On February 11, 2018, at the official exchange conference of the 9th World Urban Forum of UN-Habitat, it was officially announced that Yueyang Dongting Lake International Mansion was selected for the first batch of "SUC UN International Demonstration Communities for Sustainable Development".
On March 24, 2018, SUC UN experts and the project team conducted a detailed field visit to the first phase of the Project, future planning and ecological and environmental measures of Dongting Lake International Mansion, and had in-depth exchanges with project leaders on sustainable buildings, community management and other fields. Arab Hoballah, Chairman of the SUC Programme Management Committee, Consultant to the UN SEED, a sustainable development organization, and Ex-Chief of UNEP SCP, fully recognized the Community's achievements in planning concepts, architectural design, environmental layout, technological innovation, etc. “Dongting Lake International Mansion gave me a big surprise. The good environment, the architectural style with rich visual aesthetic, and the development model with low impact on the surrounding environment all impressed me deeply. The leadership and integration in aspects including planning concepts, environment-friendly technical measures and landscape construction in particular have laid a solid foundation for building a sustainable community model."
On the 25th, the "Launching Ceremony of Yueyang Dongting International · SUC International Demonstration Community for Sustainable Development" was grandly held at the project marketing center. Members of the SUC UN expert team and SUC project team, leaders and experts of the Yueyang Municipal Government and the Nanhu New Area Working Committee (Administrative Committee) and representatives of dozens of media attended.
At the "Seminar on Preparation of the International Indicator System and Strategy Report for the Sustainable Development of Dongting Lake International Mansion", experts from the SUC project team, international experts, experts from the China National Institute of Standardization and the project party learned more about the current status of the Project and conducted in-depth discussions on the sustainable development standard system, management system, technology implementation path, monitoring and evaluation system, etc. of the Dongting Lake Community Project. Li Xiang, Executive Director of SUC Programme, said “the SUC demonstration is not a UN award. Its core lies in the implementation in the following years. This is the significance of preparing the ‘International Indicator System and Strategy Report for Sustainable Development’ for Dongting Lake International Mansion. We will introduce the brand new international standards for sustainable communities prepared by UN, combine them with the actual project conditions, with the support of UN experts and partner platforms, and help the Community achieve breakthrough in the fields of sustainable buildings, ecologically integrated construction, coordinated economic development, community awareness, etc. We expect that after 3-4 years of construction, the ‘Dongting International Model’ will gradually be formed and become a global template of sustainable communities." At the Seminar, the participating guests put forward many constructive opinions on the preparation of the "International Indicator System and Strategy Report for Sustainable Development".
SUC Guidelines for Sustainable Communities consist of seven primary indicators, including sustainable buildings, inclusive community facilities and service, liveable community landscape, economic productivity, safety, proud and educated community, and community management. The person in charge of Yueyang Dongting Lake International Mansion stated that they would make every effort to build a large-scale comprehensive project integrating tourism, vacation, leisure, entertainment and residence in accordance with SUC Guidelines.
The specific construction of Yueyang Dongting Lake International Mansion will include:
1. Ecologically integrated construction.
2. Coordinated economic development.
3. Enhance self-awareness through “people” management.
4. Provide high-quality services, improve cultural atmosphere, and build a people-to-people and cultural community.
5. Take a multi-pronged approach to build a safe community.