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Mines on Ningxia’s Helan Mountain turn green, contribute to better ecology
By He Yuche, Qin Ruijie, People’s Daily
“Look! There are bharals on our right side!” Ge Yihong shouted on a vehicle heading to Helan Mountain in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Three bharals were drinking water leisurely by a creek. In the distance, there was Helan Mountain covered in a shade of green.
Ge, 60, is the head of a sanitation station in Shitanjing neighborhood, which sits in the hinterland of Helan Mountain in Dawukou district, Shizuishan of Ningxia.
Helan Mountain is an important physical boundary in China and a vital ecological barrier in the northwest region of the country. It is also an important source of coal resources.
The mountain’s landform had been severely damaged since 1950s as a result of massive unregulated mining activities.
In 2018, a pilot project aiming at holistic conservation and restoration of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands officially kicked off on the east slope of the mountain, and three years later, Helan Mountain’s ecological and environmental governance was jointly recommended as one of the 10 classic examples of ecological restoration with Chinese characteristics by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Today, holistic restoration has been completed at 214 sites in and around the Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve, which cover a total area of 405,000 mu, or 27,000 hectares.
Ge was born and raised in a mining area on Helan Mountain, and has been working there since he grew up. The massive mining activities in the past were still a fresh memory for the man.
“There was no trace of red deer or bharals at all. The shirts we wore could be blackened fast by the coal ash. Local residents didn’t dry their clothes outdoor,” he recalled.
Since 2017, Ningxia has made huge efforts to restore ecology in Helan Mountain. All open-pit coal mines in mining areas were shut down, and the mining rights to 83 sites were canceled. Besides, 561 poorly managed and polluting small enterprises at the foot of the mountain were closed.
What followed was the treatment of mines. To prevent soil erosion, coal gangues that piled up nearly 100 meters were leveled and thus turned into “terraced fields.” These “terraced fields” were later covered with nearly 50 centimeters of earth, which helped the black and barren mountain gain the capability to grow vegetation. Besides, the original landform of the mountain was restored to lower the risks of landslides and debris flows.
Today, new “peaks” have been forged on treated areas. “They heal the ‘scars’ that were left. Only by sound treatment, can we have the possibility to further green the mountain,” Ge told People’s Daily.
Helan Mountain is a rock mountain covered by thin earth. Therefore, it’s uneasy to grow vegetation on it. The annual precipitation there stands at around only 200 to 300 millimeters, but the annual evaporation is more than 10 times of that. How to expand the green area became the top issue of treatment after mines were shut down on the mountain.
In 2018, forest authorities of Shizuishan, in collaboration with Ningxia University and other research institutions, launched a series of experiments on Helan Mountain and decided to plant cold-resisting, drought-resisting and salt-tolerant trees on the mountain, such as Korshinsk pea shrub, Salix cheilophila, Siberian elm, Pinus sylvestris and black locust.
Tree planting activities are now commonly seen in the treated areas and along the roads on the mountain. “We planted Armenian plums at the foot of the mountain in the previous years, and this year we plan to green the areas covered by coal cinders,” said Zhang Tingxie, head of an ecological forest farm of Shizuishan.
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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