Guizhou pursues green development through ecological restoration

Guizhou province held a news conference on Aug 14 to discuss national land and spatial ecological protection and restoration. The province revealed that it will exercise central control over natural resource ownership and implement uniform land-use control, alongside environmental protection and restoration responsibilities.

Guizhou is a key water conservation area for the Yangtze and Pearl river headwaters. It is predominantly mountainous, with 92.5 percent of its land composed of hills and mountains, and karst terrain covering 61.9 percent, making it one of the most typical karst regions worldwide.

Building on this unique ecological foundation, Guizhou adopts a systematic approach to environmental protection and restoration. The province is creating a comprehensive restoration framework, improving ecological planning networks, and coordinating mine restoration across the region through initiatives such as the 14th Five-Year Mine Ecological Restoration Action Plan.

Guizhou strengthens natural resource management through comprehensive surveys and monitoring. This includes natural resource asset inventories, land-use change surveys, special resource monitoring programs, and enhanced protection and management of karst caves.

Systematic governance ensures effective ecological restoration. Integrated protection and restoration of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts is advancing, including major water projects in the Wumeng and Wuling mountains. Efforts focus on biodiversity grid construction, mine restoration breakthroughs, and the integration of rural vitalization with full-region ecological management.