Anji County: Cherishing Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains
Anji is a county in northwest Zhejiang Province. It is located in the center of the Yangtze River Delta region, where the Huangpu River originates. Covering an area of 1,886 square kilometers, Anji has a population of 470,000. It is home to abundant bamboo forests and produces white tea.
Anji had fallen behind in development. Still a poor county in the late 20th century, it tried to escape poverty through industrial development. Paper mills, chemical plants, building material factories, and printing and dyeing businesses mushroomed. The local GDP skyrocketed, but the local environment suffered serious damage.
Anji began to improve its environment in 2001. It decided to abandon the traditional model of "destruction first, restoration second," and adopt a new model. Notable results were achieved and the environment of its villages improved. But its economic performance still lagged behind other counties.
Xi Jinping visited Anji twice during his tenure as secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee. On his first trip in April 2003, Xi pointed out that environmental conservation would be the right path for Anji. When he visited Yucun Village in Anji in August 2005, he put forward the idea that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.
Over the years that followed, Anji has acted upon this vision, and pursued sustainable development to provide a pleasant environment, prosperous businesses and a better life to local residents. A beautiful countryside has become a reality in Yucun.
In early 2008, the local authorities set the goal of building Anji into a beautiful county. Guided by China's rural revitalization strategy, they started by improving rural living environments, and integrated planning, construction, management and operations. They engaged in institutional innovations, and focused on both environmental improvement and business development, to make the countryside beautiful and prosperous.
Joyce Msuya, UN assistant secretary-general and UNEP acting executive director, came to visit Anji on June 1, 2019 on an environmental research tour. She and her party experienced in person here what was meant by the idea that green is gold. They saw how the local government had worked with the private sector on environmental improvements and promoted a shift from extensive growth to refined, green development.
Anji's success in building a green countryside demonstrates that for mountainous counties, green mountains are invaluable assets, which also offer them great potential for development. These counties may abandon the conventional approach to development and pursue a brand-new path of turning lush mountains into mountains of gold and driving economic growth with environmental improvement.
“绿水青山就是金山银山”的安吉模式
安吉县，位于浙江省西北部，地处长三角地理中心，是上海黄浦江的源头、杭州都市圈重要的西北节点，县域面积1886平方公里，户籍人口47万。安吉建县于公元185年，县名取自《诗经》“安且吉兮”，素有“中国竹乡”“中国转椅之乡”“中国白茶之乡”等美誉。
在选择发展道路时，安吉曾走过弯路。20世纪末，作为浙江贫困县之一的安吉，为脱贫致富走上了“工业强县”之路，造纸、化工、建材、印染等企业相继崛起，尽管GDP一路高速增长，但对生态环境造成了巨大破坏。2001年，安吉确立了“生态立县”的发展战略，下决心改变先破坏后修复的传统发展模式，开始对新的发展方式进行探索和实践，并开展了村庄环境整治活动。通过有效整治，安吉的生态环境有了极大的改善，但经济发展速度还是明显落后于周边地区，依然是浙江贫困县和欠发达县之一。
习近平在担任浙江省省委书记期间，先后两次来到安吉调研。2003年4月，习近平在安吉调研生态建设工作时指出，对安吉来说，“生态立县”是找到了一条正确的发展道路。2005年8月，习近平在安吉县余村首次提出了“绿水青山就是金山银山”的科学论断。十余年来，安吉坚定践行“绿水青山就是金山银山”理念，走出了一条生态美、产业兴、百姓富的可持续发展之路，美丽乡村建设在余村变成了现实。
2008年年初，安吉县委、县政府提出建设“中国美丽乡村”的目标。中共十八大以来，在乡村振兴战略的引领下，安吉从改善农村人居环境入手，坚持规划、建设、管理、经营于一体，注重机制创新，抓住环境治理和产业发展两个关键点，不断推动乡村美起来、富起来、强起来。2019年6月1日，联合国助理秘书长、联合国环境署代理执行主任乔伊斯·姆苏亚率团队在安吉考察生态文明建设时表示，在安吉，大家近距离感受“绿水青山就是金山银山”理念的深刻内涵，亲眼见证政府主导，并与社会化力量通力合作开展环境治理，实现经济从粗放式发展向精细化绿色发展的转变。
安吉的美丽乡村建设实践表明，山区县的资源在绿水青山，潜力在绿水青山。山区县的发展可以突破常规模式，即让绿水青山变成金山银山，走出一条通过优化生态环境带动经济发展的全新道路，实现环境保护与经济发展双赢的目标。