China to improve biodiversity in Yangtze River

The State Council, China's cabinet, has released a guideline to improve aquatic life protection and ecological rehabilitation in the Yangtze River.

The Yangtze River, the longest river in China, has been damaged by human activities including dam building, water pollution and over-fishing, resulting in deteriorating biodiversity and arduous tasks of ecological restoration, said the guideline from the General Office of the State Council.

Before 2020, fishing on major waters of the river will be banned throughout the year, more conservation areas will be built and better supervised, and important habitats along the river should be put under effective protection.

During the same period, the amounts of aquatic lives should witness recovery, and the trend of a deteriorating water environment and biodiversity should basically be curbed, the guideline said.

By 2035, noticeable improvements should have been made in the river's environment, with habitats of aquatic lives being fully protected, the amount of aquatic species seeing marked growth and the ecological functions of the waters being effectively rehabilitated, it added.

The protection of aquatic lives will be included into the system for evaluating the work of local governments along the Yangtze River, according to the document.