To reverse the damage, in 1983 Jiangxi Province launched its massive "Mountain-River-Lake Project." The logic behind it was that to harness the lake, one must harness the river; to harness the river, one must transform the mountain; and to transform the mountain, one must eradicate local poverty." From 1985 to 2000, Jiangxi invested 300 million labor-days in afforestation, greening the bare mountains and harnessing small valleys to control soil erosion. It relocated one million people from the Poyang Lake area, to expand the storage capacity of the lake.

After painstaking efforts that lasted more than 20 years, great rejuvenation of the local ecology has taken place. The forest coverage increased from 31.2 percent in 1983 to 60.5 percent at present. The area of soil erosion has shrunk back greatly, and Poyang Lake has increased its area to 5,100 square kilometers.

The "Mountain-River-Lake Project" has aroused interest in the international community, and won financial and technical aid from the United Nations and the World Bank. They have sent specialists to investigate and give guidance. The resident representative of the United Nations Development Program in China, after inspecting the project in Jiangxi, commented that it has set an example for all developing countries. The resident representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in China called on developed countries to learn from Jiangxi how to balance environmental protection with aggressive economic development. In November 2006, the International Living Lakes Conference was held in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province. The representatives and experts from 36 countries spoke highly of Jiangxi's "Mountain-River-Lake Project" and its dogged determination to protect the environment.

Equal Emphasis on Economy and Ecology

The Jiangxi community is keen on keeping the lake water clean, and the comprehensive management of Poyang Lake has been defined since 1985 by 29 local decrees. These include regulations covering the "Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution," "Compulsory Tree Planting," "Environmental Protection on Construction Projects," and the "Protection of Poyang Lake Wetlands." In addition, the provincial government has also promulgated 28 administrative regulations directed at establishing a nature reserve for migratory birds and preventing over-fishing of Poyang Lake's resources.

In its industrialization and urbanization drive in the early years of the 21st century, Jiangxi Province put equal emphasis on economic development and ecological construction, and tried to build ecological industrial parks and ecological towns. When introducing projects, it stuck to its guns and prohibited any high-polluting ventures or dangerous projects, and blocked inherently harmful industries.