Ecological sea cultivation Qingdao paints a blue picture

Recently, Liu Shujie's fishing boat returned to Xiyangjiawa Wharf in Langya Town, West Coast New Area, Qingdao, with its catch and garbage. "When I go out to sea to fish, I often catch garbage such as plastic bottles when I go down with a net. We will pick out the garbage and bring it ashore to be handed over to the sanitation workers for further processing. Liu Shujie said.

Liu Shujie, 52, is a fisherman with more than 30 years of experience at sea, and the person in charge of the Blue Bay Ecological and Environmental Public Service Center in Qingdao's West Coast New Area. He told reporters that more and more fishermen have changed their mindset and are doing their best to protect the sea and fish when they go out to sea to catch both fish and "garbage".

A good marine ecology is the fundamental guarantee for the high-quality development of the marine economy. In recent years, Qingdao West Coast New Area has adhered to ecological sea conservation, vigorously carried out blue bay remediation actions, and relied on the bay chief system and river chief system to continuously consolidate the effectiveness of bay governance. A blue picture of clear water, clean beaches, fish and gulls, and harmony between people and sea gradually spreads out.

Coordinated efforts should be made to strengthen the protection of marine ecosystems

Qingdao West Coast New Area has a land area of more than 2,000 square kilometers and a coastline of 309 kilometers. Previously, the coastline was the dividing line between departmental responsibilities and had been difficult to co-ordinate. In the innovative exploration of blue bay governance, the district has established a two-level bay chief system of district and town street, which has broken this dilemma.

The seaside cold in December was thick, but Xu Qiang walked out of the heat. As the street-level bay chief of Lingshan Bay Town, he patrols the bay once a week, mainly responsible for water quality monitoring and controlling the discharge of sewage into the sea and the bay.

"Problems found during the bay patrol can be uploaded to the district bay chief's office through the app. There are dedicated staff in the background to carry out the sub-office. Xu Qiang told reporters that the bay chief system has broken the barriers between departments, and the joint prevention and control of various departments has improved the efficiency of governance.

The ecological management of the bay is a systematic project. It is necessary not only to manage the coastal line well, but also to manage the river line that enters the sea. How to avoid pollution from entering the sea while all rivers enter the sea?

"The new area adheres to the overall planning of land and sea, and the co-governance of rivers and seas. In the bay, the bay chief is responsible for pollution prevention and ecological restoration, while on land, the river chief coordinates with the urban management and water conservancy departments to ensure that the water quality is up to standard. Through the establishment of a long-term control mechanism, the problem can be cured at the source. Tian Xiangdong, director of the West Coast New District of the Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment, said that after the linkage of the bay chief system and the river chief system, every meter of coastline and every meter of river has been managed, which effectively solves the problem that repeated pollution in the bay is difficult to cure.

Modern marine ecological protection is inseparable from the support of science and technology. Qingdao West Coast New Area has built a smart marine management platform using modern information means, taking the lead in realizing "one map" for marine management.

"The platform includes information on six major sectors, such as basic geography, marine guards, forecasting and disaster reduction, and environmental monitoring, and violations and problems such as fishing at sea during the off-season fishing moratorium can be found and dealt with quickly through the management platform. Li Xun, a senior engineer of the Marine Development Bureau of Qingdao West Coast New Area, said that the marine intelligent management platform has strengthened intelligent supervision on the one hand, and improved work efficiency on the other hand.

The "carbon" road takes the lead, and the ecological dividend continues to be released

As the saying goes, the sea eats the sea. The residents of Lingshan Island do not go to sea to fish, but they serve a "tourist meal".

"I've heard that Lingshan Island is a carbon-negative island, and I've always wanted to come and see it. After I came, I found that the island does have a good environment and good air. On December 25, Mr. Li's family, a tourist from Jilin, chose to "travel at a staggered peak" and came to Lingshan Island before New Year's Day and stayed in Qiu Shuang's homestay.

"Recently, a lot of people have called to inquire about reservations. There have even been people who have booked rooms for the Spring Festival holiday. Qiu Shuang told reporters that his business is getting better and better, thanks to the increasingly loud green "signboard" of Lingshan Island. In 2021, Lingshan Island's carbon emission accounting results were certified by the China Quality Certification Center, becoming the first independent carbon-negative area in the country to be certified by an authoritative department.

"The Management Committee of Lingshan Island Conservation Area actively promotes photovoltaic power generation, solar lighting, clean energy transformation, forest protection and other work, gradually reducing carbon emissions, increasing carbon sinks, and achieving independent carbon negative. Li Feng, Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of Lingshan Island Provincial Nature Reserve, said.

From the perspective of one island, Qingdao West Coast New Area has been exploring carbon emission reduction: building the first natural carbon sink trading center in China, carrying out research on the marine carbon sink standard system, exploring the establishment of a land-sea integrated sink increase model, and seizing the commanding heights of marine carbon sinks.

As one of the first districts and cities in China and the first in Shandong Province to be approved to carry out climate investment and financing pilots, Qingdao West Coast New Area highlights marine characteristics, selects low-carbon projects from the marine industry and vigorously supports them, and explores the development potential of marine carbon sinks.

Taking the Tangdao Bay Wetland Carbon Sequestration Loan as an example, the carbon sequestration capacity of the soil, vegetation and water resources of Tangdao Bay National Wetland Park has been estimated to be nearly 200,000 tons, and the cumulative carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by 720,000 tons. With carbon resources as pledge, Qingdao West Coast Tourism Investment Group Co., Ltd., the operator and manager of Tangdao Bay Wetland, received a low-interest carbon sink loan of 20 million yuan, which was specially used for the ecological protection and improvement of the wetland park. Today, the beautiful Tangdao Bay Wetland Park continues to release the "magnetic effect", and tourists from all over the country come one after another.