Qinling Ecological Protection Blue Book released: Ecological quality in over 60% of the region has improved.

At the press conference held today, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment released the "Blue Book of Ecological Protection in the Qinling Mountains Region". The Blue Book shows that the ecological structure in the Qinling Mountains region is gradually improving, the ecological quality has improved, and the overall ecological functions are stable and improving. The Blue Book evaluates the Qinling Mountains as a natural geographical unit, involving six provinces and one municipality including Henan, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai, systematically reflecting the ecological protection status of the Greater Qinling Mountains region. The Blue Book shows that since 2018, the area of key ecological systems such as forests and wetlands in the Qinling Mountains region has steadily increased, with over 50% of important ecological spaces showing a trend of recovery. More than 60% of the regional ecological quality has improved to varying degrees, and the area proportion of enhanced water conservation and soil retention functions is approximately 60% and 47%, respectively. The area proportion of increased carbon sequestration function has reached 55%.