科技创新对经济社会发展的驱动作用显著增强。自治区成立以来，科技投入、科技队伍、科技平台、科技成果稳步增长，逐步建立了具有区域特色的科技创新体系。农业科技进步贡献率逐年提高，良种覆盖率超过90%。工业科技和高新技术迅猛发展，铁路牵引变压器、太阳能和风力发电装备研制、少数民族文字信息处理等关键核心技术水平位居我国前列。资源环境领域科技取得重大突破，发现了塔里木盆地油气，塔里木沙漠公路及防护林生态工程建设技术达到国际先进水平。

　　生态文明水平稳步提升。新疆生态环境极其脆弱，环境容量十分有限，绿洲面积仅占国土总面积的5%。60年来，特别是2010年以来，新疆坚持保护优先、生态立区和资源开发可持续、生态环境可持续，加大生态环境保护和建设力度，实现了经济发展与生态保护同步双赢。

The driving force of scientific and technological innovation has remarkably increased in Xinjiang's socio-economic development. Since its founding, Xinjiang has experienced constant increases in its financial input in science and technology, in the size of staff in scientific work, in the variety research platforms and in the number of research achievements, which have gradually led to the establishment of a system of scientific and technological innovation with distinct regional characteristics. The contribution made by scientific and technological progress to the development of agriculture has increased year by year, and improved crop varieties make up over 90 percent of total output. Industrial technology and new and high technology are developing rapidly. Xinjiang leads the country in railway traction transformer technologies, solar and wind power equipment research and manufacturing, and information processing in ethnic minority languages. It has made major technological breakthroughs in the field of resources and environment technology, discovering the petroleum and natural gas reserves in the Tarim Basin. The technologies used in the Tarim Desert Highway and Shelter Forest Project meet the highest international advanced standards.

Steady progress has been made in environmental protection. The ecological system in Xinjiang is extremely fragile, with very limited environmental capacity. Oases account for only 5 percent of the region's total area. Over the past 60 years, and especially since 2010, Xinjiang has made ecological and environmental protection a top priority, insisting on sustainable development of resources and the eco-environment. It has devoted great efforts to protecting and building its ecological system, carefully balancing the interests of economic growth and environmental protection.

　　依法保护生态环境。坚持规划先行，发布实施了《新疆维吾尔自治区主体功能区规划》，修订颁布了《新疆维吾尔自治区环境保护条例》《新疆维吾尔自治区煤炭石油天然气开发环境保护条例》《新疆维吾尔自治区湿地保护条例》《乌鲁木齐市大气污染防治条例》等地方性法规。已建立自治区级以上各类自然保护区31个、风景名胜区18个、森林公园52个、地质公园9个，世界自然遗产地1个、湿地公园16个，湿地保护率达到53.52%，高于全国43.15%的平均水平。

　　加大生态环境保护工程建设力度。2010年至今，新疆每年人工造林和封山育林面积250万亩以上，森林面积和林木蓄积量在全国分别排名第14位和第12位。目前，82个县市基本实现农田林网化，45个县市达到国家平原绿化标准，95%的农田得到了林网的有效保护。绿洲森林覆盖率由14.95%提高到23.5%，退耕还林面积达到325.8万亩。启动实施伊犁河谷百万亩生态经济林工程、塔里木盆地周边防沙治沙工程等重点工程。累计治理沙化面积2460万亩，退牧还草工程建设围栏4160万亩。以小流域水土流失治理为载体，累计治理水土流失面积4000多平方公里。实施塔里木河流域综合治理工程，已完成15次应急输水，使塔里木河下游重现生机。全区79条重要河流水质优良率由2009年的88.3%提高到2014年的94%；湖库优良水质比例由43.3%提高到67.8%，远高于全国平均水平。

Xinjiang protects its environment in accordance with the law. It has drawn up detailed plans and regulations first to protect the environment. It enacted the Zoning Program of Major Functional Areas of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and amended or issued a series of local regulations, including the Regulations of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Environmental Protection, Regulations of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Environmental Protection in the Development of Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Regulations of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region on Wetland Conservation of the Autonomous Region, and Regulations of Urumqi City on Air Pollution Prevention and Control. It now has 31 natural reserves of various kinds at or above the autonomous region level, 18 scenic spots, 52 forest parks, nine geoparks, one world natural heritage site, and 16 wetland parks. Fifty-four percent of its wetland areas are under protection, higher than the national average of 43 percent.

Xinjiang has intensified efforts in ecological and environmental protection programs. Since 2010, Xinjiang has planted or protected over 2,500,000 (166,667 ha) of forests by restricting access to mountain areas. Its total forest area and forest stock rank 14th and 12th in China. Now, belts of shelter-forests built to protect farmlands in all of Xinjiang's 82 counties and county-level cities have merged to form a network, 45 counties and county-level cities have reached the national standards in plains afforestation, and 95 percent of farmlands are effectively protected by the shelter-forests. The forest coverage in oases has risen from 15 percent to 23.5 percent, and a total of 3,258,000 (217,200 ha) of farmland has been returned to forest. Major projects for ecological protection have been launched, such as the Million Ecological Economic Forest Project in Ili Valley and the Project for Prevention and Control of Desertification around Tarim Basin, restoring a total of 24.6 million (1.64 million ha) of degraded lands and enclosing 51.6 million (3.4 million ha) of grassland to prevent grazing. It has curbed water and soil erosion over more than 4,000 sq km of small river valleys. The Comprehensive Reclamation Project of Tarim River Valley has provided emergency water supplies to its lower reaches on 15 occasions, gradually restoring prosperity there. In 2014, water quality was good in 94 percent of major rivers and 67.8 percent of lakes and reservoirs, as compared to 88.3 percent and 43.3 percent in 2009. This is much higher than the national average level.