Uncategorized
China builds a complete red line system to strengthen ecological conversation
By Chang Qin, People’s Daily
China had completed setting ecological conservation red lines nationwide, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) announced during an activity held on the World Earth Day recently in Fuzhou, southeast China’s Fujian province.
The red lines cover areas that are ecologically vital and vulnerable and have important potential ecological value. These areas must be put under mandatory and rigorous protection.
China took the lead in proposing and implementing the red line system for ecological conservation.
The country has put no less than 3.15 million square km of its area, including no less than 3 million square km of land area, and no less than 150,000 square km of sea area, under the ecological conservation red lines.
It has formulated rules and implemented strict measures to strengthen monitoring and control of areas covered by the red lines, achieving effective management and control of ecological red line areas.
“The ecological conservation red lines are the bottom lines and lifelines for safeguarding national ecological security,” said Zhang Bing, an official with the MNR.
Feng Wenli, president of the China Land Surveying and Planning Institute, said China has made great progress in economic and social development since the launch of reform and opening-up, but ecological problems have become prominent bottlenecks hindering socio-economic development due to ecosystem degradation and the decline in capability for the supply of ecological products.
“Setting and strictly applying red lines for ecological conservation is a major strategic deployment made by China and an important institutional innovation in its ecological progress,” Feng said.
As the main department responsible for China’s ecological conservation, the MNR, together with departments including the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, organized the assessment, adjustment, and demarcation of ecological conservation red lines and completed setting the lines for the first time according to the national territorial space planning outline (2021-2035) and relevant plans at the provincial, municipal and county levels.
In Harbin city, northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, around 10,700 square km, or about 20 percent of its territorial area, is demarcated within the red lines, including major mountain ranges such as the Lesser Hinggan Mountains and the Zhangguangcai Mountains, as well as the mainstream and tributaries of the Songhua River, other rivers, lakes, wetlands and other areas, with the main aim of improving ecological functions including water and soil conservation, water source conservation and biodiversity preservation.
Jiamusi city in Heilongjiang puts over 12 percent of its territorial area under the protection of the red lines, including areas that are critical in environmental function, ecologically sensitive and vulnerable, as well as natural protected areas that include national parks, nature reserves and natural parks.
Southwest China’s Yunnan province has no less than 113,200 square km, or over 29 percent of its territorial area in the ecological conservation red lines. The province’s protected areas, excluding some areas of scenic areas there, are within the red lines, with 15 typical ecosystems including the tropical rainforest ecosystem being systematically protected. The red lines cover the habitats and migration channels of more than 90 percent of key state-protected plants and 80 percent of key state-protected animals in Yunnan, further improving the function of ecosystems.
Feng said the ecological conservation red lines mainly cover the ecological shield area of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, key ecological areas along the Yellow River, key ecological areas along the Yangtze River, northeast forest belts, northern sand prevention belts, hilly areas in south China, and coastal areas. The red lines cover typical terrestrial ecosystem types including most of the natural forests, grasslands and wetlands, typical marine ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs and seagrass beds, as well as the vast majority of uninhabited islands.
No ratio targets of areas have been preset during the process of drawing the red lines. In some provincial-level regions, the ecological red line areas account for more than 50 percent of the regions’ territorial areas and in other provincial-level areas, that percentage is less than 10 percent, said Feng.
At present, provincial regions, including Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Shanghai, Shandong, Anhui and Sichuan, have rolled out detailed rules for the controls of the ecological conservation red lines. The rest of Chinese provincial regions are soliciting public opinion for similar rules or are about to introduce ones to strengthen the supervision of the red lines.
“To strictly enforce ecological conservation red lines, we need to improve long-term mechanisms,” Zhang said.
He added that the MNR will foster stronger collaboration between the ministry and local governments, regularly conduct conservation performance evaluations of the red lines, strengthen the capabilities for dynamic monitoring and early warning, accelerate the revision of relevant laws and regulations and increase publicity, so as to build a modern China where humanity and nature exist in harmony.
By Fabian Apechihin
The 2026 Constitution Amendment Bill has moved to the state level following its consideration by the National Assembly, paving the way for state legislatures to consider the proposed amendments.
The development comes amid renewed attention on constitutional reform and ongoing discussions over proposed changes to Nigeria’s governing framework.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has defended FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over allegations surrounding borrowing by the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
House spokesperson Akin Rotimi Agbese, speaking in an interview with Channels Television, rejected claims that Wike had undertaken borrowing without the knowledge or approval of the National Assembly.
Agbese said the FCT minister could not independently create a sovereign borrowing obligation, stressing that public borrowing is subject to constitutional, statutory and administrative procedures.
“Wike has committed no infraction in borrowings. There is no basis for the allegation that he has been borrowing money behind the back of the National Assembly,” Agbese said.
He explained that borrowing to finance infrastructure was not unlawful where the required approvals and procedures had been followed.
“Borrowing for infrastructure development is not unlawful in itself, provided the prescribed approvals and procedures are followed,” he added.
The House spokesperson further argued that an increase in the FCT’s debt profile should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of illegal borrowing, citing the scale of infrastructure projects being undertaken in Abuja under Wike.
According to Agbese, the key issue is whether the appropriate approvals were obtained for specific borrowing transactions, rather than simply whether the FCT’s overall debt profile has increased.
The comments come as scrutiny continues over public borrowing, infrastructure financing and the legal procedures governing government debt at both the federal and sub-national levels.
By Fabian Apechihin
The 2026 Constitution Amendment Bill has moved to the state level following its consideration by the National Assembly, paving the way for state legislatures to consider the proposed amendments.
The development comes amid renewed attention on constitutional reform and ongoing discussions over proposed changes to Nigeria’s governing framework.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has defended FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over allegations surrounding borrowing by the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
House spokesperson Akin Rotimi Agbese, speaking in an interview with Channels Television, rejected claims that Wike had undertaken borrowing without the knowledge or approval of the National Assembly.
Agbese said the FCT minister could not independently create a sovereign borrowing obligation, stressing that public borrowing is subject to constitutional, statutory and administrative procedures.
“Wike has committed no infraction in borrowings. There is no basis for the allegation that he has been borrowing money behind the back of the National Assembly,” Agbese said.
He explained that borrowing to finance infrastructure was not unlawful where the required approvals and procedures had been followed.
“Borrowing for infrastructure development is not unlawful in itself, provided the prescribed approvals and procedures are followed,” he added.
The House spokesperson further argued that an increase in the FCT’s debt profile should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of illegal borrowing, citing the scale of infrastructure projects being undertaken in Abuja under Wike.
According to Agbese, the key issue is whether the appropriate approvals were obtained for specific borrowing transactions, rather than simply whether the FCT’s overall debt profile has increased.
The comments come as scrutiny continues over public borrowing, infrastructure financing and the legal procedures governing government debt at both the federal and sub-national levels.
By Fabian Apechihin
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reaffirmed its intention to contest the 2027 presidential election despite the decision of Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The party said Wike’s decision was personal and did not alter its position to participate in the presidential election with its candidate, Senator Sandy Onor. PDP National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, made the clarification on Wednesday.
According to the party, a recent conversation between Wike and Onor should not be interpreted as a political negotiation between the minister and the PDP.
“He told Nigerians that Sandy is his friend. And they only had a friendly discussion within the umbrella of friendship. So, that is just a personal discussion between him and his friend,” Mohammed said.
He added that Wike’s support for Tinubu did not prevent the PDP from fielding candidates for the presidential, governorship and legislative elections.
Wike had earlier clarified that his support in 2027 was specifically for Tinubu’s presidential re-election and did not amount to an agreement that the PDP would withdraw from other electoral contests. He also said he never promised that the PDP would abandon its candidates for governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.
“I said I will support the President from day one. I never told Mr President I will join APC,” Wike said.
The minister also maintained that his proposed Rainbow Coalition was not an arrangement with the All Progressives Congress (APC), but rather a platform through which politicians from different parties could mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election.
The issue has generated disagreement with some APC governors, who have expressed concern about a political arrangement that could affect the party’s candidates at other levels.
APC Progressive Governors’ Forum Chairman, Hope Uzodinma, said the governors would not support any alliance or arrangement that could weaken the APC or adversely affect its candidates.
Meanwhile, APC presidential campaign council spokesperson Ima Niboro has urged Wike and APC governors to end their public exchanges and concentrate on political mobilisation.
“When I said tone down the rhetoric, I do not mean stop working. Stop talking, go and work,” Niboro said.
He urged political leaders to strengthen their grassroots structures and engage directly with voters rather than continue exchanging statements in the media.
“All this shouting is not taking anybody anywhere. Go and work. Go and establish your authority on your political base,” he said.
2026 Constitution Amendment Bill Moves to States
2026 Constitution Amendment Bill Moves to States
2027: PDP Insists on Presidential Contest Despite Wike’s Support for Tinubu
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