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.
贵州赤水河流域生态文明制度改革
贵州省，地处中国西南腹地，特殊的地理位置和薄弱的经济基础，决定贵州改革开放的程度不深、力度不够，但也让贵州保留了绿水青山。中共十八大以来，贵州积极探索欠发达地区立足自身优势实现跨越发展的新模式，确立“生态优先、绿色发展”战略，通过生态文明改革实现科学发展、后发赶超。
赤水河流域（贵州段）地貌和地质结构复杂、山高谷深、河流纵横，是长江上游和贵州省的重要生态藩篱，是贵州省重要的水土保持区，承担了贵州省九分之一的国民经济总量。随着矿产资源开发、白酒产业扩大和城镇化推进，流域内经济开发与生态环境保护的矛盾日益凸显，出现了生态环境破坏、水土流失等诸多问题。同时，流域整体性和跨行政区域环境管理矛盾日益突出，制约了当地经济社会可持续发展。2015年，习近平在贵州考察时指出，要正确处理发展和生态环境保护的关系，在生态文明建设体制机制改革方面先行先试，把提出的行动计划扎扎实实落实到行动上，实现发展和生态环境保护协同推进。这为贵州破解区域发展与生态保护困局指明了方向。
贵州省委、省政府牢牢树立“绿水青山就是金山银山”的发展理念，以建设“多彩贵州公园省”为总体目标开展国家生态文明试验区（贵州）建设，将赤水河作为贵州首个生态文明改革实践示范点，启动流域生态保护红线制度、流域资源使用和管理制度、流域生态补偿制度、生态环境保护监管和行政执法体制、生态环境保护司法保障制度、农业农村污染合力整治制度、环境保护河长制等12项生态文明改革措施，牢牢守住生态和发展两条底线。通过制度改革，赤水河流域水环境质量得到大幅改善，2016年以来全流域基本能够维持在I、II类水质。赤水河流域在生态文明体制改革试点工作的经验及成果，被复制到贵州省乌江、清水江、牛栏江横江、南盘江、北盘江、红水河、都柳江等七大流域，赤水河真正开创了贵州生态文明制度改革的先河。
