The Wuhan water ecosystem protection and restoration pilot program has just passed acceptance by the Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China and Hubei provincial government — making Wuhan the first city in China to have achieved this level.
Wuhan, with a total water area of 2117.6 square kilometers and many rivers and lakes, has been nicknamed "The City of a Hundred Lakes." However, the city's water ecosystem has been seriously polluted in recent years. After inspection and assessment, Wuhan was made one of the pilot cities by MWR in 2005.
Industry professionals say that Wuhan's successful experience in water ecosystem protection and restoration not only improves the city's water environment, but also offers valuable experience to the whole country on water ecosystem protection and restoration.
With the increase in population and the rapid economic development, China's ecosystem, particularly the water ecosystem, is under more and more pressure and this has seriously hindered sustainable social and economic development. MWR has been carrying out water ecosystem protection and restoration projects since 2004 in the hope of maintaining the normal operation of the water ecosystem. Between 2005 and 2008, MWR chose ten cities in China: Wuxi, Wuhan, Guilin, Laizhou, Lishui, Xinbin county in Liaoning, Fenghuang County in Hunan, Songyuan, Xingtai, and Xi'an to run the water ecosystem protection and restoration program on a trial basis.
