On January 15th, 2019 Ecological and Green Development Forum themed “Reform and Innovation”, organized by CBCGDF’s Silk Road Green Development Research Institute, was successfully held in Beijing. Dr. Zhou Jinfeng, the Secretary-General of CBCGDF delivered a keynote speech:

Protect the source region of the Yangtze River in Qinghai Province

In effect, CBCGDF has recently sent a scientific expedition team to Zhuonai Lake of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In this case, I would like to propose an emergent initiative here to call for actions to protect the source region of the Yangtze River. Over the past ten to twenty years, the amount of precipitation in those extremely vulnerable areas of the source region of the Yangtze River has increased rapidly which has caused dam-break in the Zhuonai Lake. As a result, water flew out, and sand at the bottom of the lake surfaced and further formed sandstorm as the wind blew. The sandstorm is actually ravaging the region for the time being. It is thus critical for us to have the sandstorm controlled and protect the ecosystem of the source region of the Yangtze River.

What is the role of Qinghai province? It is known as the ‘Headwaters of the Three Rivers’ and the ‘Chinese Water Tower’,  and is regarded as an important barrier to China’s ecological safety. I once noted that, if Beijing functions as the brain of our motherland, then Qinghai is the heart of the nation, providing blood and energy for the body. As ecological safety of Qinghai province plays a significantly important role in the development of our nation, I would like to urge all of you to pay keen attention to it.

Green Architecture, Green Producing, and Green Options

The concept of green architecture focuses on energy conservation. According to data released in 1991, over 95 percent of the building materials in the Netherlands is renewable and recyclable. Whereas only 5 percent of building materials in China is recyclable and the remaining 95 percent makes up a huge amount of construction waste. What does this mean? That means we need to enhance the idea of recovering and recycling, which not only requires legislative actions but also responsibilities on the part of the manufacturers.

The second core concept is green consumption. For instance, Starbucks can encourage its customers to bring their own cups for coffee which will save them 4 yuan. In this situation, costumers will have more access to green options, which is also very important.

Green development and eco-civilization are in accordance with the wishes and demands of the consumers. Therefore, we are keen on discussions about green consumption and green options, and this will in return impel more producers to consider green approaches, bring changes to legislation and the improvement of the mechanism and the overall performance of the eco-civilization.

Reform and Innovation, Ecological and Green Development

CBCGDF has set up an experimental field in Daxing, without anybody attending on it, neither tree planting, seeding, watering, nor the application of fertilizers or pesticides. But now butterflies and insects flock to the field, as within just one year, grasses and trees grew on it and became as tall as grown-ups, and three years later, the trunk of the trees could even be compared to my wrist. However, according to the regulations on garden management, we are asked by the local relevant department to uproot all these plants as they grow up wild and do not look very nice. The greening regulations of Beijing also require weeding and insecticide. While at the same time, the mayor put forward the idea that the kind of trees to be planted should be decided by the birds inhabiting here, which is essentially be decided by Nature.

That being said, our approaches to landscaping should be changed immediately. For example, where is the best place for us to plant millions of trees under the landscaping plans of Beijing? The question should not be answered in a simple and traditional sense of industrial civilization but responding to the initiative of ‘Wind Greening’. The idea underlying the initiative is to make full advantage of natural resources while leaving adequate space for nature to recover and grow.

This requires us to reform, to innovate, to change and to embrace our eco-civilization. The ecology of places where we inhabit today is now largely endangered by various environmental problems concerning climate change, soil contamination, and water pollution, etc. What is eco-civilization? It refers to a brand new age of civilization which will transform our way of producing and living. Therefore, we need to be proactive in making changes and welcoming the eco-civilization.

(Photo credit: CBCGDF)

Original Chinese article:

http://www.cbcgdf.org/NewsShow/4854/7407.html

By / Shelly