Changde is a city in Hunan Province, China. The city has a Ramsar Site, West Dongting Lake Nature Reserve, and a number of important wetlands: Jinshi Maoli Lake, Taoyuan Yuan River, Anxiang Shuyuanzhou, Shimen Xianyang Lake, Lixian Chenhuai Lake, Dingcheng Niao’erzhou, Linli Daoshui River, and Hanshou Xifeng Lake.

The West Dongting Lake Nature Reserve was designated as a Ramsar Site in November 2002. The Management Plan was approved by the Forestry Department of Hunan Province in 2016. The unique geographical location and hydrological features, “water rising as lake, water lowering as marshland’, nourished rich biological resources such as 414 vascular plants species, including 5 national important conservation species. It is an essential habitat for the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, providing foraging and resting sites for tens of thousands of migratory birds, in the meantime, becoming an important migratory channel and breeding ground for fish. West Dongting Lake has become one of the important areas of biodiversity conservation in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Changde is a key component of the Dongting Lake Region Ecological and Economic Development Strategies approved by the State Council. It does not only provide 60 billion cubic meters of water to the Dongting Lake and lower reaches of Yangtze River and the national production bases for rice, fish, cotton and edible oil; but is also one of the 35 national biodiversity conservation priority areas, one of 7 national flood mitigation infrastructures for the Yangtze River, as well as the key harbor of “Golden Waterways of Yangtze River”. Therefore, the spatial zoning and management plans of Changde City has set out the objectives, in particular, the following related to wetlands, e.g. create and restore wetland in built-up areas to reduce flooding, restore West Dongting Lake from 35,000 ha to 70,000 ha, restore fragmented river and lakes, protection of natural forests for safe drinking water, and designate more nature reserves (including wetlands and forest type) to ensure 19.8% of forests and wetlands under legal protection.

The city carries out wetland eco-compensation that provides incentives for local communities that undertake wetland restoration, as well as its complementary measure to wetland red-line zoning within the whole city. There is a series of legislations on wetlands to regulate any activities that damage or change status of wetlands. The city has developed guidelines as a key conservation measure: Dongting Lake Ecological Economic Development Strategies and Planning, Red-line zoning guidelines, Wetland conservation and restoration guidelines, and Spongy City Development Guidelines.

To strengthen the management of Changde wetland resource and improve the regional wetland environment, rational use of wetland resource, the government set up a coordination steering committee for wetland protection and management. Main responsibilities of the steering committee include: formulation of wetland conservation and management policies and wetland conservation plans, discuss any emerging issues related to wetlands, and decide strategies for the government to decide follow-up actions.

The city fully applies national standards on water quality, and national standards on collection and treatment for solid waste and wastewater. National water quality is classified as Grade I, II, III, IV, and V. Grade I is the best quality, Grade III is acceptable drinking water quality, while Grade V is the lowest quality.

In order to raise public awareness on wetlands, traditional knowledge on wetland use, as well as the value of Dongting Lake, Yuan River, Lishui River, and floodplain lakes, Changde City has established wetland education and information centers at West Dongting Lake Ramsar Site, Liuye Lake, Yuan River National Wetland Park, Maoli Lake National Wetland Park, Shuyuanzhou National Wetland Park, and at all other national wetland parks, such as Chenhui Lake National Wetland Park, Xianyang Lake National Wetland Park, Niaoerzhou National Wetland Park, Daoshui River National Wetland Park, and Xifeng Lake National Wetland Park.

Meanwhile, wetland schools have been established around West Dongting Lake in Hanshou County and Anxiang County. School kids have not only learned wetland knowledge, but also became communicators to carry on wetland knowledge to their parents, and civil societies through their organized campaigns.