Lishui in East China's Zhejiang province has become this year's first pilot city in the country for realizing the value of ecological products. By realizing dual growth in GDP and GEP (gross ecosystem product), Lishui has taken a new step.

GEP refers to the total value of the final products and services provided by a regional ecosystem for human welfare and sustainable economic and social development, including the value of material products, regulating service products and cultural service products.

Innovation is the power source underlying the value of Lishui ecological products.

At present, Lishui has taken a series of innovative measures in maximizing ecological product value, such as promoting the construction of an ecological credit system, standardizing the practice of green development, and strengthening control of pesticides and fertilizers.

According to official data, the GEP of Lishui increased from 209.63 billion yuan ($29.93 billion) in 2006 to 467.3 billion yuan in 2017.

In October 2019, the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences released the 2018 GEP report for Lishui, which showed a figure for 2018 of 502.45 billion yuan, of which the value of ecological regulating services products was 365.94 billion yuan, accounting for 72.83 percent.

From 2017 to 2018, Lishui's GEP increased by 35.16 billion yuan. And in 2018, Lishui's GDP totaled 139.47 billion yuan, up by 8.2 percent. The growth rate ranks first in the province. Lishui has achieved a relatively fast coordinated growth in both GDP and GEP.