The State Council recently issued a circular, approving Chenzhou, Central China’s Hunan province, to establish a national sustainable development innovation demonstration zone, with focus on water recycling and green development.

Guided by the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and China’s national plan of implementation, the local authority is asked to protect the ecological environment of water resources, treat heavy metal pollution, and build a water-saving city.

The local government should also align coordinate various innovation resources, deepen systematic reform, and delve into applicable technical methods and systematic solutions, in a bid to develop a feasible, replicable, and applicable mode for spearheading green development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Implementation of the 2030 sustainable development agenda in other regions could learn from Chenzhou’s practice, the circular said.