The Ministry of Ecology and Environment recently announced its 2025 lists of Demonstration Areas for Ecological Civilization Construction and "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains Are Invaluable Assets" Practice and Innovation Bases. Eight locations in Sichuan were selected, ranking second in the country in total count and tying for the first place in the western region with Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia. Since the launch of the ecological civilization demonstration initiative, Sichuan has established a cumulative total of 43 Demonstration Areas for Ecological Civilization Construction and 14 "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains Are Invaluable Assets" Practice and Innovation Bases. This brings the total number of designated sites in the province to 57, which ranks third nationwide and first in western China.

This time, four locations have been designated as 2025 Demonstration Areas for Ecological Civilization Construction: Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture; Gulin County, Luzhou City; Shehong City, Suining City; and Lushan County, Ya'an City. Another four places, namely, Pingwu County in Mianyang City, Jiange County in Guangyuan City, Langzhong City in Nanchong City, and the "Sichuan-Chongqing Xueba Green Ecological Barrier Coordinated Development Pilot Zone" jointly developed by Xuanhan County in Dazhou City and Kaizhou District in Chongqing Municipality, have earned the designation 2025 "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains Are Invaluable Assets" Practice and Innovation Bases.

"Overall, the designated areas have created a positive demonstration and leading effect across the province, solidifying the foundation for building a beautiful Sichuan," said Lei Yi, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Ecology and Environment, at a recent press conference. He added that these areas have further strengthened their ecological foundation, continuously improved environmental quality, and significantly enhanced the public sense of fulfillment and happiness regarding the ecological environment.

Institutional Safeguards and Cross‑Regional Cooperation: Using Assessment as a Lever to Drive Accountability

Following Bazhong City and the Aba Prefecture, Ganzi Prefecture has become the third region in Sichuan to be designated as a Demonstration Area for Ecological Civilization Construction at the entire city (or autonomous prefecture) level.

"We put the rule of law first to solidify the institutional foundation for ecological civilization development across our entire region," said He Xiaoping, Vice Prefect of Ganzi Prefectural People's Government. He explained that Ganzi has not only introduced a series of local regulations but also taken the lead in the province by formulating prefecture‑level reward and subsidy policies to support the development of demonstration areas for ecological civilization construction. "Ecological progress consistently accounts for over 20 percent of the annual performance evaluation for Party and government work. This makes the assessment a powerful lever to ensure accountability," he added.

The same binding constraints are also evident in Gulin County, a crucial ecological barrier for the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Liu Lijun, County Mayor of Gulin, revealed that the local government has adopted "building the county on an ecological foundation" as the cornerstone of its high-quality development strategy. Gulin has formulated corresponding implementation guidelines and strictly enforces environmental protection regulations, firmly upholding the bottom line that "ecological and environmental quality must only get better, not worse."

Institutions provide the safeguard, while systematic restoration serves as the direct means to enhance the ecological foundation. Today, the comprehensive vegetation cover of grasslands in Ganzi Prefecture has stabilized at 85.43 percent, with forest area, stock volume, and coverage rate achieving ten consecutive years of growth. In Lushan County, 44.7 percent of its total area has been incorporated into the Giant Panda National Park, and its forest coverage rate has increased to 78.23 percent.

The strengthening of the ecological barrier cannot be achieved without the concerted efforts of regional coordination. The "Sichuan-Chongqing Xueba Green Ecological Barrier Coordinated Development Pilot Zone", jointly developed by Xuanhan County and Kaizhou District, stands as one of the nation's first cross‑provincial collaboration programs to be successfully designated as a "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains Are Invaluable Assets" Practice and Innovation Base. The program serves as an exemplary model for cross‑provincial ecological and environmental governance nationwide. "We emphasized co‑construction with the aim of making residents in both areas the primary beneficiaries, allowing them to enjoy the most direct ecological dividends," explained Wu Zhongfan, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Xuanhan County Committee. He noted that through a locally-adapted "three-pronged" reform model for rural areas, scattered farming households in both areas have been deeply integrated into industrial chains such as medicinal herbs and ecological tea. This approach has driven a nearly two-fold increase in the per capita disposable income of rural residents in the neighboring regions over the past five years.

Exploring Multiple Pathways to Build a Green Engine for High‑Quality Development

By protecting lucid waters and lush mountains, we can secure invaluable assets. Various demonstration areas across Sichuan are exploring multiple pathways to realize the value of ecological products, thereby building a green engine for high‑quality development.

"High‑quality development and high‑level protection are not an 'either‑or' choice, but rather a 'win‑win answer' that can be pursued synergistically and in parallel," explained Wang Neng, Mayor of Shehong Municipal People's Government. Faced with resource constraints, Shehong has adopted the approach of "multiplying resource efficiency while dividing energy consumption and emissions", leading to a significant reduction in energy consumption per unit of GDP. At the same time, the city is intensifying efforts to build lithium‑ion battery materials and green food &beverage industrial clusters with fully‑fledged supply chains and is cultivating a large number of green factories, thereby effectively transforming ecological strengths into developmental and competitive advantages.

"A sound ecological environment is the greatest wealth that nature has bestowed upon Lushan. We must integrate ecological civilization construction into the entire process of high‑quality economic and social development," revealed Cen Yongjie, County Mayor of Lushan. He noted that Lushan is leveraging its unique conditions to cultivate and expand eco‑agricultural industries such as high‑mountain ecological tea and medicinal herbs, aiming to build distinctive regional agricultural brands.

Furthermore, Pingwu County innovates a "Protection‑Transformation‑Sharing" mechanism, piloting the nation's first residential community‑led conservation area model, designed to explore new frameworks for biodiversity protection. This initiative has generated over ten thousand local jobs. Jiange County deeply integrates Three Kingdoms culture and Shu Road heritage to drive the vigorous development of diverse new sectors such as ecological study tour programs, forest tourism, and Shu Road trekking. Langzhong City adheres to the principle of integrating ecological conservation with cultural preservation and industrial development, achieving the vision of "a clear river winding around the ancient town".

Traditional pillar industries are also being revitalized through their green transition. Take Gulin County as an example. The county has integrated green principles throughout the entire process while achieving a significant leap in the production capacity, output value, and tax revenue of its Jiang-flavor baijiu (a type of Chinese liquor). The county's large‑scale wastewater‑treatment facilities, with a daily processing capacity of 13,000 cubic meters, ensure that all production effluent is collected, thoroughly treated, and discharged in full compliance with standards.

"Developing ecological civilization is an ongoing process, one that never reaches a final stop," said Lei Yi. During the 15th Five‑Year Plan period, Sichuan will maintain its leading edge in establishing demonstration areas for ecological civilization construction, effectively link this work with the broader goal of building a Beautiful Sichuan, and drive the designated areas to spur progress in other regions across key fields such as ecological and environmental security, the ecological economy, and eco‑culture.