DAPENG New Area was named a national model district for ecological construction at an award ceremony hosted by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

Dapeng New Area took the lead in implementing a balance sheet of natural resources and building the first accounting system for natural resources in the country. According to the latest data, the natural resource assets in Dapeng New Area are worth 33.1 billion yuan (US$4.80 billion) and the service value of the ecological system is 48.4 billion yuan.

Out of the 34 projects implemented in 2015, 16 were put into practice prior to other cities. Many of the reform items, such as the balance sheet of natural resources, eco-compensation and ownership and usage governance of natural resources, have also provided models for other cities and provinces.

Dapeng has performed well in improving ecological quality. For example, the air quality is close to the standard of first-level international cities like Paris and Los Angeles. From January to October this year, the AQI was 2.72 and the average annual concentration of PM2.5 decreased to 21.9 micrograms per cubic meter. The quality of major rivers and drinking water in Dapeng met the national standards.

These results are closely related to innovations in technology, the Daily said. The new area has established a dynamic monitoring system platform that integrates technologies like Internet of Things, cloud computing and big data.

Dapeng New Area aims at green development, as it actively promotes emerging industries like the biology, ocean and tourism industries. At present, 84 biotechnology enterprises are located in the new area, 55 enterprises have settled in the marine industrial park and tourism revenue has reached 5 billion yuan.

A coral protection activity is another example. Volunteers from 13 countries, including Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, have planted 13,000 baby corals and settled 68 coral reefs in Dapeng. The marine education center in Dapeng New Area received the green model award, the only gold prize in the environment field, at the 2017 Charity Festival. (Wang Jingli)