CBCGDF dark and starry sky working committee has received an update from the World Dark Skies Advisory Group about the update of the World List of Dark Sky Places and discussed about the drafted Best Practices Report of dark sky protection.

CBCGDF notes that IUCN's World List of Dark Sky Places has been updated to 171, with two new places from the UK and New Zealand.

Tomintoul and Glenlivet International Dark Sky Park, the new place in the list, is part of Cairngorms National Park, covering an area of more than 20,000 hectares.

The other new place in the list is Stewart Island/Rakiura Island International Dark Sky Sanctuary in New Zealand. This place is in an island. Venture Southland GM for Business and Strategic Projects Steve Canny said, “Achieving this accolade will bring a significant increase in tourism, increase employment on the island, encourage preservation of the unspoiled natural environment and have economic benefits for the whole region,”

In response to President Xi's suggestion that "Clear waters and green mountains are as good as mountains of gold and silver" and to actively promote China's deep participation in global environmental governance, CBCGDF will recommend more best practices and dark sky places in China to win international recognition in the future. At the proposal meeting of the NPC and CPPCC in 2019 held by CBCGDF this year, CBCGDF also proposed to legislate against light pollution and support the development of dark sky.

The starry sky is the common heritage of mankind. As China continues to build a system of nature reservation with national parks as the main body, CBCGDF will recommend regions with good dark and starry sky conditions to apply for international certification to carry out sustainable tourism.

Original Chinese article:

http://www.cbcgdf.org/NewsShow/4854/7581.html

By / Cynthia