Build the Bai-Li Ecological Corridor in Harbin, Realize New Progress of the City

Background Information

In recent years, with the rapid development of urban economy and society, the urban section of Songhua River in Harbin is confronted with increasingly deteriorating problems of water resources and water ecology. The problems focused on the serious pollution of water quality, random transformation of river lines, and casual cultivation and destruction of the wetland by the river bank. Meanwhile, the contradiction between the development of an economic society and the sustainability of ecological environment gets sharper and sharper every day.

Goals of the Initiative

The project aims to take the Songhua River as a strategic outline for construction and development of Harbin, quicken the pace of development of “one river in the center, two banks get prosperous” in practice, realize a new leap in the process of urban development by booming city on water, enriching city on water and beautifying city on water to build as a model of the waterfront city. The Hundred-Li Ecological Corridor of Songhua River in Harbin is to recover 204 square meters of beach wetland completely, improve the growing environment of plants, reinforce the quality and connection of the habitat, and create the natural and diversified river scenery with crystal water and green island. The improvement on the ecological environment of Harbin will also promote the sustainable development of nature-society-economy system.

In the aspect of social benefits, it will create a high-quality environmental space for ecological tourism, on-water entertainment and suburban leisure in Harbin. Besides, it will help recover the stable, continuous and close-to-nature ecological system and structure of Hundred-Li Ecological Corridor and strengthen its multi-functional effect, which plays a key role in realizing the sustainable development of the city. In the aspect of economic benefits, the ecological tourism constitutes an important part, as the Hundred-Li Ecological Corridor holds about 1.12 million people per day, which can bring enormous economic benefits to tourist service and relevant industries. Meanwhile, the excellent ecological environment will activate the development of riverside industries and promote the construction of saving, environment protection and low energy consuming society.

Parties and Partners to the Initiative and Resources Used for Implementation

This project is proposed by Harbin Municipal Government, while Harbin Municipal Water Conservancy Bureau and Harbin Water Investment Company are in charge of its implementation. The water conservancy sectors launched the project whereas the tourist and environment protection sectors established relevant institutions, particularly in charge of daily management and the formulation of relevant laws and rules.

The resources used for implementing the initiative include:

The mainstream of Songhua River crosses the middle part of Harbin from west to east, the section of urban area stretching about 123 kilometers. As Harbin is located on the plain, the river leaves vast wetlands for the city, covering an area of 204 square kilometers, in addition to 240-square kilometer water area. The total area affecting is 444 square kilometers, twice of the area of main urban area. It is the biggest urban wetland among all riverside cities in China, and also a precious natural resource.

Innovation for the Initiative

Considering the multi-functional goal of water security, water ecology, water economy, water scenery and water culture, the project aims to build “Million-Hectare Songhua Wetland, Hundred-Li Ecological Corridor” and maintain the health of mother river, already listed into the development strategy of riverside city. The concept of this project originated from the theory of “ecological civilization” and the long-term water regulating practice.

The core theory of “fix the city with water” came up while previous low-standard, low-level and urbanized mode of planning and construction was rejected. We fully master the pulse of global urban development, set foot on the construction pattern of Harbin as a modern metropolis, forcefully build “Million-Hectare Songhua River Wetland, Hundred-Li Ecological Corridor”, and based on the current situation of water resources in Harbin to promote water economy, water industry and water culture onto a new height. Realize the brand-new theory integrating economy, ecology and social benefits and involve hydrology and water resources, ecological environment, by-water landscape, regional planning, industrial development and tourist economy. This is a creative attempt combining water conservancy project, ecological repair and comprehensive protection.

It is supported by the government, launched by the water conservancy sector; and the tour organizational and environment protection sectors established relevant institutions particularly in charge of the daily management of Hundred-Li Ecological Corridor and the formulation of relevant laws and regulations; set up the mechanism for the public to participate and the non-government organization of “Harbin Municipal Songhua River Protective Association”.

We set up diversified investment mechanism, encouraged the investment from enterprises in and out of the city, as well as the society and gradually establish the diversified and stable investment mechanism.

It is up to the government to establish the supervision mechanism of capital operation to watch over the behavior of operating and managing the capital of Ecological Special Committee of Hundred-Li Corridor.

The programme of urban riverside zone is a systematic project, which can be adopted in many modes. As a northern city with spacious wetland resources, Harbin adopts the wetland park mode and wetland engineering theory, emphasizes the protection and systematic repair of the wetland, makes full use of “water storage”, “flood transfer”, “ecological diversification”, and “scenic spots” of the wetland, in order to build the natural-type ecological corridor as well as the healthy and harmonious water system. This is the specific demonstration of scientific water control, having received favorable ecological benefits, social benefits and demonstrative benefits.

Obstacles and Solutions for Innovation

It is a long-term strategic task to accomplish the protection and repair of water ecological system, which involves multiple complicated elements in economy, society, ecology and culture. Challenges and difficulties are mainly presented in following two aspects：

First, it is difficult to master the operation of proper tourist development and strict ecological protection. The fundamental aim of water ecological protection and repair is to build the healthy system of water ecology and create a favorable living environment for the mass. In view of the historical stage where we are located and the limit of finance available, if not in pursuit of certain economic benefits, it is very hard to continue the project. However, the excessive exploitation and usage will definitely cause artificial disturbance and certain damage to water quality, creatures and vegetation.

Second, the massive project investment and the pressure of narrow financing channel keep intensifying. The total input of initial budget for the protection and repair project of water ecological system of our city is 58.8 billion yuan. Although the support from upper management and the financial input of our city keep growing, for which our city also established the water investment company and collected over 10 billion yuan of construction capital by marketing operation. Compared with the capital demand of completely accomplishing the construction task, the notch still remains big. Especially at present, under the condition of sturdy cash policy and tight financial control policy, the channel of financing gets narrower and narrower while it’s also hard to relieve the intensity of construction capital shortage.

Outcomes and Assessments

Outcomes achieved are as follows:

•Ecological Benefits

In the protection and repair of Hundred-Li Ecological Corridor, 42 percent of the cultivated wetland will be restored, and so would be an area of 204-square-kilometer wetland. The recovery of habitat and plant system in the ecological core zone, the biological corridor and the buffer zone helped reinforce the connection of biological habitat, increase the number of aquatic creatures and birds, improve the biodiversity prominently, and restore the diversified river scenery with clear water and green bank.

The ecological system of the wetland can purify and filter the ground and underground water; the control and recovery of river ecological system is all of positive help to improve ground and underground water quality and the absorption and filter of air and noise pollution.

•Social Benefits

The initiative not only maintain the connection and completeness of rivers and wetlands and biodiversity, but also create high-quality environment for ecological tourism, on-water entertainment and suburban leisure in Harbin, which is helpful to optimize the riverside scenery, interpret the regional culture, pull the local economy, push the continuous development of rural and urban economy and promote communication and cooperation in terms of culture and economy in the Asia-Pacific area.

Besides, it is also beneficial to adjust the microclimate and beautify the environment, so as to create a better condition for the residents to rest, do outdoor activity and exercise as well as a good place for children to play. Harbin will be built into an example of harmonious development between the human and the nature.

The creation of a high-quality living environment for the residents is of great significance to improve the image of Harbin, and to the environment of urban area and the living quality of the residents, and of profound influence on the construction and development of Harbin, which may bring outstanding social benefits.

•Economic Benefits

Attraction of Harbin being a summer ecological travel has been largely enhanced, which can bring enormous economic benefits to the tourist service as well as related industries, and greatly quicken the economic and social development of Harbin.

Under the policy of “A river as axle, two banks get prosperous; fix the city by water and make it prosperous”, Songhua River of Harbin is being built as ecological link area, connecting the million-hectare wetland on the two banks, and the superb ecological environment will motivate the riverside industries and the construction of society featuring economical, environment protection and low energy consumption.

Assessments are as follows:

The project demarcated all functional zones within the scope of Hundred-Li Program, restricted and standardized the degree and mode of human exploitation and utilization, set stations to supervise the water and ecological system of the wetland, and conducted qualitative and quantitative estimation over the evolution of ecological system of the wetland and the degree of influence on human society, for sake of presenting protective and recovery measures and enhancing the development of urban ecology, which is the guarantee for the nature-society-economy system of Harbin to develop sustainably.

Methods Applied

The initiative has adopted some new measures, including:

returning the farming land to the wetland;

clearing the beach and build the island;

dredging the water system;

rebuilding the ecological environment;

recovering the vegetation;

consolidating the banks;

adding the basic equipment and build the scenic spot.

Harbin focused on developing the industrial belt of Songhua River and the comprehensive management of Hulan River and Zhaolan New River, fully taking advantage of the water system of river channels, ponds or wetlands and forming a water network of “two north-south rivers, four west-east rivers and 18 lakes” by digging and dredging the river channel. Through the comprehensive management of river channel ecology, it aims to form the new landscape of “Songhua River Wetland, Northern Water City”, highlighting the development theory of “human as basis”, abiding by the water loving nature of human beings, and rebuilding the natural ethics between the water and the human.

Benefits to Other Cities

The waterside zone of the city is a peculiar space or section, as almost all great international cities were formed, developed and got mature by taking the riverside advantage of the region. The riverside region of the city not merely powerfully activates the development of urban economy, environment and cultural life, but also becomes the window to show urban landscape. Setting foot on the ecological system or pattern of society-economy-nature, the initiative based on the ecological perspective, introduced the technology or method of recovering the connection between rivers and wetland ecology, and established the ecological corridor with rich structure, proper size and diversified habitat, while quickening the process of returning the farm land to the wetland and building the scenic islands.