People''s Daily Online | Exchanges of comprehensive management experience for the Nanming River at Eco Forum Global Guiyang

On July 7, the themed forum "Technology-driven Green Development - The Role of Technology in Karst Ecosystem and Resource Utilization" was held in Guiyang. This forum is one of the 17 thematic forums of the 2023 Eco Forum Global Guiyang.

At the forum, more than ten top experts and scholars from both China and abroad, including seven academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, and two foreign academicians, engaged in exchanges and discussions on topics such as karst ecological environment and resource utilization, carbon peaking and carbon neutralization, as well as pollution control. Hou Feng, the Chairman of China Water Environment, was invited to attend the conference and shared the Nanming River project as a "Guiyang Model" with domestic and international guests.

Forum site

In recent years, there has been certain progress in the management and protection of the water ecological environment in karst regions. In Guiyang, the Nanming River has pioneered the use of a distributed sunken reclaimed water ecosystem for comprehensive management at the urban scale, becoming a model for mountainous urban river governance characterized by "clear waters, green shores, fish swimming near the surface, and egrets soaring".

Hou Feng, Chairman of the Board of the China Water Environment Group, gave a keynote speech

According to Hou Feng, Chairman of China Water Environment Group, over 80% of Guiyang's landscape is karst topography. The city faces water scarcity and has limited flat land, making "not even three feet of flat ground". This terrain poses significant challenges to pipeline network construction, requiring substantial investment, high operational costs, and complicating water distribution. It greatly challenges the planning, design, and construction of sewage treatment plants.

"With the support of provincial and city governments and experts, we conducted eight months of research to thoroughly understand the root causes of severe pollution in the Nanming River and how to effectively address them. We proposed a policy of 'government-led, mechanism innovation, legal governance, scientific and technological support, comprehensive participation, and sustainable and long-term cleanliness'. We treated the comprehensive environmental remediation of the Nanming River as a systematic project, coordinating the integration of factories, networks, and rivers. Innovatively, we adopted a distributed sunken reclaimed water system, treating sewage as a secondary urban resource to achieve both environmental management and resource utilization goals," said Hou Feng.

Hou Feng indicated that the innovation and implementation of the group's technological system originated with the Nanming River. The management of the Nanming River has become "the first international urban-scale innovative practice of a distributed sunken reclaimed water ecosystem", contributing the "Guiyang Model" to the governance of urban mother rivers.

The technical achievements of this system have been included in six national technical catalogs. It has been successfully implemented in 22 provinces and cities, including Dali Erhai, Beijing's Sub-Center, Shanghai Jiading, Zhejiang Ningbo, and Chengdu Tianfu, forming a series of significant national demonstrations. It is recommended as an urban green new infrastructure technology by five ministries, including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. Furthermore, it has been successfully selected as part of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization's global green technology innovative solutions. This technology system stood out among 203 projects in 52 countries last September, making it the sole Chinese water company to win the 2022 International Water Association (IWA) Innovation Award.

"Last month, as a representative of the previous award-winning enterprise, I was invited to speak at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization headquarters in Vienna, where I promoted the concept of ecological civilization in China, as well as the country's technological innovations and practical achievements," Hou Feng stated. "Our dedication to scientific and technological innovation remains steadfast, and we aspire to work together with the government, experts, and the public to contribute to the construction of ecological civilization in China and globally."