NANJING -- A local legislation on the protection of Hongze Lake, the fourth-largest freshwater lake of China, will go into effect on May 1.

The legislation with 58 articles was approved on March 31 by the Standing Committee of the 13th Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress, the provincial legislature.

It makes clear provisions for resource protection and utilization, water pollution prevention and control, and ecological restoration of the lake.

Since 2019, progress has been made in the protection of Hongze Lake, with 19,000 people living on boats, 26,000 residents in floodplain areas and 14,000 fishermen having been resettled.

More than 40 km of shorelines and over 1,333 hectares of wetlands have been restored, and around 13,333 hectares of forests have been planted around the lake.