中文 FRANÇAIS
Home     Nation      World      Business      Opinion      Lifestyle      ChinAfrica      Multimedia      Columnists      Documents      Special Reports
ChinAfrica
Spreading Ecological Awareness
Erhai Lake protection provides experience for ecological protection and development in developing countries
By Xia Yuanyuan 丨ChinAfrica Web Exclusive ·2023-05-29

  

The Erhai Ecological Corridor holds a cycling activity on 28 May (COURTESY PHOTOS)  

Nearly 400 participants from home and abroad gathered on the banks of the Erhai Lake in Dali, Yunnan Province, on 28 May to discuss the construction of ecological civilisation at the 2023 Erhai Forum on Global Ecological Civilisation Construction. 

Namibian Ambassador to China Elia George Kaiyamo said at the forum that as soon as he arrived in Dali, he felt the beauty of the local ecologic environment. He believes that China plays a vital role in global environmental governance and provides a Chinese solution for global environmental governance. 

“This year is my seventh year in China. After arriving in China, I have noticed and observed that China is protecting its own environment. Chinese President Xi Jinping is constantly reminding the people to protect the environment. When visiting various places, he is very concerned about local ecological protection and green development. This is admirable,” he told ChinAfrica. 

In Dali, Kaiyamo noticed that in addition to the local government, academic institutions and enterprises are also actively carrying out projects to jointly promote ecological protection and sustainable development in rural areas. “This is very worth learning for developing countries.” 

The ear-shaped freshwater Erhai Lake, sitting about 2,000 metres above sea level and covering more than 250 square km, is dubbed the “mother lake” by local residents in the city of Dali. However, the lake became polluted with the start of urbanisation. With untreated sewage, garbage and animal waste discharged into the water, Erhai saw major outbreaks of toxic blue-green algae in 1996, 2003 and 2013. 

Alarmed by the worsening water quality, the local government launched a campaign in 2016 to control and prevent pollution and restore the lake’s environment. The local government has taken numerous measures aimed at controlling pollution around lakes and in the countryside, managing rivers, restoring the ecology, and preventing excessive development and construction. Besides, researchers and scholars from various universities visited the rivers in the area to work on reshaping the ecology. Now, the water quality rate of the 27 main rivers entering Erhai Lake has reached 100 percent, and the transparency of the lake has improved to the highest level in nearly two decades. 

 

Erhai seaweed flower  

Water pollution is also an urgent problem to be solved in Lake Malawi, the third largest lake in Africa. Fredrick Malire, counsellor at the Malawian Embassy in China, said that Lake Malawi is rich in freshwater fish, but due to overexploitation, the lake has eutrophication, pollution, and other problems. 

“The governance and protection mode of Erhai Lake explored by Dali over the years can provide useful reference for the protection of Malawi’s lakes,” Maliri told ChinAfrica. 

As an active participant in international cooperation on environmental protection and the fight against climate change, Sugath Rathnayake, a lecturer at Yunnan University from Sri Lanka, believes that China has actively implemented key UN conventions. “China has made significant efforts in environmental management and has played a key role in environmental progress worldwide. China and the rest of the world are working together to learn from each other and better contribute to the global fight against climate change and ecological protection,” he told ChinAfrica. 

  

  

 

About Us    |    Contact Us    |    Advertise with Us    |    Subscribe
Copyright Beijing Review All rights reserved 京ICP备08005356号-5 京公网安备110102005860
Chinese Dictionary: