文章来源:俞孔坚. 生态修复:一场改善中国城市和实现美丽中国梦的“运动”[J].景观设计学, 2017,5(5), 4-9.
在中国,当某种全国性、系统性且与人民生活密切相关的不良状态发生时,似乎都需要通过一场全民性的、自上而下的行动,即“运动”来迅速解决或制止某种错误行为的蔓延。而离开中国的城乡现实背景,我们则难以理解 “海绵城市建设”和“城市双修(城市修补和生态修复)”等全国性的、运动式的行动。从这个意义上来说,生态修复运动在中国的发生是积极的,也是必要的。我们需要关注的是,在这样的运动中,景观专业人员应当处于何种立场、发挥哪些作用。
中国的海绵城市建设和城市双修运动均源于中央政府对于蔓延的城市病的警觉。当全国一半以上的人口都居住在城市之中,城市生态和环境问题所引发的百姓的普遍不满,将成为影响社会安定和国家安全的重大因素。因此,在住房和城乡建设部的推动下,一场全国性的城市双修运动就此展开,海南省三亚市被设立为首个试点城市。本人作为这场运动的见证者和参与者,有必要对中国现阶段的生态修复过程做出客观记录,以供后人在进行相关研究时作为参考:
2012年11月8日,在中国共产党第十八次全国代表大会上,首次提出“美丽中国建设”这一执政理念,强调“把生态文明建设放在突出地位,融入经济建设、政治建设、文化建设、社会建设各方面和全过程”。
2013年7月20日,习近平总书记向生态文明贵阳国际论坛年会致贺,在名为《携手共建生态良好的地球美好家园》的发言中指出:“走向生态文明新时代,建设美丽中国,是实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦的重要内容。”至此,美丽中国建设与实现中国梦的关系被清晰地描绘了出来。
2013年11月15日,习总书记在对《中共中央关于全面深化改革若干重大问题的决定》做出说明时指出:“山水林田湖是一个生命共同体,人的命脉在田,田的命脉在水,水的命脉在山,山的命脉在土,土的命脉在树。用途管制和生态修复必须遵循自然规律……由一个部门负责领土范围内所有国土空间用途管制职责,对山水林田湖进行统一保护、统一修复是十分必要的。”至此,生态修复成为了美丽中国建设的必要工作。
2013年12月12日,习总书记在中央城镇化工作会议上指出:“要依托现有山水脉络等独特风光,让城市融入大自然,让居民望得见山、看得见水、记得住乡愁。”“城市规划建设的每个细节都要考虑对自然的影响,更不要打破自然系统。为什么这么多城市缺水?一个重要原因是水泥地太多,把能够涵养水源的林地、草地、湖泊、湿地给占用了,切断了自然的水循环,雨水来了,只能当作污水排走,地下水越抽越少……解决城市缺水问题,必须顺应自然。比如,在提升城市排水系统时要优先考虑把有限的雨水留下来,优先考虑更多利用自然力量排水,建设自然积存、自然渗透、自然净化的海绵城市。”在这里,海绵城市建设被作为城市生态修复的关键措施提出。
2014年2月,《住房和城乡建设部城市建设司2014年工作要点》一文中明确提出:“改善城镇人居生态环境,切实加强城市综合管理,预防和治理‘城市病’,推进城镇化健康发展” “加快研究建设海绵型城市的政策措施”。随后,共计16个城市入选第一批海绵城市建设试点城市。至此,作为中央意志的贯彻和执行部门,住建部展开了实质性的行动。
2015年4月11~12日,住建部时任部长陈政高考察海南省,并在三亚提出了开展“生态修复、城市修补”的设想,与时任三亚市委书记张琦达成共识,将三亚作为试点城市。张书记表示,城市双修是三亚最大的民生工程,将举全市之力,做好试点工作。至此,生态修复被落实为改善人民生活和实现美丽中国梦的全民运动。
2015年12月20~21日,中央城市工作会议召开。习总书记在会上发表重要讲话,他强调,“坚持以人民为中心的发展思想,坚持人民城市为人民……城市发展要把握好生产空间、生活空间、生态空间的内在联系,实现生产空间集约高效、生活空间宜居适度、生态空间山清水秀……要大力开展生态修复,让城市再现绿水青山。”住建部在三亚等地的调研和预热得到了中央的支持,为全国性的生态修复和海绵城市建设铺平了道路。
2016年12月10日,全国生态修复城市修补工作现场会在三亚召开。历经一年半的三亚城市双修试点工程验收,三亚红树林公园、东岸湿地公园等城市生态修复项目亮相。三亚市生态环境状况得以改善,土地经济价值显著提升(以东岸湿地公园为例,其带动周边房地产价值在一年内提升了150%)。会议之后,全国各城市的政府决策者参观了三亚城市双修项目的成果,并将学习经验带回各地。紧接着,一系列城市双修项目陆续建立,一场全国性的城市双修运动就此展开。
剖析三亚生态修复试点和全国的生态修复运动,我们可以看到,在中国现有体制下,中央执政为民、实现美丽中国梦的国家意志,如何由一个城市的试点经验转化为千百个城市具体的民生改善运动,并通过国家机器,将亿万人民动员起来,使城市不良状态迅速改变。而在这一过程中,景观专业人员应采用正确的理念和方法来引导和帮助决策者,确保这个善意的运动尽可能地走在正确的轨道上。
Ecological Restoration: A Movement to Improve Chinese Cities and Realize the Beautiful China Dream
In China, national and top-down “movements” seem to be necessary to promptly address adverse and systematic events which are closely related to people’s life. Were they discussed without the context of China’s urban and rural communities, it is difficult to understand the history and development of these types of movements, such as the “Sponge City Construction” and “Urban Remediation and Ecological Restoration.” The movement of ecological restoration has been positive and necessary in China, and the role and contribution of landscape architect in these movements continue to evolve.
The movements of Sponge City Construction and Urban Remediation and Ecological Restoration are driven by the central government’s awareness of environmental problems in urban areas. As over 50% of the total population lives in urban spaces, criticism and dissatisfaction about urban ecological and environmental issues will begin to threaten social stability and national security. In response to this concern, the nationwide Urban Remediation and Ecological Restoration movement was launched with support from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD). Sanya in Hainan Province was selected as the first pilot city that provides me, a participant in the movement, an opportunity to objectively record current ecological restoration processes in China.
On November 8, 2012, the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China approved the “Beautiful China Construction” program, which emphasized eco-civilization construction, alongside economic, political, cultural, and social development.
On July 20, 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping made a speech at the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference in Guiyang in which he pointed out that to build the Beautiful China in the era of eco-civilization is significant to achieving the great rejuvenation of China. The key role of Beautiful China Construction to the realization of China’s rejuvenation was emphasized by the central government.
Later, on November 15, 2013, in the document of Explanatory Notes for the Decision of the CCCPC on Some Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening the Reform, General Secretary Xi expounded the importance of the mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, and lakes to a life community. He argues that the spaces in which humans survive are interdependent; humans depend on farmlands, the farmlands on rivers, the rivers on mountains, the mountains on lands, and the lands on trees. He further pointed out that “land use regulation and ecological restoration must respect the laws of Nature…. A new centralized governmental agency should be set up to lead, manage, and coordinate the affairs related to the usage of the entire territory of China, carrying out unified natural resources protection and restoration programs at a national scale.” Thereby, significance and necessity of ecological restoration in Beautiful China Construction was underlined again with a clear administrative vision.
On December 12, 2013, on the Central Urbanization Work Conference, General Secretary Xi pointed out the urgent need to integrate cities with their natural environment in support of existing landscapes, “letting people see mountain, see water, and remember the nostalgia.” Moreover, he emphasized that in urban planning and construction, natural systems should be carefully conserved, rather than destroyed. “Breaking natural systems during urban construction, such as excessive concrete flooring, which causes decreases in woodlands, grasslands, lakes, and wetlands has become a core reason for urban water shortages. When natural water circulation is blocked, new rainwater contributes to urban flooding and is drained as sewage while unwisely pumping groundwater for daily supplies, causing huge resource waste and abuse….” To solve the problem of water shortage in cities, urban designers and landscape architects must comply with natural topography and vegetation. For example, to conserve stormwater, the Sponge City model helps store, infiltrate and purify rainwater. For this reason, Sponge City construction has become a key strategy in urban ecological restoration.
In February 2014, the Work Focus of Urban Construction Division of MOHURD again proposed to improve ecological urban inhabitation, to strengthen integrated urban management, to prevent and manage urban environmental problems, to promote healthy urbanization, and to accelerate research on policies and strategies for Sponge City Construction. Subsequently, sixteen Sponge City pilot locations were selected. It can be seen as a substantive action of the central government in implementing the movement.
In April 2015, Zhenggao Chen, the Minister of MOHURD, proposed advancing the idea of “Urban Remediation and Ecological Restoration” during a visit to Hainan Province. The city of Sanya was selected as a pilot location for exploring the idea. Qi Zhang, Party Secretary of Sanya, has stated that this pilot project will significantly influence overall wellbeing of the city, and encourage participation from all citizens. Ecological restoration has been regarded as an approach to improve people’s living standards and to realize the vision of Beautiful China with public engagement.
In December 2015, General Secretary Xi made a speech at the Central Urban Work Conference, which stressed sticking to people-oriented urban development as a way to balance efficient and intensive production, comfortable living, and beautiful ecological environments. “Making a sound living environment visible and functional in the city,” what he noted. The research and pilot project led by MOHURD in Sanya have received support from the central government, and the project is supposed to be a prime paradigm for nationwide ecological restoration and Sponge City Construction.
Finally, on December 10, 2016, the Conference of National Ecological Restoration and Urban Remediation was held in Sanya in celebration of the pilot program’s achievements. After the one-and-a-half-year pilot project in Sanya, several urban ecological restoration projects emerged, including the Sanya Mangrove Park and the East Coast Wetland Park. With these projects, the ecological and economic environment of Sanya has greatly improved. Construction of the East Coast Wetland Park has increased surrounding real estate price by 150%, for example. Municipal leaders who visited Sanya’s pilot projects brought ideas and strategies back to their home cities, and a series of Ecological Restoration and Urban Remediation projects have been launched throughout the country.
The Sanya pilot project is an example of the national ecological restoration movement, demonstrating the central government’s vision for improving people’s living quality and realizing the Beautiful China Dream. This dream can be achieved through the gradual development of pilot projects in hundreds of Chinese cities, and through state regulation and public engagement. Landscape architects have an important role to play in assisting municipal leaders and decision makers with appropriate ideas and approaches of ecological restoration to promote the national movement.