Practice and thinking about the mountain-river-forest-farmland-lake-grassland ecological conservation and restoration in Three Gorges Area of the Yangtze River in Hubei Province

Three Gorges Area of the Yangtze River in Hubei Province, the location of the largest hydropower station in the world, is a key node in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. It is a key ecological function area of soil and water conservation in Three Gorges Area of China, with significant role of ecological function. In view of the problems such as excessive total phosphorus in some sections of the mainstream and tributaries of the Yangtze River Basin, enclosure of the Yangtze River by chemical industries, degradation of ecosystem functions, destruction of ecological environment by abandoned mines, destruction of habitats of rare and endangered species, and unsound mechanism for ecological protection and rehabilitation, the implementation route of ecological protection and restoration project of mountain-river-forest-farmland-lake-grasses (MRFFLG) was put forward, with the overall goal of ensuring that “one river flows clear water to the east”. By taking the mainstream and tributaries of the Yangtze River as the meridians, and MRFFLG as an organic system, and optimizing the spatial layout, the Three Gorges area was divided into 11 ecological conservation and restoration areas. 6 types of measures were implemented coordinately, including water environment treatment of the basin, comprehensive regulation of chemical industries and ecological restoration of the Yangtze River shoreline, ecological restoration of abandoned mines, comprehensive land rehabilitation, restoration of important ecosystems and biodiversity protection, and regional ecological protection and restoration mechanism innovation. In addition, an ecological restoration engineering system was built based classification and zoning, the cross-regional and cross-department ecological restoration long-term mechanism was innovated, the ecological restoration model of Three Gorges Area of the Yangtze River was actively explored, and the regional green high-quality development in the area was promoted. These practices and experience could provide reference for other regions.