Guardians of the Qingyi River: Communities take a collaborative approach to river conservation

The Yangtze River is known to the Chinese people as the mother river of the nation. The extensive river system is more than a crucial indicator of a healthy ecosystem—it is a source of life.

In October 2024, Dow colleagues in China teamed up with local collaborators to launch the Protecting Qingyi River: Water and Nature Conservation Project to support the Qingyi River, a tributary of the Yangtze River. Through this initiative, the project team has engaged numerous stakeholders, from academic and conservation experts to local villagers and farmers, to help ensure the health of the Qingyi River is maintained through three key measures.

The project team, in collaboration with research teams from local universities, conducted a systematic ecological investigation of the six main streams of the Qingyi River. Through scientific methods for river monitoring and water sampling, they have begun an account of the unique biodiversity in the area, including 20 species of fish and 14 species of frogs. The team has also observed giant salamanders (Andria davidianus) along the tributary—a nationally protected animal in China.

These precise river monitoring methods enable the Huangshan Green Anhui Nature Conservation Center and its management stations to clearly observe changes in water quality so they can then provide scientific guidance for subsequent strategies to effectively protect the ecology.

With villages and a variety of wildlife living in and alongside the Qingyi River, protecting the water resources here not only helps to support the safety of drinking water for residents along the Qingyi River but also plays a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance of the Yangtze River tributary system.

Conservation efforts cannot succeed without the active participation of local communities. There are 20 villages populating the surrounding area along the Qingyi River. Some families have been there for multiple generations.

With support from the project, local villagers and government representatives formed the “River Watch Team,” a joint initiative to collect real-time data on water quality since 2024. The team patrols the river five times during the day and once at night while also cleaning the river and shoreline daily.

The villagers have voluntarily become a driving force in protecting the river by cleaning up waste and cracking down on illegal fishing. As of July 2025, the team had patrolled the river 2,089 times, spending a total of 2,080 hours on patrols and removed 1,156 kilograms of river waste.

The primary sources of pollution in the Qingyi River area are related to agriculture and domestic activities. Agroecology seeks to grow food with fewer inputs and less environmental impact.

To enhance water quality at the source of the river, the project team has introduced agricultural transformation within pilot villages—conducting surveys and evaluating pollution control facilities. This approach of agroecology, or ecological agriculture, supports water quality by significantly reducing the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers while enhancing soil fertility through microbial decomposition.

An example of an agroecology tactic in the Qingyi River area is the integration of rice and crayfish farming systems. This is called rice-crayfish co-culture¹. It involves planting rice in flooded fields and introducing crayfish after the rice has emerged. The crayfish feed on the rice debris, weeds, insects and organic matter. This helps to clean the water supply while providing ongoing fertilization for the soil.

With Dow’s support, the project team has provided training sessions to 30 farmers as of July 2025. The initiative actively promotes farming techniques that work alongside local environmental considerations. The rice-crayfish co-culture model, for example, creates a mutually beneficial and balanced ecosystem where rice and crayfish interact and help regulate each other.

The Protecting Qingyi River: Water and Nature Conservation Project aligns with our efforts to advance global sustainability by prioritizing resilient watersheds and thriving ecosystems at the local and community level.

The Dow Zhangjiagang site is located downstream of the Qingyi River. Maintaining the water quality of this Yangtze River tributary is imperative for the continuity of our operations and the health of local communities and ecosystems. We are committed to our own responsible water use, including returning more than 96% of the water we use to support our operations back to the environment in a sustainable manner.

Water is too precious of a resource to manage in a silo. That is why we engage with experts, communities, governments and NGOs to implement nature-based initiatives worldwide that support sustainable watershed management and habitat conservation. Through innovative projects—from restoring wetlands in Michigan and Louisiana in the United States to conserving mangrove forests in Thailand and improving water systems in Europe—our collaborations demonstrate how environmental stewardship supports business growth and community well-being.

The work of river conservation, water and land management requires understanding local dynamics, leveraging technologies and collaborating across sectors.

The guardians of the Qingyi River work together to deliver positive social and ecological impacts that help make this water source a place where all living things can call home. They stand proudly among guardians of rivers around the world.

Sources

1. Rice-Crayfish Farming Integration: A Sustainable Approach to Increase Crop Yields and Biodiversity. (2023, December 9). AgriFarming. www.agrifarming.in/rice-crayfish-farming-integration.