Recently, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly reviewed the second batch of integrated protection and restoration projects for mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasses and sands during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. The integrated protection and restoration project stood out among 19 application projects in China, passed the review and publicity, and will receive 2 billion yuan from the central government.

It is understood that mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasses and sands are interdependent and closely related life communities. In 2018, the ecological protection and restoration project of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes and grasses in the Three Gorges region of Hubei was selected as a pilot project by the Ministry of Natural Resources. The Jingzhou project is the second integrated protection and restoration project of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasses and sands that Hubei has successfully applied for.

According to the plan, the integrated protection and restoration project of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasses and sand in the Jingjiang section of the Yangtze River and the Honghu Basin covers 8 counties and urban areas in Jingzhou, with a total area of 14,100 square kilometers and a total investment of 7.215 billion yuan, including 2 billion yuan in central incentive funds. The provincial capital is 1 billion yuan, and the city and county capital is 4.215 billion yuan. The project will create a restoration pattern of "one axis, four districts and multiple points": "one axis" is the main axis of ecological protection and restoration of the Yangtze River, covering the main stream of the Yangtze River and 5 kilometers on both sides, with a total length of 483 kilometers and an area of 5351.53 square kilometers; "four districts" "That is, the Honghu Lake Ecological Conservation Area, the Changhu Lake Ecological Conservation Area, the Jianghan Plain Ecological Restoration and Green Transformation Demonstration Area, and the Dongting Lake Basin (Hubei) Ecological Function Improvement Area. The project specifically includes 39 key sub-projects in 10 categories, including shoreline protection and restoration, lake and wetland ecological protection and restoration, water system connectivity, and biodiversity protection. The project period is 3 years, and 38 sub-projects will be fully launched by the end of 2022. Editor/He Yuting