Opinions of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on Strengthening Zonal Control over the Ecological Environment
(March 6, 2024)

Ecological and environmental zoning management is an environmental governance system that aims to safeguard ecological functions and improve environmental quality by implementing differentiated, precision‑based controls tailored to specific regions. It constitutes a key measure for advancing the modernization of ecological and environmental governance. By enforcing ecological and environmental zoning management—strictly upholding the ecological protection red line, the environmental quality bottom line, and the resource‑use ceiling—and providing scientifically informed guidance for various development, conservation, and construction activities, this approach plays a vital role in promoting high‑quality development and building a modern society in which humanity and nature coexist in harmony. To strengthen ecological and environmental zoning management, and with the approval of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the following opinions are hereby put forward.

I. General Requirements

Strengthening the ecological and environmental zoning management requires adhering to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, particularly Xi Jinping’s Thought on Ecological Civilization; thoroughly implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China; carrying out the tasks set forth at the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection; fully, accurately, and comprehensively applying the new development philosophy; accelerating the establishment of a new development paradigm; and synergistically advancing carbon reduction, pollution control, green expansion, and economic growth. It also calls for fully respecting natural laws and regional differences, comprehensively implementing the strategy of functional zoning, and closely aligning land‑use planning with spatial‑use regulation, so as to promote high‑quality development and a high‑quality life through high‑level protection, and to strive to build a beautiful China where humanity and nature coexist in harmony.

— Prioritize ecology and pursue green development. Uphold respect for nature, harmony with nature, and protection of nature; safeguard the ecological safety boundaries and environmental quality thresholds; fulfill responsibilities for ecological security; and advance green, low-carbon development.

— Source‑level prevention and systemic protection. We will improve the system for preventing environmental degradation at its source, coordinate integrated conservation and systematic management of mountains, rivers, forests, farmland, lakes, grasslands, and deserts, strengthen biodiversity protection, and enhance synergistic control of multiple pollutants as well as region‑wide collaborative governance.

— Precision and science, governed by law. Focusing on salient regional and watershed‑scale ecological and environmental issues, we adopt targeted, evidence‑based measures and, in accordance with laws and regulations, establish a zoned, category‑specific management strategy that spans from problem identification to solution design.

— Clarify responsibilities and foster coordinated collaboration. At the national level, ensure robust top-level design; local Party committees and governments shall assume primary responsibility; relevant departments shall strengthen communication and coordination; and a mechanism for division of labor and collaborative work shall be established to enhance policy coherence, regulatory consistency, and operational synergy.

By 2025, the ecological and environmental zoning management system will be basically in place, and a preliminary framework for regionally tailored, precise, and scientifically informed ecological and environmental management will be established. By 2035, a fully developed system featuring sound mechanisms and efficient operations will be in place, providing robust support for fundamentally improving the ecological environment and achieving the goal of a Beautiful China.

II. Fully Promote Zoning-Based Management of the Ecological Environment

(1) Formulate an ecological and environmental zoning management plan. Deeply implement the strategy of functional zoning, fully carry out the National Territorial Spatial Planning Outline (2021–2035), and develop an ecological and environmental zoning management plan that prioritizes enforcing strict constraints on ecological protection redlines, environmental quality bottom lines, and resource utilization ceilings; is based on ecological and environmental control units; employs ecological and environmental access lists as a tool; and is supported by an information platform. Adhering to the principles of national guidance, provincial-level coordination, and city-level implementation, such plans shall be prepared and promulgated at each administrative level. Provincial- and city-level ecological and environmental zoning management plans shall be drafted by the respective governments, with due attention paid to seamless integration with the “single-map” system of territorial spatial planning, and shall be issued and implemented after being filed with the next higher-level ecological and environmental authorities.

(2) Defining ecological and environmental control units. Based on regional characteristics such as ecological and environmental structure, functions, and quality, and through environmental assessment, building upon the management zoning of various ecological and environmental elements—including air, water, soil, ecology, noise, and marine environments—the outcomes of the “Three Zones and Three Lines” delineation are implemented. Taking the ecological protection red line as the foundation, areas requiring protection are identified and designated as ecological and environmental priority protection units. Meanwhile, focusing on regions facing significant pressure to improve environmental quality, high resource and energy consumption intensity, concentrated pollutant emissions, severe ecological damage, and elevated environmental risks, areas where development and conservation conflicts are particularly pronounced are singled out and designated as ecological and environmental key control units. All other areas not falling within the ecological and environmental priority protection units or key control units are subject to general control.

(3) Develop an ecological and environmental access list. Implement the negative list for market access, and, in accordance with ecological and environmental functional zoning and land‑use control requirements, focus on addressing pressing ecological and environmental issues. Systematically integrate existing ecological and environmental management regulations to formulate a differentiated ecological and environmental access list, setting forth requirements for controlling pollutant emissions, preventing and mitigating environmental risks, and improving resource and energy efficiency. Adopt tailored, refined management approaches—“one strategy per unit”—based on local conditions: ecological and environmental priority protection units should strengthen ecosystem conservation and maintain ecosystem functions; key ecological and environmental control units should reinforce controls on pollutant emissions and environmental risk prevention in response to salient ecological and environmental challenges; and other areas should strive to keep ecological and environmental quality broadly stable. In regions where pressure to improve ecological and environmental quality is high and where problems and risks are particularly acute, more precise regulatory requirements should be established.

(4) Strengthen information sharing on ecological and environmental zoning management. Promote information sharing and operational synergy between the national and provincial ecological and environmental zoning management systems and other business systems, thereby reinforcing support for data management, adjustment and updating, implementation and application, monitoring and evaluation, and oversight and administration. Advance the integrated innovation of next-generation information technologies, artificial intelligence, and other tools with ecological and environmental zoning management, enhance online government services and smart decision-making capabilities, and improve service efficiency.

(5) Coordinate regular adjustments and dynamic updates. In principle, the ecological and environmental zoning management plan shall remain stable and be subject to periodic review every five years, in conjunction with the assessment of the national economic and social development plan and the territorial spatial plan. If an update is deemed necessary within a five-year period, it shall be carried out on a “who issues, who updates” basis, ensuring full alignment with the national economic and social development plan and the territorial spatial plan, and reported to the next higher-level ecological and environmental authority for record‑keeping. Where updates are required due to changes in major strategies or ecological and environmental protection objectives, scientific justification shall be undertaken. Furthermore, when legally mandated protected areas—such as ecological conservation red lines, drinking water source protection zones, and nature reserves—are established, adjusted, or abolished in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, or when new provisions are introduced by laws or administrative rules, corresponding synchronous updates shall be implemented.

III. Boosting High-Quality Economic and Social Development

(6) Serving National Major Strategies. Through ecological and environmental zoning and control, we will strengthen holistic conservation and systematic governance, support the optimization of major productive‑force layouts, facilitate national major infrastructure projects, and ensure the effective implementation of key national strategies. We will implement the Yangtze River Economic Belt Development Strategy by promoting refined, unit‑based zoning and control across the entire Yangtze River basin, reinforcing water pollution prevention and environmental risk management in heavy‑chemical industries along the river, and preventing the relocation of highly polluting enterprises and projects to the middle and upper reaches. We will also advance the Yellow River Basin Ecological Protection and High‑Quality Development Strategy by adopting differentiated zoning and control measures for the upper, middle, and lower reaches, optimizing the spatial layout of energy, chemical, and new‑energy industries in the middle and upper basins, and fostering green, low‑carbon, and circular development in the middle and lower reaches. Furthermore, we will enhance the application of ecological and environmental zoning and control in adjusting industrial, energy, and transportation structures in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, establishing a land‑coast‑sea coordinated, regionally integrated ecological and environmental management mechanism to guide the green, low‑carbon transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing and the rational spatial planning of strategic emerging industries.

(7) Promote green and low‑carbon development. Implement national regulations and policy requirements for the management of high‑energy‑consumption, high‑emission, and low‑level projects, guiding key industries to strategically locate and orderly relocate to regions with ample environmental capacity, strong market demand, and robust market‑support mechanisms. Strengthen management of priority ecological and environmental control units, and advance the green and low‑carbon transformation and upgrading, as well as clean‑production upgrades, of traditional industries such as petrochemicals, steel, and building materials. Improve environmental infrastructure in industrial parks, fostering industrial agglomeration and centralized pollution control. Align with the ecological and environmental access list, and guide the orderly relocation of traditional industrial functions from densely populated central urban areas. Optimize the management of ecological and environmental priority protection units, encourage exploration of models and pathways for realizing the value of ecological products, and enhance ecological carbon‑sequestration capacity. While ensuring the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems, support the construction of major national strategic projects, critical infrastructure, and initiatives that safeguard people’s livelihoods. Effectively implement the development of large‑scale wind and photovoltaic power bases in desert, gobi, and arid regions.

(8) Supporting Integrated Decision-Making. Strengthen the application of outcomes from ecological and environmental zoning management to provide decision-making support for local Party committees and governments. Use the assessment of the effectiveness of implementing ecological and environmental zoning management as an important basis for optimizing environmental impact assessment administration. Enhance the guidance provided by ecological and environmental zoning management to business investment, and, in accordance with laws and regulations, establish public access rights on the ecological and environmental zoning management information platform to facilitate enterprises in assessing the compliance of their projects with relevant zoning requirements, thereby stimulating the vitality of market entities.

IV. Implement High-Level Protection of the Ecological Environment

(9) Safeguarding the ecological security pattern. Strictly enforce the regulatory requirements for ecological protection redlines. Focusing on these redlines, enhance ecosystem quality and strengthen ecosystem stability and service functions. Strengthen biodiversity conservation and improve the biodiversity protection network. Enhance monitoring and early warning systems, and proactively adapt to climate change. For key areas—including the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau ecological barrier zone, the Yellow River key ecological zone, the Yangtze River key ecological zone, as well as the Northeast Forest Belt, the Northern Sand‑Control Belt, the Southern Hilly and Mountainous Belt, and the Coastal Zone—identify salient environmental issues on a sub‑unit basis and implement differentiated management and control measures.

(10) Promote improvements in environmental quality. Strengthen the implementation of ecological and environmental zoning management, establishing a closed-loop workflow that integrates problem identification, precise source tracing, and tailored policy measures for specific zones, thereby addressing pressing ecological and environmental challenges, mitigating structural and spatial environmental risks, and creating room and expanding opportunities for high-quality development. Deepen watershed‑wide water‑environment zoning management, coordinating the governance of water resources, water quality, and aquatic ecosystems; reinforce the management of key aquatic ecological spaces, including watershed‑scale water‑source conservation areas, river and lake waters, and their buffer zones; and intensify efforts to prevent and control agricultural nonpoint‑source pollution. Enhance ecological and environmental zoning management in nearshore marine areas, and advance integrated land–sea management of priority estuaries and bays. Taking into account regional atmospheric transport patterns and spatial‑layout sensitivities, strengthen differentiated, zone‑based, and coordinated regulatory approaches. In accordance with soil contamination levels and relevant standards, implement classified management of agricultural land and access‑control measures for construction land. Strengthen noise‑environment management, promoting coordinated land-use planning between large transportation infrastructure, industrial clusters, and areas densely populated by noise‑sensitive buildings. Explore the adoption of a zoned approach to groundwater pollution prevention and control, integrating above‑ground and underground considerations and formulating differentiated requirements for ecological and environmental access and pollution‑risk management.

(11) Strengthen policy coordination for ecological and environmental protection. Leverage the foundational role of ecological and environmental zoning management within the source‑prevention system, achieving comprehensive territorial coverage, cross‑departmental collaboration, and refined, multi‑factor integrated management. Enhance the dynamic alignment between ecological and environmental zoning management and land‑space planning; in light of the distinct characteristics of development, conservation, and construction activities across different regions, focus on improving ecological and environmental quality and implement differentiated ecological and environmental governance at the sub‑unit level. The competent authorities for ecological and environmental protection and those for natural resources should select representative areas to conduct pilot projects, accumulate experience, and refine mechanisms, thereby fostering synergistic policy effects. Launch pilot programs to integrate pollution reduction and carbon‑emission reduction under ecological and environmental zoning management, and explore the implementation of differentiated regulatory policies based on metrics such as carbon emissions and pollutant discharges. Strengthen the coordination between relevant ecological and environmental protection policies and the ecological and environmental zoning management system, incorporating the requirements of ecological and environmental zoning into the formulation and revision of related standards and policies. Encourage localities, with a focus on industrial parks, free trade pilot zones, and similar areas, to carry out pilot reforms that coordinate and link ecological and environmental zoning management with environmental impact assessment, pollutant discharge permitting, environmental monitoring, and law enforcement and supervision, thereby exploring the establishment of an end‑to‑end ecological and environmental management system.

V. Strengthening Supervision and Performance Evaluation

(12) Strengthen supervision and management. Relevant departments shall, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, leverage pertinent regulatory platforms and make full use of big data, satellite remote sensing, drones, and other technological tools to conduct dynamic monitoring. They shall carry out on-site inspections of any prominent issues or potential risks identified and impose strict penalties in accordance with the law. For ecological priority protection units where ecological functions have significantly deteriorated, key ecological and environmental control units facing acute environmental problems, and other areas experiencing a marked decline in environmental quality, oversight and law enforcement shall be intensified, and time-bound rectification measures shall be promoted in compliance with laws and regulations. Prominent problems encountered in implementing the ecological and environmental zoning management system shall be incorporated into central and provincial ecological and environmental protection inspections.

(13) Improve the assessment and evaluation system. Incorporate the implementation of ecological and environmental zoning management into performance assessments for the battle against pollution, among other frameworks, with the assessment results serving as an important reference for the comprehensive evaluation, rewards and punishments, and appointment or removal of local leadership teams and relevant leading cadres. The State Council’s competent authority for ecological and environmental protection, in coordination with relevant departments, shall track and monitor the progress of implementation; the outcomes of this work will be used as a key reference in the development of practice‑innovation bases under the “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” initiative.

VI. Organizational Guarantees

(14) Strengthen organizational leadership. Uphold the Party’s leadership over ecological and environmental zoning management. Party committees and governments at all local levels must rigorously implement the principle of “joint responsibility of the Party and government, with dual responsibilities for each post” in ecological and environmental protection; improve mechanisms for advancing this work; regularly deliberate on ecological and environmental zoning management; routinely promote initiatives such as information sharing and joint utilization, adjustments and updates, and oversight and enforcement; promptly report significant progress; and foster a sound working framework characterized by vertical coordination, clear division of responsibilities, and concerted efforts across all sectors. Each region may, in light of its specific circumstances, formulate supporting documents.

(15) Strengthen inter‑departmental coordination. The State Council’s competent authority for ecological and environmental protection shall, in collaboration with relevant departments, formulate and refine policies related to ecological and environmental zoning management. The development and reform authorities shall actively ensure that the outcomes of ecological and environmental zoning management are fully aligned with national economic and social development plans and regional planning processes. The natural resources authorities shall, leveraging the “single map” system for territorial spatial planning, share data on ecological conservation redlines and other relevant information, enhance the integration between ecological and environmental zoning schemes and territorial spatial plans, and jointly carry out related research and pilot initiatives. The water administration authorities shall be responsible for water resource management, as well as the management of water bodies and shorelines, implement differentiated water resource management, appropriately regulate the scale of water resource development and utilization, and coordinate these efforts with ecological and environmental zoning management. The forestry and grassland authorities shall strengthen coordination and synergy between the management of various nature reserves and ecological and environmental zoning management. The industrial and information technology, housing and urban–rural development, transport, agriculture and rural affairs, and other relevant authorities shall, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, reinforce the alignment and coordination of their sector‑specific work with ecological and environmental zoning management; when formulating industry development and resource exploitation policies and plans, they should give full consideration to the requirements of ecological and environmental zoning management to minimize adverse impacts on ecosystem functions and environmental quality. Relevant departments should introduce policies that facilitate the implementation and application of ecological and environmental zoning management, and promote coordinated oversight and law enforcement efforts in this area.

(16) Improve laws and standards. Promote the incorporation of ecological and environmental zoning management requirements into the formulation and revision of relevant laws and regulations. Encourage local authorities with legislative powers to study and enact local regulations related to ecological and environmental zoning management. The State Council’s competent department for ecological and environmental protection, in coordination with the competent department for natural resources and other relevant bodies, shall develop requirements for the delineation of ecological and environmental zoning management units, as well as related standards and specifications.

(17) Strengthen capacity building. Enhance discipline development, scientific research, and talent cultivation in the field of ecological and environmental zoning management, and accelerate the establishment of a professional workforce. Improve the construction of the information platform for ecological and environmental zoning management. Fiscal departments at all levels should comprehensively consider work objectives and tasks and ensure adequate funding in accordance with the principles governing the division of fiscal powers and expenditure responsibilities.

(18) Actively promote and guide. Integrate ecological and environmental zoning management into the education and training programs for Party and government leading cadres. Strengthen publicity and interpretation, promptly summarize and disseminate positive examples, expose negative cases, and foster a favorable atmosphere of widespread public attention and collective participation.