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Mandarin ducks paddle along the lakeside at West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on May 3. [Photo/IC]

Zhejiang province has issued guidelines to deepen its pilot program for biodiversity-friendly cities, bringing biodiversity protection more fully into urban development.

The guidelines were jointly released by the Department of Ecology and Environment of Zhejiang Province and the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of Zhejiang Province.

Zhejiang has, in recent years, moved early to build a biodiversity-friendly development model. Under the new guidelines, 22 counties, county-level cities, and districts, including Shangcheng district in Hangzhou, have been selected for pilot projects.

The pilots cover all 11 prefecture-level cities in the province and include different urban settings, from mountain forests and hilly basins to plain river networks and coastal islands.

The guidelines set out five main tasks: planning biodiversity protection, improving the urban environment, building a modern governance system, promoting public participation, and turning biodiversity resources into sustainable value.

The province will include urban biodiversity protection in high-quality urban development and modernization planning. Pilot areas are encouraged to explore biodiversity-friendly communities, schools, companies, scenic areas, and parks, while developing new public education methods and practical models for biodiversity conservation.

Zhejiang will also improve urban ecological spaces by expanding and connecting blue and green areas, building multi-level park and greenway systems, and strengthening protection of ecologically sensitive areas, ancient and notable trees, and urban ecosystems. It will step up control of invasive alien species, carry out ecological restoration projects, and make more urban parkland open and accessible.

To improve governance, the province will conduct biodiversity surveys in dense urban areas and release the results, while creating projects that allow the public to take part. It will also use existing sites to set up long-term monitoring points in typical urban areas and support research into traditional knowledge and public awareness.

The guidelines call for broader social participation, making biodiversity protection a visible part of daily urban life. Zhejiang will develop science popularization projects, improve public education on stray animals, expand biodiversity experience sites, and encourage biodiversity-friendly consumption and lifestyles.

The province will also promote the sustainable use of biodiversity resources, including accounting for the value of ecological products, assessing carbon sink potential, and improving ecological compensation and restoration systems. Pilot areas are encouraged to develop biodiversity-friendly products, certification systems, product catalogs, and distinctive local brands tied to conservation.

Zhejiang will continue to promote the ecology-oriented development model, which links environmental improvement projects with compatible development projects, so economic returns can help support biodiversity protection.