Tracking the unseen: How Chinese agricultural experts tackle invisible pollution in Yangtze River protection

Democratic supervision extends from the glaciers on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau to the East China Sea, covering the whole Yangtze basin. It has evolved into a practical tool for Yangtze conservation, helping to better protect the river while serving the people.

Agricultural non-point source pollution is a globally challenging problem for Yangtze ecological protection, as it is mostly hidden from view. During an inspection trip to Jiangxi's Poyang Lake region in 2023, Zhao Lixin, a non-party personage and honorary director of Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences , precisely pinpointed the key pain point: excessive total phosphorus in the water caused by nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from nearby farmland.

The inspection team went beyond identifying frontline issues to putting their expertise into practice on site. In response to local climate conditions and farming patterns, the team integrated and advanced an optimized set of agricultural management and treatment technologies. As a result, they successfully reduced surface runoff losses of nitrogen and phosphorus from rice paddies by 40 percent.

Over the past five years, the non-Party personages have submitted five democratic oversight reports and produced nearly 20 special research reports. Many of their recommendations have been incorporated into special programs of China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

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