The pangolin reappears in the mountain forest, recording Dehua snake for the first time, and the little macaque goes down the mountain to visit the farmhouse… What is the beautiful home where people and nature live in harmony? Lishui has been developing green for ten years, and is trying to give its own answers.

To respect, comply with and protect nature, to firmly establish and practice the concept that lucid water and lush mountains are priceless, to make a development plan at the height of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, to advocate green consumption and to promote green and low-carbon production and lifestyle.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, Lishui has always implemented President XI’s mind of ecological civilization and firmly forged ahead in the direction of green and common prosperity.

Adhering to the integrated protection and systematic treatment of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass and sand, Lishui has achieved remarkable benefits in tackling key problems in pollution prevention and control. The ecological environment index has ranked first in the province for 18 consecutive years, and the public satisfaction of ecological environment quality has ranked first in the province for 14 consecutive years. It has been awarded the title of Dayu Ding of "Five Rivers for Co-governance" in Zhejiang Province for 6 consecutive years, and is the only prefecture level city in China that ranks among the top ten in terms of water and air environment quality.

In the past decade, Lishui has thoroughly implemented the four major actions of "blue sky, clear water, pure land and waste removal", and fully protected the ecological background of the most beautiful core area of Zhejiang Grand Garden.

To fight well to defend the blue sky. All counties (cities and districts) in the city have become provincial demonstration areas of fresh air. The excellent rate of the urban air quality index (AQI) has risen from 81% in 2013 to 99.2% this year, ranking first in the province.

To fight well to defend the clear water. The construction of "Zero Direct Sewage Discharge Area" in Lishui industrial parks at provincial level and above has fully covered. The rate of reaching the standard of water quality at the cross section of rivers across administrative regions and at the centralized drinking water source area above the county level has been 100%.

To fight well to defend the pure land, and to make solid progress in building a "non-waste city" across the region. Yunhe County has become one of the first "non-waste city" in the province. The harmless disposal rate of hazardous wastes in the city has increased from 79% in 2012 to 100%.

In the past ten years, Lishui has improved the level of ecological environment protection in an all-round way with strict system and "effective" mechanism.

To make efforts on improving the assessment system. Lishui has promoted the implementation of ecological and environmental protection work with performance assessment, taken the lead in establishing the system of natural resource assets departure audit of leading cadres and lifelong accountability for ecological and environmental protection in the province, and comprehensively carried out the natural resource assets departure audit of leading cadres.

Lishui has actively explored the ecological rule of law. Lishui has issued local regulations such as the Regulations on the Protection of Drinking Water Sources in Lishui City, the Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Dust Pollution in Lishui City, and formulated drinking water source protection systems such as the Measures for the Integrity Evaluation of Drinking Water Source Protection, the Measures for the Implementation of Ecological Compensation for Drinking Water Source Protection. A system of local environmental laws and regulations has initially taken shape.

To fully implement red line control, implement the system of "regional energy assessment, environmental assessment+block energy consumption, environmental standards" in Lishui, Lishui has planned 75.67% of the city's land area as ecological priority protection space, of which the ecological red line area accounts for 31.8%, developed a negative list of industrial access, and strictly control the entry of "Two High" industries into Lishui.

To build a digital monitoring and supervision system for the ecological environment. In recent years, Lishui has basically formed an ecological environment monitoring network covering the city, county and township levels, with the digital reform as the traction. The digital ecological map has collected 32.33 million pieces of data in 12 categories, including water, air, solid waste and pollution sources.

In the past ten years, Lishui's ecological product value realization, biodiversity protection, environmental health risk management, climate investment and financing and other reform pilot projects have been piloted nationwide and throughout the province, and actively promoted carbon peak and carbon neutralization.

To explore the value realization mechanism of ecological products, Lishui has established a scientific and reasonable ecological product value accounting evaluation and application system, an effective ecological product value realization system, and opened up a number of ecological product value realization paths that could be demonstrated, replicated, and promoted. A bottle of Lishui mountain spring, "turning water into gold", witnessed the important role of the value realization mechanism of ecological products in the construction of ecological civilization in Lishui.

To make great efforts to promote biodiversity conservation. Lishui was the first to carry out a citywide biodiversity background survey in the country. We found 9 global new species, including Baishanzu horned toad, and 64 newly recorded species in China, has taken the lead in building 2 biodiversity experience sites in the province, ranking first in species diversity in the province.

To explore the path of ecological environment and health management. In 2019, Lishui became the first area in mainland China where the government officially released the AQHI. In 2020, Lishui took the lead in releasing the local standard of the AQHI in nationwide.

To carry out national climate investment and financing pilot projects. In August this year, Lishui was listed among the first national climate investment and financing pilot cities in China and the first in the province. Lishui has coordinated hydropower development and ecological protection, constantly improved the carbon emission statistical accounting system, the carbon emission market trading mechanism, and the carbon sink capacity of the ecosystem.

In the past decade, Lishui has effectively promoted the transformation of ecological advantages into economic value, making "ecological green" the most beautiful color for common prosperity.

To push forward "ecological economy and economic ecology", Lishui has given full play to its ecological advantages such as lush mountains, lucid water and fresh air, and introduced and cultivated a number of environmentally adaptive industries such as German Schott, Guojing Pharmaceutical, and Green Data Center according to local conditions.

To establish the upstream and downstream ecological compensation of Oujiang River. Lishui has set up a horizontal ecological compensation fund of 35 million yuan every year, and allocated compensation funds through the comprehensive measurement index of water quality, water volume and water efficiency to achieve fullly coverage of the city.

To actively carry out forest carbon sequestration trading practices. Lishui has actively promoted green and low-carbon co prosperity, has carried out 98 carbon sequestration trading practices, which offset 1043 tons of carbon emissions.

To implement the paid use and trading system of emission rights. By the end of 2021, Lishui had completed 2913 paid use and trading transactions of emission rights, with a trading amount of 141 million yuan. It has established the concept of valuable environmental resources in the whole society.

Green development promotes harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Lishui is constantly completing pollution control, ecological protection and climate change through the construction of beautiful Lishui, promoting carbon reduction, pollution reduction and green expansion in a coordinated way, and ultimately promoting high-quality development of ecological priority, conservation and intensification, green and low-carbon.