This photo taken on February 4, 2025 shows flocks of black headed gulls flying over the Taihu Lake. (Photo/CFP)

The biodiversity index of Taihu Lake achieved its best ever record in 2024, according to a report presented at the 14th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th Jiangsu Provincial People’s Congress on March 26.

The water quality in the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River’s main stream has consistently maintained Level II for seven years. And in 2024, the biodiversity performance in Taihu Lake, the country's third-largest freshwater lake in the lower Yangtze River region, reached excellent for the first time.

Over the past year, Jiangsu's air quality continued to improve, and the ratio of days with good air quality reaching 82.5%, a 4.6 percentage point increase year-on-year. Notably, the average PM 2.5 concentration was 32.3 micrograms per cubic meter, meeting the Level II air quality standard for the fourth consecutive year.

According to the report, Jiangsu will continue to improve its mechanisms for ecological protection compensation, a system that incentivizes ecological conservation, and for ecological environmental damage compensation. Jiangsu also plans to refine financial and fiscal policies supporting sustainable development.