Recently, the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the "Opinions on Financial Support for the Construction of the 'Three-North' Project" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"), to promote the establishment of a stable, sustainable, adequately guaranteed, and multi-channel funding support and policy support system.
In 1978, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council made a strategic decision to build a large-scale shelterbelt in the key areas of wind and sand hazards and soil erosion in the Northwest, North, and Northeast regions, namely the "Three-North" Project. The project construction started in 1978 and will end in 2050, lasting 73 years, and is divided into three phases and eight sub-projects. The period from 2021 to 2030 is the construction period of the sixth phase of the "Three-North" Project, a critical period for consolidating and expanding the achievements of desertification prevention and control, and a crucial period for promoting the high-quality development of the "Three-North" Project.
"By coordinating existing and incremental funds, we will increase support for the construction of the 'Three-North' Project, establish a new 'Three-North' Project subsidy fund, and have already arranged 12 billion yuan in the 2024 budget, with subsequent annual arrangements to be made according to work needs," said a responsible person from the Ministry of Finance in response to a reporter's question.
　　The 'Three-North' Project攻坚战 has achieved phased progress.
Since the beginning of this year, the 'Three-North' Project攻坚战 has been accelerated, and phased progress has been achieved.
In recent days, before the rainy season arrives, various areas of the 'Three-North' Project攻坚战 have adapted to local conditions, planting trees and grass, and preventing and controlling desertification. Zhongwei in Ningxia, located at the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert, will complete desertification control of 592,300 mu this year. The local area is installing sand barriers at a rate of 800 to 1,000 mu per day, and the vast yellow sand is being divided and locked into tens of thousands of square grids.
Linfen County in Shanxi, located at the waist of the 'Jizi Bend' of the Yellow River, will complete 191,000 mu of ecological restoration projects this year. It has now entered a critical stage. In many plots with poor tree-planting conditions, saplings need to be carried on people's backs and shoulders to the mid-slope cliffs, and in some places, drones are even used for hoisting and transportation.
As a new model of desertification prevention and control, the 'Three-North' Project攻坚战 is accelerating the construction of integrated ecological and photovoltaic projects. In the Kubuqi Desert, photovoltaic desertification control has started simultaneously in the eastern and western sections. The 'Three-North' Project攻坚战 focuses on three landmark battles, with a preliminary layout of 68 key projects. Since this spring, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration has organized 15 working groups to go to the 'Three-North' provinces and regions to conduct on-site supervision and promote project construction. Currently, 40 projects have started, and more than 20 million mu of afforestation and grass planting have been completed.
　　The 'Three-North' Project: overall planning and joint efforts.
Zhang Wei, Director of the Ecology Department of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, stated at the second-quarter press conference held by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration on April 18 that, focusing on key issues such as 'what to fight', 'where to fight', and 'how to fight' in the 'Three-North' Project攻坚战, overall planning and joint efforts have been made since June 2023.
He introduced that the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued opinions on strengthening comprehensive desertification prevention and control and promoting the construction of key ecological projects such as the 'Three-North' Project. The State Council established a coordination mechanism for the 'Three-North' Project and formulated and issued the '1+N+X' work plan, clarifying the key tasks and responsibility divisions of relevant departments.
On this basis, in conjunction with the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments, the overall plan for the 'Three-North' Project was revised and the 'Sixth Phase Plan of the Three-North Project' was issued, planning and laying out 68 key projects, of which the three landmark battle areas involve 328 counties and 35 key projects. On-site promotion meetings were held in the three major battle areas, and practical problems were solved through consultations at the frontline of desertification control. Key projects such as systematic governance and photovoltaic desertification control were planned, and relevant provinces and regions were organized to promote cross-regional joint prevention and control of desertified land, comprehensively launching the three landmark battles.
In conjunction with the National Energy Administration and other relevant departments, research and compilation of photovoltaic desertification control plans and related technical standards were carried out, and photovoltaic desertification control projects were scientifically laid out.
In conjunction with the National Development and Reform Commission and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, support and guidance were provided to central enterprises such as Three Gorges Group and China Forestry Group to participate in the construction of the Three-North Project through various means.
A special Three-North Project Research Institute was established, seven major science and technology action plans were implemented, the announcement of the 'Key Technology Research and Development for the Three-North Project攻坚战' open competition project list was released, and 15 pioneering science and technology highlands were established.
"Overall, the 'Three-North' Project has transformed from an industry project led by the forestry and grassland departments in the past to a 'top leader' project highly valued and promoted by party committees and governments at high levels," said Zhang Wei.
　Financial support for the construction of the 'Three-North' Project.
The "Opinions" are in accordance with the new positioning and new mission of the 'Three-North' Project, fully consider the financial situation of the 'Three-North' region, and through measures such as establishing the 'Three-North' Project subsidy fund, strengthening existing financial support, improving market-oriented and diversified investment mechanisms, and implementing tax incentives and government procurement policies, support the construction of the 'Three-North' Project through multiple measures.
First, establish the 'Three-North' Project subsidy fund. The central finance will strengthen resource coordination, optimize expenditure structure, and establish the 'Three-North' Project subsidy fund to support integrated protection and restoration of forests, grasslands, wetlands, and deserts, consolidate desertification prevention and control achievements, provide compensation for closed protection of desertified land, and demonstrate 'industrial ecologicalization and ecological industrialization'. The funds will focus on key areas and highlight difficulties, strengthen support for major tasks and key links, and improve policy precision.
Second, strengthen existing financial support. Strengthen financial support including budgetary investment, and promote policy linkage. Improve policies for the protection and restoration of natural forests and public welfare forests, support grass seed breeding, consolidate the achievements of returning farmland to forests and grasslands, support forest quality improvement, implement the third round of grassland ecological protection subsidy and reward policies, support forest and grassland fire prevention and pest control, support soil and water conservation and comprehensive small watershed management, support ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin, and increase support for key ecological function areas. Central budgetary investment will optimize special settings and coordinate the promotion of the 'Three-North' Project and major projects for the protection and restoration of important ecosystems.
Third, improve market-oriented and diversified investment mechanisms. Innovate financial fund management mechanisms, mobilize the enthusiasm of all parties, and drive social capital investment. Allow the arrangement of local government special bonds to support eligible project construction. Encourage financial institutions to increase financing support for ecological protection and restoration projects in the 'Three-North' region in a market-oriented manner. Implement forest insurance premium subsidy policies.
Fourth, implement tax incentive policies such as environmental protection tax, resource tax, consumption tax, value-added tax, and corporate income tax; increase government procurement efforts for products that meet the requirements of government green procurement policies.
　　Four aspects to ensure the effectiveness of the "Opinions".
First, strengthen responsibility implementation. Adhere to the working mechanism of central coordination, provincial responsibility, and city and county implementation. Financial departments at all levels should actively improve policy measures and fulfill expenditure responsibilities. The Ministry of Finance will join forces with the National Development and Reform Commission and relevant departments to follow the strategic deployment of fully winning the 'Three-North' Project攻坚战, combine with the overall plan and sixth phase plan tasks of the 'Three-North' Project, focus on key areas, strengthen investment guarantees, strengthen supervision and guidance for relevant departments at the city and county levels, and promote the financial, development and reform, and forestry and grassland authorities of relevant provinces in the 'Three-North' region to research and formulate local financial support policies and measures for the construction of the 'Three-North' Project, and clarify responsibility divisions.
Second, adhere to coordinated promotion. Strengthen regional joint prevention and control, break administrative boundaries, promote departmental coordination, regional coordination, and policy coordination, and coordinate desertification prevention and control tasks and various projects. The Ministry of Finance will improve the work promotion mechanism of vertical linkage between financial departments and horizontal interaction between financial and other departments, strengthen overall organization, actively integrate resources, refine and improve policies, include eligible 'Three-North' Project-related work tasks in the support scope, and strengthen coordination and cooperation with departments such as science and technology, natural resources, ecological environment, water resources, agriculture and rural affairs, meteorology, and energy, effectively enhancing the systematicness, integrity, and synergy of various works.
Third, improve fund efficiency. The Ministry of Finance will actively promote the project-based management of central financial funds related to the construction of the 'Three-North' Project, improve the project reserve system, consolidate the work foundation, and include all projects supported by central financial forestry and grassland transfer payment funds in the central forestry and grassland project reserve database for implementation, ensuring that physical workload is formed as soon as possible and improving fund utilization efficiency. The performance concept and methods will run through the entire process of transfer payment fund management, improve the performance indicator system, scientifically and reasonably set performance targets, do a good job in performance operation monitoring and performance evaluation, highlight the policy orientation of rewarding the excellent and punishing the poor, and increase the application of performance evaluation results.
Fourth, continuously track effectiveness. Adhere to the connection between fund investment and policy planning and work tasks, and strengthen supervision and evaluation of the completion of target tasks. Local regulatory bureaus of the Ministry of Finance will, in accordance with work responsibilities and relevant requirements, strengthen supervision of central financial subsidy funds, promptly discover problems, propose improvement measures, and supervise local implementation of rectification. Adhere to equal emphasis on construction and management, implement a full-process construction and management model, and strengthen later-stage management and protection measures.