From paying attention to water quality to paying attention to water ecology —— A direct attack on the ＂physical examination＂ of the Yangtze River
Xinhua News Agency, Wuhan, May 13th: From focusing on water quality to focusing on water ecology — — The Yangtze River "big physical examination" hits directly
Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Siyuan
"This is a lake area, and there is a risk of contracting schistosomiasis. Don’t touch the water with your arms." At 2 o’clock on the afternoon of May 13th, in Dongting Lake, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, under the reminder of colleagues, Han Tangrui, a post-90s monitor, pulled up the mud collector from the bottom of the water with his body close to the boathouse. The weight of 40 or 50 kilograms of mud collector and sediment made his face red.
Han Tangrui comes from the Ecological Environment Monitoring and Scientific Research Center of the Yangtze River Basin Ecological Environment Supervision Administration of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and is also a staff member of the pilot monitoring of water ecological assessment in the Yangtze River Basin in the spring of 2023.
The picture shows the monitor collecting zooplankton samples. Xinhua News Agency reporter Xiao Yijiu photo
In April this year, under the leadership of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the pilot monitoring of water ecological assessment in the Yangtze River Basin was launched in the spring of 2023. Monitoring personnel from the Yangtze River Basin Ecological Environment Supervision Administration and other units will comprehensively monitor the water ecology of 331 points in the main stream, key tributaries and key lakes and reservoirs of the Yangtze River from Qinghai to Shanghai within two months to find out the water ecological base of the Yangtze River and make a "big physical examination" for the mother river of the Yangtze River.
According to the job requirements, the main task of Han Tangrui and his colleagues is to collect samples of macrobenthic invertebrates and zooplankton. "These creatures are important indicators of the health of water ecology. Macrobenthic invertebrates, although called ‘ Large ’ In fact, they are not big, some species are only a few millimeters in size, but they are very sensitive to changes in environmental conditions such as hydrology, water quality and climate, and are called ‘ Underwater sentry ’ 。” Han Tangrui introduced.
The picture shows that the monitoring personnel are measuring the on-site parameters of water ecological environment. Xinhua News Agency reporter Xiao Yijiu photo
In recent years, with the continuous promotion of the great protection of the Yangtze River, the ecological environment protection in the Yangtze River Economic Belt has undergone a turning point, and the ecological environment quality has been continuously improved. "The water quality is constantly improving, and the proportion of water quality section of Grade III exceeds 98%, which means that it is necessary to improve the health of the Yangtze River ‘ Portrait ’ In addition to using traditional physical and chemical indicators of water quality, we have to rely on higher-level water ecological monitoring. " Xu Yi, director of the Yangtze River Basin Ecological Environment Supervision Administration, said that China plans to take the lead in establishing a water ecological assessment mechanism in the Yangtze River Basin, and to establish this mechanism, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive "physical examination" of the Yangtze River.
According to reports, in order to more accurately grasp the water ecological status of the Yangtze River and lay the foundation for the water ecological assessment of the Yangtze River Basin, this year, the Yangtze River Basin Ecological Environment Supervision Administration added two indicators, namely river epiphytic algae and lake phytoplankton, to enrich the monitoring dimension.
Xu Wei said that from focusing on water quality in the past to focusing on water ecological changes now, carrying out water ecological monitoring as the "big physical examination" of the Yangtze River is itself progress and innovation, which indicates that the main task of ecological environmental protection in the Yangtze River has shifted from water pollution prevention to equal emphasis on water ecological environmental protection and restoration.