On the afternoon of March 25, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment held an office meeting chaired by the director to study and discuss the preparation of the “14th Five-Year Plan” for Shanghai’s Ecology and Environment Protection and the eighth round of the three-year environmental protection action plan.

Unlike the past, some “new faces” appeared in this meeting. Among them, there were experts in ecological environment from colleges and universities, representatives of citizens who care about environmental protection education and development, or engaged in the work of ecological environment information in enterprises and institutions, and grassroots staff from subdistricts who have long been concerned about environmental protection.

After listening carefully to the introduction on the preparation of the plans, the representatives respectively put forward their opinions and ideas, and shared their vision of building a beautiful Shanghai with the leaders of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment.

Dang Rong, a citizen representative said that since she became a kindergarten teacher, she has been very concerned about the situation of early childhood education at home and abroad. It is especially necessary for children to receive environmental protection education from an early age. Kindergartens, primary schools, middle schools, and universities must all offer courses on environmental protection education. She hoped that the opening of environmental protection facilities will be increased so that parents and children can experience together and increase environmental awareness. Ding Jie, a staff member from North Sichuan Road Subdistrict in Hongkou District, said that after listening to the “14th Five-Year Plan” for Shanghai’s Ecological Environment Protection, she is more confident in Shanghai’s environmental protection and the improvement of the ecological environment of communities. She suggested that this planning put forward more detailed requirements for the ecological and environmental protection of communities. Researcher Cheng Jin of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and Associate Professor Zhang Yong of East China Normal University put forward their opinions and suggestions on strengthening the supervision of new drugs and other chemicals and emphasizing the construction of ecological civilization with culture and humanity as the core.

Cheng Peng, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment, responded to the opinions and suggestions of the representatives one by one and thanked them. He pointed out that “serving the people wholeheartedly” has always been the fundamental purpose of governance of the Communist Party of China. As the masters of the city, the people have the right to know and participate in the ecological environment work of Shanghai and the fight against pollution. And relevant departments must seek more advice from the people, ask their needs, and actively respond to social concerns.

Cheng Peng emphasized that the preparation of the plans should focus on four aspects. One, focus on systematic thinking to promote the comprehensive management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasses and sand; Two, focus on further integration with the relevant spirit of the central government and Xi Jinping’s Thought of Ecological Civilization, incorporating the spirit of the “two sessions” and the spirit of the latest speech given by General Secretary Xi Jinping into the planning; Three, focus on close integration with the central work of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal People’s Government, actively serving the construction of the “Five New Cities,” and connecting with special plans for greening, transportation, water affairs, etc.; Four, focus on system innovation, speeding up the upgrading of the ecological environment governance system and the modernization of governance capabilities to achieve the goal of building Shanghai into a socialist international metropolis with global influence.

(The English version is for your reference only. In case any discrepancy between the English and Chinese context, the Chinese version shall prevail.)