“We need to realize that our mountains, waters, forests, farmlands, and lakes form a living community. The lifeline of the people comes from the farmland. That of the farmland comes from the water. That of the water comes from the mountain. That of the mountain comes from the earth, and that of the earth comes from the tree.

To control the exploitation of natural resources and restore the ecosystem, we must follow the laws of nature. If people only tend to their own responsibilities; for example, growing trees, regulating rivers or protecting farmland in isolation, they are prone to gaining in one area and losing in another, which eventually leads to systemic destruction of the ecology. Therefore it is of the utmost importance to put one department in charge of the usage of the entire territory of a country and carry out unified protection and restoration programs for its natural resources.”

Governance of China, one of the volumes idk I listened to the audiobook and transcribed this quote when I heard it.