Sichuan champions ecological awareness, actions

Sichuan's authorities have been carrying out a series of ecological projects to protect and restore the ecosystem of the Yangtze River, the third longest river in the world.

Located in the upper course of the country's primary waterway, the province in southwestern China serves as an important ecological barrier and water conservation area for its upper reaches, as well as a strategic part of and a strong growth springboard for the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Sichuan has organized 25 leadership meetings for deepening overall reform since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012 and approved more than 10 programs centering on environmental protection, as well as the building of an ecological civilization in the province.

One of the 10 programs, covering the Yangtze River, was launched last year, with government officials being assigned to take charge of protecting waterways in their area.

According to the Sichuan Forestry Department, the province ranked third in China in the number of woodlands last year and had a forest coverage rate of 38 percent by the end of 2017, an increase of 1.15 percent year-on-year.

The province also boasts rich wetland resources, which consist of swamps, lakes, rivers and ponds, covering a total area of over 1.74 million hectares. As of February this year, Sichuan had established 64 wetland parks. The province is one of the most valuable biological gene banks in China and the world, with nearly 10,000 higher plant species and 1,300 kinds of vertebrates. Rare animals include the giant panda, snub-nosed monkey, hill partridge and black-necked crane.

The capital city of Sichuan, Chengdu, has made large contributions to the creation of an ecological civilization in the province by building itself into a garden-like city in recent years.

"A garden-like city is not just about building parks in a city, but about forming a continuous system for living," said Wu Zhiqiang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. This could be done, Wu added, by adopting a holistic approach encompassing the lifestyles of residents, the environment and the demands of economic production.

Last September, Chengdu initiated the construction of the world's longest green trail system, at a total eventual length of 16,930 kilometers. The major project, the Tianfu Greenway, is on schedule to be finished by 2035. It will connect the city's rivers, parks, communities, grasslands, small gardens and cultural centers. About 2,112 km of the Tianfu Greenway has been completed by the end of September this year.

The main body of the Tianfu Greenway is the Jinjiang Greenway. Located along the Jinjiang River, the greenway has a planned length of 240 km and is designed to link with the other greenways in the city, including the Panda and Jincheng greenways.

The Panda Greenway, stretching 102 km, is the first greenway to feature the giant panda as a theme.

The Jincheng Greenway, to be built around the city's highway system, will bolster the beautiful images of Sichuan depicted in a famous painting by artist Li Gonglin back in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), which portrayed the scenery of Minjiang River and the plain of Chengdu and its surroundings.

In addition to greenways, Chengdu has also made efforts to improve its air and water quality. In 2017, the city had 235 days of excellent and fine air quality, 21 days more than in 2016, and finished treatment of polluted water in the downtown area.

The city, together with Shenzhen in Guangdong province and Lyon in France, won this year's BlueSky Award, a global prize developed by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in the green and low carbon sectors.

The award ceremony was held during the sixth Shenzhen International Low Carbon City Forum held from Sept 26-28.