Who will save Ejina Oasis from Ejina River?

Since the 1960s, the snow line has risen due to the serious destruction of vegetation in the upper reaches. Over-reclamation in the middle reaches, planting grain and vigorously developing artificial oases, agricultural irrigation has occupied a lot of water resources and squeezed out the ecological water in the lower reaches, resulting in the reduction of water entering Ejina from an average of 65.438+0.5 billion cubic meters per year in the 1960s to about 300 million cubic meters per year now, the downstream cutoff time has been extended from 65.438+0.000 days to 200 days, the groundwater level has dropped and the water quality has deteriorated. Grassland degradation and desertification According to the analysis of satellite image data, since the 1980s, the oasis area has been reduced from 6,900 square kilometers to 3,328 square kilometers now, and natural forests have been greatly reduced, especially Populus euphratica, a rare tree species in the world, from 750,000 mu in the 1950s to 340,000 mu now. The desertification area increased by 462 square kilometers, with an average annual increase of 23. 1 square kilometer. 196 1 and 1992, the West Juyan Sea and the East Juyan Sea dried up one after another, making the already fragile ecological environment in Ejina worse.

From June, 5438 to April, 2000, there were eight sandstorms in northern China, which harmed northwest, north, northeast and even east China, with a total area of about 2 million square kilometers. Where does the strong sandstorm start and where is the dust source? These problems have attracted the attention of national leaders. On May 12, 2000, the feature film Shaqi Ejina produced by CCTV was broadcast on CCTV. The ecological deterioration in Juyan area and its external influence are shocking. The State Council instructed the water conservancy department to harness the Heihe River, implement the water transfer scheme and save Juyan Oasis. The Ministry of Water Resources began to implement the "97" water transfer scheme, and the discharge head reached Ejina Banner in 2000. For the first time in the history of Heihe River Basin, inter-provincial water transfer was successfully realized. In July, 20001year, according to the instructions of the State Council, the Ministry of Water Resources compiled the Short-term Regulation Project Plan of Heihe River Basin on the basis of the Water Resources Problems and Countermeasures in Heihe River Basin, and reported it to the State Council in July, 20001year. On August 3rd of the same year, the State Council approved the recent regulation project plan of Heihe River Basin with Guo Han (20065438+0) No.86. On April 20th, 2002, the Yellow River Conservancy Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources held a review meeting of Heihe River Project in Zhengzhou. According to the recent regulation project planning of Heihe River Basin, a three-year implementation plan of Heihe River engineering and non-engineering measures was put forward and approved by the Ministry of Water Resources.

On the border, although there is no war now, Ejina today faces the same situation as the Black City 700 years ago. There are countless invisible dams in the middle and upper reaches of Blackwater, which are built without restraint and waste of water resources. These invisible dams are even more terrible and destructive than those built by Shengfeng. Saving Ejina Oasis and stopping the deterioration of ecological environment are more related to national unity, social stability and national defense stability. In July and September of 2002, Heihe made substantial progress in unified dispatching and scientific management. Heihe River divides water twice, and more than 300 million cubic meters of water flows into Ejina Oasis. The East Juyan Sea, which has been dry for 10 years, has flowed in more than 40 million cubic meters of water, and the water surface has expanded to 23.5 square kilometers. With the implementation of Heihe water diversion project, the upstream inflow increased, and Ejina Oasis, which has been dry for many years, was effectively irrigated. Some dying plants, such as Populus euphratica and Tamarix chinensis, revived, while plants such as Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Sophora alopecuroides and Phragmites communis, which had disappeared for many years, began to recover, and the grassland vegetation coverage and plant species increased significantly.

Ejina Oasis, also known as Juyan Oasis, is located in Ejina Banner of Alashan League in the west of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Irrigated by Heihe River (called Ejina River after entering Inner Mongolia) which originated in the middle of Qilian Mountain, the total area is 1 1.46 million square kilometers, which is larger than that of three Taiwan Province provinces. Historically, there were dense forests and lush aquatic plants here. In the Han dynasty, soldiers settled in this field and cultivated a large area of farmland, which was once known as "Juyan granary". Xixia built the famous Black City on the ruins of Han City Wall, and became a transportation hub on the ancient Silk Road. /kloc-At the beginning of the 3rd century, an Italian traveler, Kyle Poirot, passed by this place when he went to visit Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty from Ganzhou City, and what he saw was "abundant water sources, dense pine forests, wild donkeys and various wild animals haunting here". Until the 1940s, Juyanhai (Lake) at the end of Ejina River still had more than 300 square kilometers of water surface.

1in the summer of 936, the famous journalist Fan Changjiang came all the way to Ejina to interview the Mongolian Palace. He wrote in Yi Ximen that no one expected that there were so many forests in Ejina. The Ejina River is crystal clear, with tall sand mountains, trees and deep grass on its banks. Camels and sheep come and go naturally, unattended. The Chinese parasol (Populus euphratica) forest here is completely in the primitive state, with dense growth, no artificial control at all, and no roads are opened, just following the footsteps of people and animals in the forest. Where the phoenix tree is dense, the sun can't penetrate the ground, and everyone looks gloomy. There are some huge vine branches in the forest, which are staggered in the dark forest, and some are like giant pythons ... "This is the upper reaches of the Amazon River in South America and the undeveloped hinterland of Congo in Africa."

However, more than 60 years later, Fan Changjiang's glittering and translucent Ejina River has completely dried up, and incomparably dense forests are dying one by one. According to the statistics of forestry department, only in recent 10 years, due to drought, sandstorm and other reasons, 800,000 natural trees such as Populus euphratica and willow disappeared, and more than 50 million mu of grassland was desertified, of which 75% became unusable wasteland. Groups of farmers and herdsmen who have lived here for generations have to move their families and become "ecological refugees".

Since 1993, sandstorms known as "environmental killers" have sprung up every spring. Black cyclones generally sweep the Hexi Corridor, reach Ningxia Plain, and then enter North China and even East China. Due to perennial drought and sandstorm, grassland desertification, forest disappearance and a large reduction of edible pasture, the grain output of thousands of miles of fertile fields, which used to be rich in grain and livestock, has been greatly reduced or even lost. The dry up of Ejina River caused the groundwater level to drop, and the wells along the river 1500 barrels have dried up 1020. 114,600 square kilometers of land,15,000 residents are in danger of being pushed into desperation by the deteriorating ecological environment. In the past, after the ice and snow in Qilian Mountain melted, it flowed down Ejina River and Juyanhai (Lake) at its end through Heihe River in Gansu Province. The river moistens Ejina Oasis like rain and makes it full of vitality. According to historical records, after the two counties of Jinta and Ding Xin in the north of Jiuquan, there is a barren land that reaches Juyan Sea, with a length of three or four hundred miles from north to south, all of which are fertile fields with rich water plants and lush trees.

However, due to the increasing water consumption for industrial and agricultural production in the upper reaches of Gansu Province, since the 1960s, water conservancy projects such as Yingluo Gorge and Caotanzhuang have been built on the main stream of Heihe River in the upper reaches, as well as more than a dozen reservoirs and ponds. In recent years, even a large-scale water park development tourism project has been built, which has drastically reduced the water source of Ejina River. According to the data, in the 1940s, the annual amount of water discharged into Ejina River was12 ~1300 million cubic meters. In the 1980s, it was reduced to less than 500 million cubic meters. In the second year after the 1990s, not a drop of water was discharged, and the Juyanhai (Lake) with a surface area of one million mu dried up completely.

Without water, the natural ecosystem is destroyed, and the Ejina area with little rainfall has become extremely dry, with annual rainfall less than one thousandth of evaporation. Coupled with the Siberian airflow blowing all the year round, quicksand rises. In just a few years, Ejina River turned into a sand ditch, and old trees such as Populus euphratica and willow trees on both sides of the river began to die. Grassland has been desertified into Gobi desert year by year, and Haloxylon ammodendron forest, a drought-tolerant plant that prevented the Badain Jaran desert from moving northward, has also died in a large area. The situation of entering sand and returning sand is becoming more and more serious. When a strong Siberian air current appears, the dust rises with the wind, and the "environmental killer" runs around and dies. The call for saving Ejina Oasis has attracted the attention of relevant state departments.

1In July, 1995, a research team composed of experts and scholars from seven ministries visited Ejina to investigate the ecological environment. The research team made a field trip along the Ejina River basin. When they stood in the center of the dry and sandy Juyan Sea (lake), they lamented the serious consequences of the extreme deterioration of the ecological environment caused by the interruption of water sources. After that, the research team went upstream along the Ejina River and went deep into relevant areas of Gansu Province for investigation. They believe that the ecological environment in Ejina has reached the brink of collapse, and if emergency rescue measures are not taken, the consequences will be unimaginable. At present, the primary problem to save the ecological environment in Ejina area is to solve the rational distribution of water resources. Without water, everything is empty talk. In June of the same year, 5438+065438+ 10, seven academicians of China Academy of Sciences, after carefully studying the investigation materials, jointly wrote "Emergency Appeal on Saving Ejina Oasis", suggesting that Heihe-Ejina River Basin Management Agency should be established as soon as possible to uniformly manage and rationally allocate the water in the upper, middle and lower reaches to ensure that 950 million cubic meters of water is discharged into Ejina River every year. Since then, relevant experts and scholars have analyzed the relationship between the formation of sandstorms and the environment, and believe that sandstorms originating in Ejina area have a direct relationship with river water volume. They said in the report that the annual water volume of Ejina River is 800 million cubic meters, which is the ecological guarantee value, and 500 million cubic meters is the early warning value of extremely strong sandstorms. It can be seen that only by solving the water problem can we ensure the continuation of Ejina Oasis and curb the "environmental killer" of sandstorm.

In 2000, the State Council made a major decision to transfer water from Heihe River to other provinces, which was implemented by the Yellow River Conservancy Commission, and the water transfer target was achieved in three years. From 2000 to this year, water has been transferred to the East Giant Salt Sea four times as planned. The middle and upper reaches have delivered 2.25 billion cubic meters of water to the downstream. A few days ago, it began to transfer water to the West Juyan Sea to ensure that the Heihe River water will advance to the West Juyan Sea along the main stream of the Xihe River, irrigate forests and grasslands along the way, and replenish groundwater. In order to realize the Heihe River Water Diversion Project, the state invested 2.35 billion yuan for the construction of water conservancy facilities in the middle and lower reaches of Heihe River Basin.

However, after five or six years, due to various complicated reasons, the water source problem in the upper and lower reaches has not been solved.

People of insight have long pointed out that environmental problems are the same as those faced by human beings, and there are no national boundaries or boundaries. The destruction of Ejina oasis environment also proves this truth. Since the spring of this year, sandstorms that have been raised again and again in places as far away as Beijing and even Jinan cannot arouse our high vigilance?

Today, when we look at this issue from the overall situation of the western development, it should be said that it is easier to unify our understanding, that is, the implementation of the western development needs the joint efforts of all parties. It is this spirit of cooperation that needs Ejina Oasis to be full of green and vitality again. The Battle of Life-Populus euphratica Ejina River National Forest Park in Ejina Banner, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is located on both sides of the Badain Jaran Desert and Ejina River, with the most spectacular Populus euphratica forest in China, with a total area of more than 80,000 mu, integrating desert, Gobi, grassland lake and Populus euphratica forest, with magical natural landscape and unique human landscape. Every autumn, when the first autumn frost comes, the big leaves of Populus euphratica turn from green to yellow. At first glance, the golden leaves in the sun danced with the wind against the blue sky. Strong contrast, sharp tone and bright colors are enough to make any language look pale and powerless.

Start from the highland of the river bank and walk to the lowest point of Ejina river bed. There is not a drop of water under my feet, there is not a plant of water grass, only a curved ripple line carved on quicksand, which seems to tell everyone who passes by the river that it occasionally flowed here a month or a few months ago. Ejina is a long river. History tells me that from General Sheng Feng's forced diversion of water due to war to the Republic of China, except for the intermittent flow in May and June, an endless river has been flowing in good faith, with an average annual flow of only over 2 billion cubic meters. It is she who moistens Ejina's oasis and endows Ejina with endless vitality and life. Now she has been cut off, and 200 of the 365 days are dry riverbeds under the sun. The river is still Ejina River, and the water is still Qilian Mountain. What channel has the clear spring of life taken? The interruption of Ejina River makes me worry about the future of Ejina, and reminds me of the vicissitudes of an abandoned black city (dead city) on the ancient Ejina River (ancient weak water). If there is no clear spring of Ejina River, today's Black City is the future of Ejina area.

Black City, called "Halahaot" in Mongolian, should be called Black Water City. This abandoned dead city is located on the east bank of Amu Darya River in Ejina Banner, on the vast Gobi 35 kilometers southeast of the seat of Ejina Banner government. In the season when there is no storm and the weather is clear, you can see four similar famous white pagodas towering into the sky and decaying in the past ten miles away. In the mist, they appear and disappear, showing a mystery since ancient times. Approaching the broken edge of the city, standing under the covered bowl-shaped white tower, surrounded by red willows, several dead Hu Yangshu plants fell to the ground, one end of which was buried by quicksand with the decaying wall foundation, and the other end seemed to be struggling painfully. Looking around, the continuous hills and hills, like mushrooms, are densely distributed inside and outside the old city. The wind like a knife scribbles sand lines on the sand dunes like snakes. The wind blows the sand and screams pointedly.

It has always been the forefront of the conflict between the farming people in the Central Plains and the nomadic people in the northwest (and of course it is also a window of communication). Throughout the ages, there have been wars on this vast land. This ancient, fragile and barren land has suffered too much weight and blood, and it has been destroyed and destroyed again and again. In the second year of Emperor founding ceremony of the Han Dynasty (12 1 years ago), a title of generals in ancient times Huo Qubing galloped thousands of miles, swept the grassland, sealed the chieftain and conquered ten thousand Huns. In the second year of the Western Han Dynasty (99), Li Ling was besieged by Xiongnu Khan with 30,000 cavalry, defeated by Khan in a narrow valley, and the bodies were everywhere. Li Ling was forced to defect and survive. In Yingtian four years (1209), Genghis Khan launched an anti-summer war, which leveled the Black City, and the Xixia Dynasty never recovered. ..... and so on, but she didn't die of it. There is a Mongolian proverb that there is always hope on the grassland with women and children, and the grassland with sweet and clear water will never be destroyed by fire.

But the Black City finally died, during the period from Yuan Shundi to Zheng Zheng 19 (1359). Nature is inextricably linked with the devastating war in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. The real reason is that the war destroyed water conservancy facilities, and the perfect water system and rich oasis formed over hundreds of years were destroyed. Especially the battle between General Shengfeng and Harry Bater in Ming Dynasty, it is worth mentioning that this war finally changed the historical change direction of Black City.

In the fifth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, General Sheng Feng led his troops to face the strong fortifications of the Yuan Army. After a long attack, he had to order his men to build a dam hundreds of meters long on weak water (also known as weak water in the lower reaches of Heihe River), cut off the water source of Black City, and the officers and men guarding the city were hungry and thirsty, and finally abandoned the city and fled.

Modern archaeologists have also confirmed this history. Today, the ruins of the old dam are interdependent. The sand bar is about kilometers long, hundreds of meters wide and more than 20 meters high. Hundreds of years later, the dam has been covered with Hu Yangshu and grass, and it has become a fixed sand dune. The Ming Dynasty won a decisive victory in this war, but it also destroyed weak water and good ecological water system and water conservancy facilities, making a large ancient oasis disappear in the desert. After the weak water was blocked, the river was forced to divert, and the river turned from northeast to north, thus producing Ejina. On the contrary, the Black City, which lost its water source, gradually lost its former prosperity, was occupied by the dead, covered by quicksand, and finally slept quietly in the desert for nearly 700 years.

Water has created the civilization and glory of the Black City, and also created more than 2,500 hectares of ancient oases around the Black City. However, due to the war, Black City lost its water source and eventually died in the desert.

In the border areas, although there is no war now, Ejina today faces the same situation as the Black City 700 years ago. There are countless invisible dams in the middle and upper reaches of Blackwater, which are built without restraint and waste of water resources. These invisible dams are even more terrible and destructive than those built by Shengfeng.

Heihe River originates from the northern foot of Qilian Mountain, with a total length of 82 1 km, an average natural runoff of 2.475 billion cubic meters and a total natural water resource of 2.808 billion cubic meters. Due to the economic development in the middle and upper reaches of Heishui in modern times, the reclamation area expanded, the livestock and population increased rapidly, and the water consumption was amazing. The population above the middle reaches of Han Dynasty was only 90,000, but in 2002, the current population was as high as 6,543,800+0.25 million. At the same time, the reclamation area has been expanded from 400,000 hectares to 223,000 hectares. Industry and agriculture in the middle and upper reaches occupy a lot of water resources and ecological water in oases. At the same time, several reservoirs have been built, backward facilities and uncontrolled water use have caused a lot of waste of water resources. The area above the middle reaches has consumed 94.5% of the water resources in the Heishui River Basin, while the water consumption in the downstream Ejina area is only 5.5%. The river water cut-off time is extended from 65,438+000 days per year to about 200 days. Many springs and swamps disappear, groundwater drops, water quality is highly mineralized, and water ecosystem is seriously deteriorated. Coupled with overgrazing, it has accelerated the irreversible destruction of forest and grassland ecosystems, and a large area of Populus euphratica and swamps. Ten kilometers south of Daleb, there is a distressing scenery. Ten or twenty years ago, it used to be a virgin forest. Due to the lack of water, all of Hu Yangshu died, staggered and ferocious, and the desertification of the land turned a forest into a "strange forest".

Desertification in Ejina area is not only destroying Ejina.

The cold current comes from Siberia, but where did the frequent sandstorms in northwest China come from in recent years? According to the authoritative report of National Satellite Meteorological Center, Ejina Desert is one of the main sources of sandstorm weather in Beijing, South Korea and Japan.

In all previous sandstorm attacks, Gansu and Ningxia suffered the greatest losses, resulting in more than 250 casualties, 6.5438+0.2 million head of livestock and economic losses of 550 million yuan, which led to the interruption of traffic and power lines.

Land desertification leads to frequent sandstorms, and quicksand constantly invades green space. The expanding Gobi has been pushed to a position only 240 kilometers away from Beijing.

On April 12, 2002, a sandstorm from China swept through South Korea, covering the sun, making it almost impossible for people in Seoul to breathe, and it also spread to Japan.

The American Embassy recently published a report entitled "Consolidation and Expansion of Desert". According to the report, satellite images show that the two deserts in central and northern China are expanding and merging into a big desert across Inner Mongolia and Gansu Province, which will further destroy the earth's ecosystem and seriously hinder the development of the global economy. Curbing the process of desertification is not only beneficial to China, but also to the whole world.

With the economic development and population growth in Heihe River Basin, the contradiction between supply and demand of water resources will be further aggravated. Therefore, economic development should not only focus on immediate interests, but also have a vision and height of sustainable development, coordinate the relationship between industrial and agricultural water use and ecological water use, save water resources and supply a certain amount of water to the downstream. At the same time, Ejina area should reduce the number of livestock, reduce excessive reclamation and grazing, and slowly restore Ejina's fragile ecological balance.

Ejina means a river with a Lord in Chinese. More than 300 years ago, when the Mongolian people in Turhute settled in Ejina Valley, they were obsessed with wide rivers, dense forests and fertile pastures, but now they have become the main sand source leading to sandstorms in northwest China, and no one can but feel sorry for them.

Save every drop of water, cherish every drop of water, and let the clear spring cross the Ejina River. It's not just water that flows, it's green, it's life, it's the oasis of mankind tomorrow.