区域性环境史研究的现代价值——鄂尔多斯地区环境问题治理的历史借鉴与生态文明建设的理论思考

Modern Significance of Regional Environmental History Research:Historical Lessons from Environmental Governance in the Ordos Region and Theoretical Reflections on Ecological Civilization Construction

中国地域辽阔,各地区自然环境与气候条件复杂多样,人们在与自然环境的长期互动过程中,逐渐探索出适宜本地区自然环境与气候条件的生产及生活方式。随着人类社会生产力水平的提高及活动区域的拓展,各地区的生产及生活方式出现了跨地域的传播。而其他地区生产及生活方式的传入有时会打破本地区原有的生态平衡,并改变本地区原有的经济社会格局,这在农牧交错带尤为显著。农牧交错带作为一个极不稳定的生态过渡地带,当非适宜本地区的生产及生活方式被强制推行时,会导致农牧交错范围出现波动并极易造成环境问题。鄂尔多斯地区地处内陆中高纬度地带的高原区,同时是农牧交错带的核心区。当地自然环境的脆弱性特征导致其极易遭到人为改造甚至是破坏,破坏之后又很难恢复。历史上鄂尔多斯地区多次出现环境问题,尤以清代以来的环境改造及破坏最为严重,其影响一直持续至今。现阶段,环境问题成为世界大部分地区制约人类社会生存延续的重要因素,环境问题治理与环境保护也引起了全社会的广泛关注。在此时代背景下,人们开始追求新的发展路径,即以生态文明建设为目标的环境问题治理与环境保护之路。鄂尔多斯地区作为一个相对独立且完整的地理区域,也是当下中国环境问题极为突出的生态环境脆弱区,有关该地环境问题治理与生态文明建设的探索具有代表性,对中国其他地区具有重要借鉴价值。

China is a vast country with complex and varied natural environments and climatic conditions,which has resulted in significantly different forms of human societies across different regions.In the long⁃term interaction with the natural environment,human beings have gradually explored the production and lifestyle suitable for the local natural environment,social conditions,and climate.With the improvement of human social productive forces and the expansion of activity areas,production and lifestyle practices in various regions have spread across geographical boundaries.However,the introduction of production and lifestyle practices from other regions can sometimes disrupt the original ecological balance of the local area,especially in regions where agriculture and animal husbandry intersect.As extremely unstable ecotone,the agricultural⁃pastoral transitional zone fluctuates and is prone to environmental issues when production and lifestyle practices that are not suitable for the local area are forcibly implemented.The Ordos region is located in the high⁃latitude plateau area of the inland,and it is also the core area of the agricultural⁃pastoral transitional zone.The fragility of the local natural environment makes it extremely susceptible to human alteration,development,and even destruction.Once damaged,it is very difficult to restore.Especially since the Qing Dynasty,the environmental transformation and destruction have been the most serious,and its adverse effects persist to this day.In this era,people began to pursue a new development path,which is the road of environmental problem governance and environmental protection with the goal of ecological civilization construction.The Ordos region,as a relatively independent and complete geographical area,is also an ecologically fragile area in China where environmental issues are particularly prominent.The exploration of local environmental problem governance and ecological civilization construction in Ordos undoubtedly has a certain representative significance for the environmental problem governance and ecological civilization construction in various regions across China’s vast territory,and can serve as a case study.