Chishui River Basin: Reform of Eco-Environmental Institutions

Guizhou Province is located in southwest China. Due to unique geological conditions and a backward economy, the province lagged behind in reform and opening up. But the other side of the coin is that underdevelopment has kept the green mountains unspoiled.

Since 2012, Guizhou has explored new models to achieve leapfrog growth suited to the local conditions. Applying a strategy of eco-environmental conservation and green development, the province is endeavoring to pursue sound development and catch up with other regions.

The Chishui River Basin in Guizhou has a complex topography and geology. There are high mountains and deep valleys, with many rivers running through the region. It is an important eco-environmental barrier in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and an important water and soil conservation region in Guizhou. More than one-ninth of Guizhou's GDP is produced in this region.

However, urbanization, excessive mining, and an expanding liquor industry had caused environmental damage and soil erosion, and led to a conflict between economic development and eco-environmental protection. Meanwhile, the environmental management of the entire river basin was not synchronized with trans-regional administrative management, which hindered local sustainable development.

When Xi Jinping visited Guizhou in 2015, he urged the province to properly handle the relationship between development and eco-environmental protection, pilot trial reforms of the institutions related to eco-environmental protection, and take proactive measures to achieve economic development in parallel with eco-environmental protection. 

Acting on the idea that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, as a national pilot zone for eco-environmental conservation, Guizhou has engaged in building itself into a colorful park province.

The Chishui River Basin became the province's first reform pilot in building an eco-civilization. Twelve reform measures have been adopted related to the eco-environmental protection red line, resource utilization and management, eco-compensation, eco-protection supervision and administrative law enforcement, eco-protection judicial support, agricultural and rural pollution control, and river chiefs.

Thanks to these institutional reforms, the water quality in the river basin has seen a notable improvement. Since 2016 the quality of the surface water has reached Grade I or Grade II. The Chishui River Basin has led the whole province in pioneering an eco-civilization, and the local experience has been applied in other seven river basins in Guizhou – Wujiang, Qingshui, Niulan-Hengjiang, Nanpan, Beipan, Hongshui, and Duliu rivers.

貴州赤水河流域生態文明制度改革

貴州省，地處中國西南腹地，特殊的地理位置和薄弱的經濟基礎，決定貴州改革開放的程度不深、力度不夠，但也讓貴州保留了綠水青山。中共十八大以來，貴州積極探索欠發達地區立足自身優勢實現跨越發展的新模式，確立“生態優先、綠色發展”戰略，通過生態文明改革實現科學發展、后發趕超。

赤水河流域（貴州段）地貌和地質結構復雜、山高谷深、河流縱橫，是長江上游和貴州省的重要生態藩籬，是貴州省重要的水土保持區，承擔了貴州省九分之一的國民經濟總量。隨著礦產資源開發、白酒產業擴大和城鎮化推進，流域內經濟開發與生態環境保護的矛盾日益凸顯，出現了生態環境破壞、水土流失等諸多問題。同時，流域整體性和跨行政區域環境管理矛盾日益突出，制約了當地經濟社會可持續發展。2015年，習近平在貴州考察時指出，要正確處理發展和生態環境保護的關系，在生態文明建設體制機制改革方面先行先試，把提出的行動計劃扎扎實實落實到行動上，實現發展和生態環境保護協同推進。這為貴州破解區域發展與生態保護困局指明了方向。

貴州省委、省政府牢牢樹立“綠水青山就是金山銀山”的發展理念，以建設“多彩貴州公園省”為總體目標開展國家生態文明試驗區（貴州）建設，將赤水河作為貴州首個生態文明改革實踐示范點，啟動流域生態保護紅線制度、流域資源使用和管理制度、流域生態補償制度、生態環境保護監管和行政執法體制、生態環境保護司法保障制度、農業農村污染合力整治制度、環境保護河長制等12項生態文明改革措施，牢牢守住生態和發展兩條底線。通過制度改革，赤水河流域水環境質量得到大幅改善，2016年以來全流域基本能夠維持在I、II類水質。赤水河流域在生態文明體制改革試點工作的經驗及成果，被復制到貴州省烏江、清水江、牛欄江橫江、南盤江、北盤江、紅水河、都柳江等七大流域，赤水河真正開創了貴州生態文明制度改革的先河。