect and not engage in large-scale development." "The emphasis is on protection and governance." "Water determines the city, land, people, and production." These innovative ideas, viewpoints, and judgments provide action guidelines and strong impetus for the development of water conservancy in the new era.
The construction of major water conservancy projects, the system of river and lake chiefs, the national water-saving action, and the ten-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River... The Party Central Committee and the State Council, for the overall plan and for future generations, coordinate the promotion of water disaster prevention and control, water resource conservation, water ecological protection and restoration, and water environment governance, make a series of major decisions and deployments, and carry out a series of fundamental, pioneering, and long-term work.
Guided by ideology, it is a never-ending relay that moves forward.
Over the past decade, we have remained steadfast in our thinking and pursued innovative development. Implement the principle of "four water and four fixed", fully implement the strictest water resource management system, accelerate the allocation of river water, deepen the reform of water rights, and take multiple measures to strengthen the conservation and intensive utilization of water resources; Strengthen the integrated protection and systematic management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and sands, coordinate efforts from upstream and downstream, left and right banks, and vigorously promote water ecological restoration and water environment protection; Continuously improving the water regulatory system, deepening reforms in key areas such as agricultural water pricing, water use rights trading, and water conservancy investment and financing, and strengthening the deep integration of new generation information technology and water conservancy business
Over the past decade, we have overcome difficulties and worked hard to forge ahead. Promote various water conservancy construction tasks with unconventional measures and efforts, encourage and attract social capital to participate in the construction and operation of water conservancy infrastructure, and ignite a magnificent wave of water conservancy construction; The work of the river and lake chief system has been vigorously promoted throughout the country, with the main leaders of the Party and government serving as commanders, and vigorously addressing the "Four Disorders" and root out stubborn diseases in rivers and lakes; Deeply implement the concept of "Two Adherences and Three Transformations" for disaster prevention, reduction, and relief, continuously improve the system of flood control engineering in the river basin, strengthen the measures of forecasting, early warning, and rehearsal plans, scientifically and finely schedule water conservancy projects, and build a solid water safety barrier
Over the past decade, we have worked together with one heart and dedicated ourselves to taking responsibility. Water conservancy personnel shoulder their duty, go against the tide, and fully protect the safety of the lives and property of the general public on the battlefield of flood control and drought resistance; Water conservancy cadres are rooted in the front line of poverty alleviation, crossing mountains and rural areas, and going to households to solve the problem of drinking water for the people; Promises were fulfilled one by one at the acceptance site of the "I do practical things for the people" project, and water related difficulties were successively overcome, in exchange for happy smiles from the people
Ten years of struggle, brilliant leaps. Under the strong leadership of the Party and guided by the concept of "putting the people first and life first", various sectors of society have paid attention to water management, united efforts in water management, and scientific water management. They have solved many long-standing water conservancy problems that have not been solved, and have accomplished many important water conservancy tasks that are related to the strategic overall situation, long-term development, and people's well-being. Not to disappoint history, not to disappoint the times, not to disappoint the people, water conservancy construction has made leaps and bounds, water management has achieved brilliant achievements, happy rivers and lakes have been blessed with people's livelihoods, and the land of China is bustling with rivers and streams.
We have witnessed a comprehensive leap in the defense capabilities against floods and droughts, as the country is prosperous and the people are strong. We have successfully overcome multiple major floods and severe droughts. In the past decade, the average annual loss caused by floods in China has decreased from 0.57% in the previous decade to 0.31% of GDP, effectively ensuring the safety of people's lives and property, water supply and food security, and ensuring stable economic and social operation. The way of using water has shifted from extensive and inefficient to conservation and intensification, with significant improvements in water efficiency and efficiency. China has nurtured nearly 20% of the world's population with 6% of the world's freshwater resources, creating over 18% of the world's total economic output.
We witness that in a prosperous era, water is thriving and important tools are in hand - the overall pattern of water resource allocation with "north-south allocation and east-west mutual assistance" has taken shape, and the national water network with "complete system, safety and reliability, intensive efficiency, green intelligence, smooth circulation, and orderly regulation" is accelerating its construction. Over the past decade, the investment in water conservancy construction has reached 6.66 trillion yuan. In the first three quarters of this year, the national investment in water conservancy construction exceeded 800 billion yuan, and the annual target task was completed three months ahead of schedule. We are striving to achieve the historic goal of investing 1 trillion yuan and creating a new miracle in the history of water conservancy construction in China.
We witness that the historic issue of water supply for the vast majority of farmers has been resolved, as water nourishes every household and brings abundant years. We have produced 75% of the country's grain and over 90% of its economic crops on the irrigation area, which accounts for 54% of the country's arable land. This has laid a solid foundation for water conservancy for the Chinese people to firmly hold their rice bowls in their own hands.
We witness the recovery of rivers and lakes, the beautiful China - a large number of rivers that have been cut off for many years, such as the Yongding River, have resumed full water supply. The Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal has achieved its first full line connection in a century, and the area and intensity of soil erosion in the country have both decreased. More and more rivers have regained life, more and more watersheds have regained vitality, and more and more rivers and lakes have become happy rivers and lakes that benefit the people.
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Looking back on the road, the years are full of ups and downs; Looking ahead to a new journey, the river is clear and the water is wide.
Emphasis must be placed on firmly establishing and practicing the concept that green mountains and clear waters are invaluable assets, adhering to the integrated protection and systematic management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and sands, and continuously deepening the defense of blue skies, clear waters, and pure land. We will coordinate the management of water resources, water environment, and aquatic ecology, promote the ecological protection and management of important rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, basically eliminate urban black and odorous water bodies, promote the restoration of grasslands, forests, rivers, lakes, and wetlands, implement a ten-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River, improve the ecological protection compensation system, and coordinate hydropower development and ecological protection. At the same time, emphasis is placed on promoting the modernization of the national security system and capabilities, firmly implementing the overall national security concept, improving the national security system, strengthening the construction of security capabilities in key areas, ensuring the security of the food supply chain, and improving the capacity for disaster prevention, reduction and relief, as well as handling emergency and difficult public events
New journey, new mission, new expectations, new responsibilities!
Standing at the new historical starting point of Chinese path to modernization and facing the examination papers of the new era, we are energetic and have a strong step. We are determined to break through the situation and deepen reform in the new journey, and continue to turn the people's yearning for a better life into a driving force for forging ahead and into a foreseeable goal. We will follow the deployment made at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, closely focus on the second centenary goal and the strategic arrangement of socialist modernization construction, promote the high-quality development of water conservancy in the new era, unite and do a good job in improving the basin flood control engineering system, implementing major national water network projects, reviving the ecological environment of rivers and lakes, promoting smart water conservancy construction, establishing and improving water-saving systems and policies, strengthening the legal management of water conservancy systems and mechanisms, and other key water conservancy work in the new stage. We will fully implement the "water-saving priority, spatial balance, systematic governance, and dual efforts" water control concept throughout the entire process of high-quality water conservancy development, providing solid water conservancy support for high-quality economic and social development.
On this vast land of our motherland, with great rivers, small streams, bustling cities, and fertile plains, there are many places waiting for us to gallop and work hard; Water management, watershed management, digital empowerment, and institutional reform are important tools for water management, and many fields are waiting for water conservancy workers to persevere and make contributions.
Wishing the conference a complete success!
Source: China Water Resources Website, October 16, 2022
