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Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Keywords

southwest mountainous regions；“lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” practice and innovation base；value conversion；human-mountain harmony relationship

Document Type

Review and Outlook on Concept "Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains Are Invaluable Assets" at Its 20th Anniversary: Scientific Connotation, Strategic Value, and Case Study-Strategic Value

Abstract

As the country with the largest mountainous area in the world, China’s research on two mountains (“lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”) concept in mountainous sustainable development holds significant theoretical and practical implications for unleashing green productivity, fostering new quality productive forces, and advancing the modernization of harmonious coexistence between humans and mountains. This study employs emergy analysis and literature review to evaluate the value transformation efficiency of two mountains concept across 37 national two mountains practice bases in mountainous counties of Southwestern China. The results indicate that: (1) the transformation level is higher in urban core areas and adjacent counties compared to remote mountainous regions; (2) from 2020 to 2023, the transformation rate in southwestern mountainous areas exhibited strong growth potential, with an average increase exceeding 40%. Notably, the Wumeng Mountain region recorded the highest growth at 54.3%, followed by the Daba Mountains, Ailao Mountains, Qianzhong Hills, and Hengduan Mountains, all exceeding 50%; (3) although the average transformation level (38.5%) in southwest mountainous areas remains below Anji’s 60%, it shows tremendous value-added potential; (4) the study identifies six distinctive regional practice models: agricultural cultural heritage type, ethnic brand-driven type, specialized agro-industrial type, institutional innovation-driven type, aerotropolis economy type, and green conservation and value enhancement type, all demonstrating remarkable effectiveness and exemplary significance. Finally, to address key challenges, this study proposes the following recommendations: innovating green financial instruments to alleviate funding shortages in two mountains transformation; developing mountain-specific IP clusters to overcome low-value-added and homogenized product issues; promoting adaptive mountain infrastructure and machinery to enhance transformation efficiency; improving gradient ecological compensation and long-term supervision mechanisms to sustain harmony between ecological preservation and economic development; cultivating a new generation of mountain-savvy farmers and multidisciplinary talents to strengthen endogenous drivers. These findings provide a robust foundation and practical insights for advancing human-mountain harmony and sustainable development.

First page

1222

Last Page

1234

Language

Chinese

Publisher

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences

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