China Water Week: Advancing water ecology, resource protection to build beautiful China

On March 20, China unveiled regulations on the country's water conservation work. Effective May 1 this year, the regulations aim to provide a legal guarantee for China's water security, the advancement of ecological progress and high-quality development.

Adhering to the vision that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," China has taken solid steps to protect its water resources and restore harmonious ecological systems.

Celebrating the 37th China Water Week from March 22 to 28, the country now has clearer rivers and lakes, and birds and dolphins are reappearing.

Protecting 'mother rivers'

With the continuous advancement of the protection of the Yangtze River, the ecological protection of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has seen tremendous changes.

China has taken a series of measures to protect the river, including removing the chemical enterprises situated along the river, restoring the river shoreline, upgrading sewage treatment and imposing a 10-year fishing ban along the river's main streams and major tributaries.

These endeavors have greatly improved the ecology and biodiversity of the river.

Water quality in the river has continued to improve, with the proportion of surface water of fairly good quality – at or above Grade III in the country's five-tier water quality system – within the Yangtze River Economic Belt rising to 94 percent in the first five months of 2023, data from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment shows.

Meanwhile, the population of the Yangtze finless porpoises, a barometer of water quality in the Yangtze River basin, had increased to 1,249 in 2022, up 23.42 percent from five years ago.

The Yellow River basin has seen great improvement in the ecological environment after continuous conservation efforts.

Thanks in part to increased afforestation, the basin's soil and water conservation rate increased from 41.49 percent in 1990 to 67.37 percent in 2021.

The number of bird species in the Yellow River Delta national nature reserve has almost doubled, from 187 in 1992 to over 370 today.

Coming into effect in April 2023, the Yellow River Protection Law targets key problems in the Yellow River basin, including water shortages, ecological fragility and flooding. The law will strengthen legal protection for the ecological conservation and high-quality development of the basin.

Data shows that in 2023, 89.4 percent of monitored sections had fairly good surface water quality – at or above Grade III in the country's five-tier water quality system – up 1.5 percentage points year on year. The share of surface water below Grade V, the lowest level, remained unchanged at 0.7 percent.

Water governance

China has also improved its water governance capacity by balancing its economy and its environment.

The country's investment in water conservancy facilities rose 8.5 percent year on year to 1.09 trillion yuan (about $153.14 billion) in the first 11 months of 2023, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

Water conservancy projects have played a key role in stabilizing employment, creating a total of 2.57 million jobs nationwide during the period, increasing 9.1 percent year on year.

In addition, China's Supreme People's Procuratorate has announced a year-long campaign to strengthen public interest litigation in protecting the Yellow River.

The campaign, running from February 2024 to January 2025, focuses on key areas including water resource conservation, soil erosion control, industrial pollution and cultural heritage protection.

Since 2023, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has worked with relevant departments to promote rural sewage treatment and guided various provinces to establish treatment models and technologies tailored to local conditions, leading to clearer resource-based and ecological governance paths.

Last year, environmental improvements were completed in 16,000 administrative villages, and the rate of rural sewage treatment and control reached more than 40 percent.

More than 800 large black and odorous water bodies in rural areas have been treated, and the rural ecological environment continues to improve.