Blessed with an extensive network of rivers and lakes, a unique natural ecosystem, and robust functions for sustaining life that releases oxygen, sequesters carbon, and purifies the environment, the Yangtze River plays an irreplaceable role in safeguarding China's critical biological gene pool and ensuring its ecological security.

As a key national biological gene pool, the Yangtze River Basin spans tropical, subtropical, and warm-temperate zones, featuring complex landforms and diverse ecosystem types. Among its ecologically vital areas, the forest ecosystems in the river valleys of western Sichuan, the evergreen broad-leaved forests in southern subtropical regions, and the wetlands in the Yangtze's middle and lower reaches stand as globally significant priority zones for biodiversity conservation.