East China’s Jiangsu province has released its plan for the protection and rehabilitation of the ecology of the Yangtze River in a bid to step up its efforts for the protection over the Yangtze.
According to the plan, the water quality of the rivers leading into the Yangtze should be improved to meet the standards.
Urban polluted rivers will be dredged and cleaned in all the prefectural cities and the counties in the Yangtze River valley.
Through the concerted efforts, 71.9% of the water segments in the Yangtze will measure up to the national standards by the end of 2020.
98% of the drinking water sources at or above the county level should measure up to the national standards.
Authorities in Jiangsu will continue to strengthen the regulation on the source of pollution in industrial and agricultural production.
No chemical plants will be built within one kilometer of the river banks along the Yangtze by the end of this year.
At least 50% of the chemical plants will be relocated into chemical industry parks by the end of 2020.
Aquatic breeding will be strictly banned in the restricted areas while no sewage will be allowed to be discharged into the Yangtze directly.
Garbage sorting will be promoted while a tougher crackdown will be carried out on illegal sand mining in the Yangtze River.
Ecological rehabilitation will be launched along the Yangtze to ensure that 50% of the river banks will be surrounded by wetlands.
Officials who fail to implement the tasks will be held accountable.
China has made environmental protection and restoration a top priority in its development plan for the Yangtze River economic belt.
The development of the economic belt will follow a green path, with the strictest environmental protection and water resources management measures, according to an official from the leading group of the Yangtze River economic belt development.
In April 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for achieving high-quality economic growth through developing the Yangtze River economic belt at a symposium on promoting the development of the Yangtze River economic belt in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province.
He called for all-out efforts to protect the Yangtze River, saying there should be no large-scale development of the river.
