From September 17 to 18, the Upper and Middle Yellow River Bureau and Shendong Coal successfully held the Shendong Ecological Forum to launch the construction of the Shendong Pilot Demonstration Zone. Built in response to the national strategy of promoting the ecological conservation and pursuing high-quality development of the Yellow River basin, the demonstration zone will help explore new paths and models for ecological conservation and high-quality development.
The middle reaches of the Yellow River serve as an important ecological barrier and energy corridor in China. As the location of the mines of Shendong Coal, the area suffers from vulnerable ecology and weak economic foundations while boasting abundant energy resources. Since the development of the area began, Shendong Coal has built multiple demonstration zones and projects in the region including the Shangwan Ecological Management Zone, the Water Treatment Factory of Bulianta Mine, the Halagou Ecological Demonstration Base and the Bu’ertai Photovoltaic Power+Ecology Base.
A total of 5.17 billion yuan has been invested in the ecological management of 384 square kilometers of land, and the vegetation coverage rate has increased from only 3 percent to more than 64 percent. The company has carried out more than 200 ecological researches and studies in total, and built the innovative model featuring “three phases and three circles” and specific mining and management approaches for ecological improvement. The technologies and approaches solved the worldwide problem of ecological conservation in the development and construction of large coal mines in desertification areas.
The Shendong Pilot Demonstration Zone will promote team-up building and mechanism innovation. It will serve as a communication platform for the demonstration projects on ecological conservation of the Yellow River basin, and establish the Shendong Institute for ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin. The efforts will help Shendong Coal reach the overall demonstration standards of mines and build three ecological demonstration bases, 13 green mines and 35 demonstration projects. The company will summarize the lessons learned in the process and play a leading role in the ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin.
