Academician Wu Fengchang: Lake and reservoir are the top priority for the next step in water environment governance

"The achievements of air pollution control may be known by many people. In fact, the achievements of water environment control in China have also been very great in the past decade." On April 22, Wu Fengchang, an academician of the CAE Member who attended the 2023 Science and Technology Annual Meeting of the Chinese Society For Environmental Sciences, mentioned in a specially invited keynote report that from 2009 to 2022, the proportion of excellent water bodies in important sections of surface water in China will reach about 85%, This is a very significant achievement. It is equivalent to a water environment quality situation similar to that of developed countries in Europe and America. Through more than 10 years of effort, we have achieved such results

While reviewing the fruitful achievements in water pollution control, Wu Fengchang also comprehensively elaborated on the challenges and suggestions for the future.

He pointed out that "for the water environment, our goal is to improve the stability and sustainability of the ecosystem, but in reality, we still face many challenges and problems, including water ecological degradation and the difficulty of lake and reservoir management

After ten years, from the era of pollution control to the era of water control

In Wu Fengchang's view, when it comes to the 10-year water control route, behind these efforts is the high-level promotion of the central government, especially the integration of ecological civilization into the overall strategic deployment of the Five in One. From the perspective of ideas, assessment goals, paths, and other aspects, the systematic promotion of water pollution control and governance in China has undergone a turning point and historic change.

We have moved from the original era of pollution control to the current era of water control. We have evolved from single handedness to systematic governance, overall protection, and joint efforts. Along the path, comprehensive governance is carried out with river basins as units, and the three water resources are coordinated to achieve comprehensive efficiency. In terms of goals, we not only emphasize water quality, but also emphasize water ecology and water environment, with improving water environment quality as the core. The results of water control in various regions are obvious, "said Wu Fengchang.

Technological innovation is the key to improving water environment quality. Wu Fengchang pointed out that the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the National Science and Technology Commission, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have continuously supported scientific and technological research projects, made significant progress in scientific research, technological research and development, engineering demonstration, and promotion applications, and supported the improvement of water environment quality.

During this period, a water pollution control technology system that is suitable for China's national conditions and economically feasible has been established, and more than 300 benchmark/first set of demonstration projects have been built, improving the overall scientific and technological level of source control, emission reduction, and system governance in China's river basins. In key industries, urban sewage, agricultural non-point sources, monitoring and early warning, and drinking water safety assurance, more than 200 key core technologies have been broken through, and more than 230 standards and specifications have been issued, helping to fully form the "hard core technology".

This is a very valuable asset. It has laid a very good foundation for the subsequent construction of ecological civilization, "said Wu Fengchang.

Revise China's water environment quality standards as soon as possible and strengthen scientific and technological breakthroughs in lake pollution control

Wu Fengchang mentioned that the water quality improvement of rivers in China is still relatively large, but the management of lakes and reservoirs has encountered unprecedented challenges. Except for the decrease in biodiversity, the algal biomass of lakes and reservoirs has not significantly decreased. "Lakes and reservoirs may be the top priority in the next step of water environment management

Wu Fengchang also pointed out an important challenge, namely new pollutants. He stated that a portion of the new pollutants are actually biological pollution.

Our conventional monitoring and control indicators are physical and chemical indicators, but there are also some important biological indicators that are harmful to human health, such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, etc. From international experience, these biological pollutants directly affect the water environment and are related to them. These biological pollutants are different from our traditional organic pollution of nitrogen, phosphorus, and heavy metals, and their sources, processes, transmission pathways, and The technical routes for controlling governance are not entirely the same, so key research is still needed Wu Fengchang said so.

In the new era, Wu Fengchang has also provided relevant suggestions for promoting water pollution prevention and control work.

We need to make water pollution control and environmental protection a brand and driving force for more enterprises and governments, promote high-quality development with high-level protection, and achieve high-quality life with high-quality development. At the same time, we need to strengthen research on the laws and causes of pollution in river basins, strengthen continuous research on key technologies, new materials, and complete equipment, and provide support for precise and scientific pollution control, "said Wu Fengchang.

In the report, Wu Fengchang also emphasized that China should revise its water environment quality standards as soon as possible, strengthen the connection between various standards, and lead the construction of a beautiful China. Evaluate the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and socio-economic development trends of China's water ecological environment in response to issues such as revision of water environmental standards and risk prevention, and carry out pilot projects for differentiated management. Avoid emphasizing only physical indicators and ignoring ecological indicators, keep up with the times, and better play the role of the standard as a 'baton' and 'starting gun'.

In response to lake pollution, Wu Fengchang suggests strengthening scientific and technological research, establishing a water quality and ecological performance evaluation system, constructing a national river and lake ecosystem monitoring system, and diagnosing the health and stability of the ecosystem.

He also proposed that lake governance should achieve the "four returns". At the starting point of governance, it is necessary to return to the natural attributes of relatively closed lakes, long-term accumulation, and river basins; The governance goal should return to various requirements such as harmonious coexistence between humans and nature and ecosystem stability; Governance measures should return to the bottom line guarantee of system governance, environmental carrying capacity, and ecological spatial constraints; In terms of governance decision-making, it is necessary to return to the integrated development of system governance, society, economy, and ecological environment.