On the 13th, the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province issued an announcement stating that the "Regulations on the Environmental Protection of Lenghu Astronomical Observation in Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") were approved by the 13th People's Congress of Qinghai Province. It was reviewed and approved by the 35th meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Congress. This is the first local regulation for the protection of the dark night sky in my country.
There are 22 articles in the Regulations, which will come into force on January 1, 2023. The "Regulations" mainly include legislative purpose and basis, regional delineation, scope of application, facility management, departmental responsibilities, legal responsibilities, penalties, etc. The "Regulations" divide the Qinghai Lenghu astronomical observation environment area into the dark night protection core area and the dark night protection buffer zone, focusing on protecting the night optical observation environment.
According to the "Regulations", in the dark night protection core area of Qinghai Lenghu astronomical observation environment, the type and brightness of light sources are strictly controlled, and the illumination direction of all outdoor fixed night lighting facilities should be 30 degrees below the horizontal line. Projects that affect the observation environment are prohibited from carrying out activities that affect the astronomical observation environment. In the dark night protection buffer zone of the cold lake astronomical observation environment, the irradiation direction of all outdoor fixed night lighting facilities should be controlled below the horizontal line.
