Today, on our segment “New Developments in Deep Reform and Opening Up,” we continue to focus on the construction of a Beautiful China. The decisions made at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party’s Third Plenary Session outlined a series of measures aimed at deepening ecological civilization reforms. Key areas of focus include improving the ecological and environmental governance system and establishing integrated protection and systematic management mechanisms for rivers, mountains, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and deserts. We seek to understand how we can better protect and manage our ecological environments in a more systematic way, fostering a harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. Let’s take a closer look at the Dongting Lake watershed in Hunan.
Datuo Lake, the largest inland freshwater lake in Hunan, spans over 80 square kilometers. In autumn, the shimmering waters of Datuo Lake are beautiful, with lush aquatic plants nearby. However, rewind ten years, and the scene was very different. Due to over-fishing in the lake and extensive reclamation of surrounding wetlands, along with continuous wastewater discharge, the water quality of Datuo Lake deteriorated sharply. At the same time, agricultural non-point source pollution and rural domestic waste began to encroach upon the surrounding rural living environments.
Datuo Lake is a lake within a lake formed after several changes to the Dongting Lake watershed, interconnected with Dongting Lake itself. It plays a vital role in maintaining ecological balance and protecting biodiversity. Unfortunately, by 2015, monitoring revealed that Datuo Lake’s water quality had dropped to a level deemed extremely poor, with aquatic plants virtually vanished, leading to severe ecosystem degradation. In response, local authorities initiated restoration efforts aimed first and foremost at improving water quality.
Wang Xinyu, Secretary of the Datuo Lake District Committee in Yiyang, Hunan, shared, “At first, our approach was simplistic—just changing out the water and reducing some feed to address the restoration issues. This, however, yielded no significant improvements in overall water quality.”
Focusing solely on water treatment proved ineffective, leading to a shift into a second phase of management. A leadership group for water environment restoration was formed, with district leaders taking the helm. This time, restoration efforts extended beyond environmental departments, involving multiple government sectors.
Wang Xinyu explained, “The provincial government proposed a multidimensional strategy that included retiring fish farming, mitigating pollution, dredging, increasing vegetation, and ensuring water circulation. This required the involvement of various departments—from water resources and forestry to agriculture and municipal construction—addressing control of agricultural runoff, reducing fertilizers, and managing household wastewater. Thus, we began a process of collaborative governance.”
In recent years, China has been advancing integrated protection and restoration projects for mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and deserts—collectively known as “Shanshui projects.” The shift from single-factor to systematic management in Datuo Lake’s restoration embodies a significant aspect of the country’s ecological governance reform.
Professor Bai Zhongke from China University of Geosciences in Beijing stated, “The decisions made during the Third Plenary Session of the 20th National Congress build upon previous work, further focusing on the construction of a Beautiful China and enhancing the ecological governance system. This encourages multi-department collaboration to implement specific engineering measures while considering the overall ecosystem.”
Ecological environments are interconnected wholes, yet departmental responsibilities are distinctly defined. Transitioning from fragmented management to collaborative and systematic governance is an unprecedented exploration for many regions’ ecological management.
To ensure cohesive efforts, Datuo Lake District established a command center led by district leaders, coordinating with various project management departments for dual oversight of project implementations. This led to improved workflows and, subsequently, visible progress in restoration. The water quality in Datuo Lake has steadily improved, with the local flora and fauna increasing year by year.
In the context of broader national goals, the decisions outlined during the Third Plenary Session stress the necessity of “enhancing the ecological governance system,” particularly the importance of an integrated management mechanism for mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and deserts.
Zhong Chongjun, Deputy Director of the Land Rehabilitation Center at the Ministry of Natural Resources, emphasized, “The decisions from the Third Plenary Session set new demands based on previous efforts, requiring the coordination of various resources and elements. For instance, in river basins, we need to consider both upstream and downstream, as well as the natural geography, breaking down administrative barriers and departmental constraints.”
This autumn, early risers at the Old Sanyun Canal leading to Datuo Lake have already begun their work at 6 AM, planting over ten acres of water lilies and bulrushes. With the initiation of the ecological restoration project, experts were invited to assess the water and sediment conditions of the lake, guiding the integration of aquatic plant cultivation into the ecological restoration process.
The scientific cultivation of aquatic plants has significantly sped up the purification of water quality, but purchasing these plants each year incurs substantial costs. To achieve sustainability, local stakeholders adopted market-oriented approaches to cultivate and raise aquatic plants. Over the years, related businesses have expanded their scale of aquatic plant cultivation, leading to increasingly evident ecological benefits. To further incentivize participation, subsidies have attracted former fishers, previously retired due to over-fishing, to engage in cultivating aquatic plants. Experts also crafted a model that combines aquatic plant farming with commercial crab cultivation, yielding good sales results.
Now, many former fishers around Datuo Lake have shifted to ecological farming ventures involving combinations like aquatic plants with crabs and lobsters, while local cooperatives have been established. New investments have also drawn in additional enterprises focused on ecological farming.
Wang Xinyu reported, “In the last three years, around 947 million yuan has been invested in Datuo Lake’s protection and restoration, with over 50% of this coming from private and market-based investments.”
Shifting from reliance on fiscal inputs to attracting diverse investments has emerged as a significant task outlined in the decisions from the Third Plenary Session.
Zhong Chongjun reiterated, “The current session clearly encourages and incentivizes social capital to enter the ecological protection and restoration sectors. This encompasses various forms of incentives—property rights, resource utilization, financial measures, and taxation. Whether from businesses or individuals, there must be a revenue component to support ecological restoration funding.”
Now, large-scale engineering projects surrounding Datuo Lake have concluded, and the entire lake area is entering a stage of natural recovery. However, monitoring of all environmental indicators remains ongoing. Daily, the water flowing into Datuo Lake undergoes preliminary treatment, with 38 inflow points equipped with mini-monitoring stations. Water quality must meet established standards as verified by these mini-stations before release into Datuo Lake.
Beyond the monitoring stations, surveillance cameras are also in place to track local ecological protection and restoration efforts in real-time. This data links to the Dongting Lake Shanshui project monitoring platform. Hunan has established a command center for the Dongting Lake Shanshui project, led by provincial leaders, to coordinate efforts across departments statewide and promote integrated protection and restoration of Dongting Lake.
To fundamentally improve the ecological environment of Dongting Lake and include Datuo Lake’s protection and restoration, the project encompasses 50 sub-projects designed with four ecological barriers in mind. These barriers comprise core areas for biodiversity protection, buffer zones along the lakeshore, agricultural function enhancement areas, and surrounding mountainous forest range barriers.
Dong Zhenya, Director of the Ecological Restoration Department at the Hunan Natural Resources Department, noted, “We approach the protection of the entire Dongting Lake Plain and surrounding hilly areas as a complete natural geographical unit, emphasizing problem-solving while enhancing collaboration between the mountains and water.”
In recent years, China has completed the national ecological protection red line delineation and officially issued the “National Land Spatial Planning Outline (2021-2035).” Implementing a management system for the ecological protection red line is a critical task set forth by the Third Plenary Session to drive comprehensive integrated protection and governance efforts.
Around 120 kilometers upstream from Dongting Lake, in Taoyuan County, Hunan, an ecological restoration project at a historically mined site is entering its final stages. This area, known for its anthracite resources, suffered from chaotic mining practices in the 1990s, leaving significant scars on the landscape spanning hundreds of acres.
Qin Bin, Deputy County Mayor of Taoyuan, explained, “Due to inadequate systematic management of the mined rocks and tailings, there are dangers of debris flows and other geological hazards. Additionally, stagnant water in the mineshafts may contain heavy metals, which could overflow during rainy seasons, impacting local agricultural activities downstream.”
In 2022, this site became part of the ecological restoration project for historical mining sites along the Yuanjiang River, integrated within the Dongting Lake Shanshui project. Through wastewater treatment, backfilling of mining pits, and vegetation planting, these once scarred lands have begun to rejuvenate.
Finding a balance between resource extraction and ecological protection is critical. In recent years, local regulations have required that when auctioning mineral rights, potential miners present ecological restoration plans, which must be fulfilled before mine closures. Meanwhile, in Linli County, about 100 kilometers away from this restoration area, a limestone mine has committed to restoring the environment while developing resources since its commencement in 2019.
Li Jie, Deputy Director and party member of the Natural Resources and Planning Bureau in Changde, remarked, “We now mandate that companies coordinate their planning, design, construction, and operational management. They must meet green mining standards and develop ecological restoration plans, including depositing ecological restoration funds and guarantees.”
Shifting from end-of-pipe management to comprehensive chain management—achieving a balance between resource development and ecological preservation—represents a crucial aspect of implementing the Third Plenary Session’s directives to enhance the ecological governance system.
Zhong Chongjun added, “Moving forward, a key focus remains on systemically addressing ecological protection and restoration throughout the entire lifecycle of resource development—from planning to execution, integrating protection and restoration duties into every stage.”
Professor Bai Zhongke argues, “There must be a dual push for technical and managerial innovation, which both need to be integrated into the institutional framework to facilitate harmony between humanity and nature, realizing the vision of a Beautiful China.”
Currently, China’s socioeconomic development is moving towards accelerated green and low-carbon quality growth. However, challenges remain in the construction of ecological civilization. As visible in the explorations from various regions, a coordinated approach to high-quality development and stringent ecological protection is essential. Creating a robust, integrated management mechanism will strengthen natural ecological barriers and ensure a harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.
