Greening the Golden Belt: Pollution Control and Sustainable Development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Xiao Wang^1*Jiang Yan²

• ¹Central South University Forestry and Technology, Changsha, China
• ²Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, China

The Yangtze River Basin, home to 400 million people and 46 % of China's gross domestic products (GDP), has become a critical nexus where rapid industrialization, urbanization and agricultural intensification intersect with urgent environmental and public-health challenges. This comprehensive review synthesizes three decades of peer-reviewed and governmental data to quantify the spatial–temporal distribution, sources and ecological–human-health risks of major contaminants, and to evaluate the effectiveness of emerging remediation and policy strategies. We find that although point-source heavy-metal loads (Cd, Pb, Hg) have declined by 35–42 % since 2013 following China's 10-Point Water Plan and the 2021 Yangtze River Protection Law, legacy sediment reservoirs and diffuse agricultural inputs continue to drive exceedances of food-safety limits in rice (Cd up to 0.82 mg kg⁻¹) and cancer-risk thresholds in groundwater (As > 85 µg L⁻¹). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and legacy pesticides persist in sediments at 4 000–6 700 ng g⁻¹, while microplastic flux to the East China Sea has accelerated to 8.3 × 10¹² particles yr⁻¹, with particles now acting as vectors for metals and pathogens. Nutrient surpluses still trigger 2 000 km² algal blooms, causing annual economic losses exceeding US$ 220 million. Field and laboratory evidence demonstrates that physical (dredging, solidification), biological (willow phytoextraction, Scirpus wetlands, native Dehalococcoides consortia) and AI-driven monitoring technologies can remove 60–90 % of target contaminants at costs 30–70 % lower than conventional engineering. Yet critical knowledge gaps remain in chronic mixture toxicity, long-term fate of emerging contaminants and synergistic climate–pollutant interactions. We therefore propose a basin-wide, data-integrated roadmap that couples zero-liquid-discharge industrial mandates, large-scale green-infrastructure retrofits and longitudinal sentinel-reach monitoring within a performance-based regulatory framework. Delivering on this agenda would not only secure the Yangtze as China's ecological and economic lifeline but also provide a globally replicable model for sustainable mega-watershed governance.