Stretching over 6,300 km, the Yangtze River is the longest river in China and the third longest in the world after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America.

Boasting rich biodiversity, and mineral and water resources, it is regarded as the mother river of the Chinese nation and one of the cradles of Chinese civilization.

On March 1, the Yangtze River Protection Law of the People's Republic of China took effect. It stipulates explicitly all the legal aspects of ecological protection of the river and development along the Yangtze River Basin.

Protecting the Yangtze River

Rapid economic development along the Yangtze has posed challenges to its ecology. Problems such as overfishing, water pollution and soil erosion have all affected the river and the population along its basin, leading to intense calls for conservation efforts. 

To enhance the ecological protection of mother river, in late December 2020, the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature, adopted a law on Yangtze River conservation. With 96 provisions in nine chapters, it is the country's first legislation on a specific river basin and is formulated to strengthen the protection and restoration of its ecological environment, facilitate the effective and rational use of resources, safeguard ecological security, ensure harmony between humans and nature, and achieve sustainable development.

It also establishes a national coordination mechanism for protection efforts, bans chemical plants from being built within one kilometer of the river and restricts sand mining along the riverbank.

Fishing for productive purposes is banned in the aquatic life conservation areas of the basin, as well as productive fishing for natural resources in key Yangtze waters including the main river, major tributaries and lakes, and designated estuary areas within the time limit prescribed by the state.

"The implementation of this law means we're placing greater importance in the health of the river and its environmental protection. This is the way green, eco-friendly development should go," said Wang Fengchun, deputy director of the NPC's Legislation Department Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee.

For the economic and social development of the basin, efforts will be made to promote well-coordinated environmental conservation and avoid excessive development, while prioritizing the ecology, according to the law.

Top legislator Li Zhanshu urged authorities to prioritize the conservation and restoration of the ecological environment of the basin, and manage and regulate construction and projects along the river according to the law.

However, the protection law is not intended to interfere development, but instead to change the existing unreasonable and "non-green" development model, said Du Qun, deputy director of the Research Institute of Environmental Law of Wuhan University. He explained that the law forces us to upgrade the development model. Du also noted that the law promotes green development, which underscores the need to balance environmental protection and economic growth.

Lu Zhongmei, director of the academic board of the Supreme People's Court's Judicial Research Center of Environment and Resources, said the national legislation to protect the Yangtze River reflects a profound change in China's outlook on development. The law will make a difference for future generations and the future of the Chinese nation.

The systematic protection and the restoration of the ecological environment along the Yangtze will set a good example for rivers in urgent need of stronger protection, she said.

Protecting the Yellow River

An old saying goes, "When the Yellow River is harnessed, China will enjoy tranquility." Deemed as another cradle of Chinese civilization, the Yellow River Basin, one of the most important ecological barriers and economic zones of China, has seen remarkable improvements in its ecological environment in recent years.

The Yellow River originates in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and runs through the Loess Plateau. Flowing 5,464 km through nine provincial-level regions, it is China's second longest river, supplying water to 12 percent of China's population and irrigating 15 percent of the country's arable land.

For provinces and regions upstream of the river, ecological protection is among their top priorities.

"The national strategy for ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin is important for national rejuvenation and sustainable development," said Li, adding that ecological conservation and restoration should be highlighted in the new law to improve the fragile ecosystem of the Yellow River.

Li called for accelerated legislation to advance ecological conservation and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin. A member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, Li made the remarks while presiding over a symposium on Yellow River legislation in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, in April.

The legislation should emphasize a plan to develop functional zones along the basin and delimit ecological red lines, he said.

It should also provide legislative support to establish the strictest institutional statutes for the protection and utilization of water resources, as well as the most rigorous rules for environmental regulation and water pollution prevention and control, Li said.

The new law should stress the construction of a comprehensive flood control and disaster mitigation system, and a system to monitor and provide early warnings for environment-related emergencies, he added.

Li also underlined the law's role in enhancing the preservation and inheritance of Yellow River culture.

Environmental violations must be seriously dealt with according to law, and offenders must pay the due price, said vice premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the leading group on promoting eco-conservation and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin. He called for tailored measures to improve mechanisms for better protection efforts.

In late April, a draft protection law of the Yellow River was released by the Ministry of Water Resources for public comment. The draft was formulated after many modifications based on research in regions along the basin, as well as special research and expert consultation.

The draft is divided into 11 chapters and 114 clauses. It points out that the areas along the main stream, tributaries and lakes of the Yellow River, including Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and Shandong provinces, and Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions, are all covered by the protection law.