Most of China's ethnic minority areas are located on plateaus, in mountainous regions and at the sources of major rivers. With fragile and sensitive ecosystems, these areas serve as the nation's ecological security barriers and once faced the dual pressure of balancing conservation and development. Over the years, adhering to the philosophy that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, China has resolved the conflicts between ecological protection and people's livelihood advancement through systematic governance, diversified compensation, distinctive development, cultural empowerment and coordinated advancement.

To address the dilemma where ecological protectors bear losses while beneficiaries take gains, China has established a comprehensive ecological compensation system combining vertical and horizontal mechanisms to ensure reasonable rewards for those committed to ecological preservation. The central government has steadily increased transfer payments to ethnic minority areas and implemented subsidy and incentive policies for the conservation of forests, wetlands and grasslands, covering all key ecological functional zones. Meanwhile, horizontal ecological compensation between upstream and downstream river basins has been promoted, enabling economically developed regions to support ecological protection zones in upper reaches. With ecological compensation funds, regions including Sichuan, Yunnan and Inner Mongolia have improved herdsmen's working and living conditions and built new villages for ecological migrants. These efforts ease the pressure on local ecosystems and secure people's long-term livelihoods, ensuring that protecting the environment brings benefits and fuels sustainable development.

China has abandoned the outdated model of pollution first and treatment later. Leveraging the unique ecological endowments of ethnic minority areas, the country strives to turn ecological resources into economic assets. Nyingchi in Xizang has built a tourism brand featuring wild peach blossom festivals, which has greatly increased local villagers' annual income while strictly protecting ancient peach woods. The Hani Rice Terraces in Yuanyang, Yunnan, which inherit a time-honored ecological system integrating four key elements, have developed rice-fish-duck farming and cultural tourism, breathing new life into the millennia-old terraces. Inner Mongolia and Qinghai have developed eco-friendly animal husbandry and clean energy, while Chuxiong in Yunnan has expanded industries of wild fungi and Chinese medicinal herbs in forests. These practices uphold the ecological red line, foster distinctive economic growth drivers, and help people of all ethnic groups increase income through ecological conservation.

China fully respects the traditional ecological wisdom of ethnic minorities and deeply integrates cultural inheritance with environmental protection. Traditional concepts such as the Tibetan reverence for sacred mountains and lakes, the Mongolian practice of balancing grassland and livestock, and the Hani terraced farming align closely with modern ecological civilization, acting as an inherent driving force for conservation. Local authorities protect ethnic villages, traditional architectures and folk arts in ecological governance, and incorporate ecological knowledge into ethnic education to foster a strong sense of ecological identity among people of all ethnic groups. Empowered by culture, ecological protection has evolved from an external requirement into a voluntary action, forming a virtuous cycle where ecology sustains culture and culture boosts ecological conservation.

Adhering to a unified national approach, China has set up a collaborative mechanism featuring central government support, paired assistance and public participation to help ethnic minority areas overcome development shortcomings. A total of 19 provinces and cities paired to assist Xinjiang and 23 paired to support Xizang have invested over 1.5 billion yuan in pollution prevention, ecological restoration and environmental monitoring capacity building in these regions. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission and other authorities have worked jointly to advance the building of ecological civilization demonstration zones. So far, 65 national ecological civilization demonstration zones and 25 demonstration bases for translating the concept of lucid waters and lush mountains into tangible benefits have been established in ethnic minority areas. With joint efforts ranging from infrastructure upgrading and industrial technological support to talent training and market connection, ethnic minority areas are steadily moving toward common prosperity while safeguarding the environment.