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The 2022 Annual General Meeting & 30th Anniversary Celebration of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) was held on June 13-16, with the theme of "Building an Inclusive, Green and Low-Carbon Economy".

Beijing ZEHO Waterfront Ecological Environment Treatment Co., Ltd. (ZEHO ECO) has implemented a number of ecological restoration projects with Nature-based Solutions (NbS), and was invited to the Celebration as a pioneer and practitioner of NbS. During the open forum on Value Assessment of Nature-based Solutions held on the 14th, Xing Lei, the vice president of ZEHO ECO, shared case studies of NbS in China's water environment governance. From concept to practice, he introduced in detail the exploration path of NbS localization of Erhai Lake Riparian Buffer Zone project in Dali, Yunnan Province.

Xing Lei was invited to speak

Xing Lei introduced that ZEHO ECO, as one of the designers of the Erhai Lake Riparian Buffer Zone Project in Dali, has built a systematic watershed treatment system with NbS, and gradually restored Erhai to a resilient, healthy and sustainable natural state. In the exploration of NbS localization practice, ZEHO ECO has summarized the closed-loop NbS of analysis-strategies-simulation-design-construction-operation-evaluation-feedback. The dynamic evaluation and comprehensive benefit review results of Erhai project provide a reference and improvement model for the subsequent restoration and protection of the ecological environment.

As the “Mother Lake” of Dali, the beautiful Erhai Lake provides an important natural environment and resources for the development of Dali. However, after the 1970s, population concentration and the rapid development of tourism industry have intensified the contradiction between man and land, water quality and biodiversity are facing severe challenges, and the number of characteristic biological seaweed has decreased rapidly. It has been listed as a vulnerable (VU) species in the red list of endangered species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Aggravation of the contradiction between man and land

Water quality faces severe challenges

ZEHO ECO defined NbS as the design concept and working method at the beginning of the project, and selected 35 detailed indicators divided into 4 aspects which are ecological spatial pattern, ecosystem quality, ecological stress and social participation, to build a status assessment and diagnosis system and a restoration target framework. The historical evolution of Erhai Lake was deeply researched, as well as other plateau lakes buffer zone system including Heqingcaohai Lake, Jianhu Lake, Lashihai lake and Lugu Lake, which provide theoretical support for the ecological restoration strategies and measures in Erhai area.

Current situation assessment and target index determination based on watershed scale

Based on the systematic governance system and the in-depth analysis of the overall basin scale ecological cycle of Cangshan Erhai Lake, ZEHO ECO has reduced the pollution into the lake and gradually restored the lakeside buffer zone of Erhai Lake to its natural state through the five approaches including reshaping the natural space along the lake, improving the healthy lake ecosystem, forming a sustainable self-management system, adding a low-interference service system, and protecting the sacred natural heritage of Erhai Lake. Protecting the natural landscape while considering human well-being.

Reshaping the natural space along the lake

Estuarine wetland

Self managed surface flow wetland system

Traffic system with low interference to environment

Protection and continuation of local culture

Bai People's custom of worshipping water

During the project, ZEHO ECO compares and self evaluates the specific measures with the Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions (IUCN), and iterates and adjusts the project schemes and measures based on the matching results of the two, to ensure that the whole process of project implementation meets the global standard of NbS and form a sustainable design that adapts to social, economic and environmental changes. In the first 1km demonstration section of ecological restoration of Erhai buffer zone, we are experimenting with various technical measures repeatedly with ecology, summarizing the experience from concept to material process selection, and developing a practical demonstration of localized dynamic design of NbS, which provides a technical model for the ecological restoration of the whole lakeside zone around Erhai Lake.

Eight guidelines and corresponding indicators of global standards in the IUCN Global Standard Guide for Nature-based Solutions © IUCN

Today, Erhai Lake is a vast expanse of clean water. There are obviously more kinds of waterfowls. The seaweed flowers that have not been seen for many years have also come back. Thanks to the NbS, the Erhai lakeside buffer zone has effectively responded to social challenges while protecting and repairing the ecology, effectively brought ecological, economic and social benefits, improved the well-being of local people, and finally realized the sustainable low-carbon green development of protecting the natural sacred heritage of Erhai Lake.

The area of aquatic vegetation in Erhai Lake has been restored steadily, and the seaweed flower reappears in Erhai Lake

Erhai ecological value drives the development of tourism industry

Research and learning base helps Erhai become a natural education classroom

ZEHO ECO will continue to be committed to the localization practice of the NbS, help achieve the “Double Carbon” goal through innovative technologies, activate the economic value of the ecosystem and promote environmentally sustainable development.