Yangzhou Sanwan Ecological and Cultural Park (CFP Photo)

Seven new regions in Jiangsu Province have been recently recognized by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in piloting green development concepts and environmental protection efforts.

At the Ecological Civilization Forum on October 14, part of the 2020 UN Biodiversity Conference, the ministry announced the fifth batch of regions embodying the development philosophy that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets,” including Chongchuan District in Nantong City and Guangling District in Yangzhou City.

The ministry also revealed the fifth cohort of role models in the pilot program of ecological civilization, including Yancheng, Nanjing’s Pukou District, Suzhou’s Wujiang District and Changshu, and Nantong’s Tongzhou District.

Among the honored, Guangling District has created ecological corridors along the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal, which host key tourism projects for the cultural belt of the Grand Canal initiative.

Yancheng is home to two of China’s earliest national nature reserves, for rare birds and milu deer respectively. The city also drew up the ecological conservation red line with the largest protected land area in Jiangsu. A milestone was made in 2019 when China's Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the coast of the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf (Phase I), including areas in Yancheng, were inscribed on the World Heritage List as a natural site. The city has made new progress in biodiversity conservation and offshore wind power development amid efforts to promote sustainable growth.