Prof. ZHOU Haixiang: Objection to Poyang Lake Sluice Gate for Ecosystem Connectivity
2021/1/12 13:34:00 本站

1.    The Importance of Connectivity in Poyang Lake Ecosystem

 

In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, only Poyang Lake (in Jiangxi Province) and Dongting Lake (in Hunan Province) are left as habitats for East Asian inland aquatic birds to overwinter. This is because those two lakes, unlike other dozens of other Yangtze River-connecting lakes, have not been factitiously obstructed and maintained their lagoon features, flooding and ebbing in line with the River itself. Thus, Poyang Lake, a critical ecosystem, cannot be used for destructive experiments. And the goal of protecting this integrated ecosystem cannot be achieved by designating parts of reserves within the lake area, which would trigger a domino effect. The current so-called scientific construction and management may be proven wrong decades later as science comes from the most fundamental perception and our understanding of the whole complex ecosystem is far from enough. The white crane alone carries many riddles yet to be solved. So, I call on the Jiangxi Provincial government to show some mercy and preserve the natural attributes of the Poyang Lake.

 

The Lake is the single most important ecosystem for inland aquatic birds in East Asia to pass the winter, with no alternatives. It cannot be damaged, nor can it be separated in parts like solving a word puzzle. The sluice gate must be immediately stopped!

 

2.    The Sluice Gate Actually Serves for Navigation

 

“Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal, the Waterway Engineering Project of the Century” has been introduced in the recently issued Recommendations on Advancing Transport Strength of Jiangxi Province by the provincial government. The canal (with a roughly estimated investment of 150 billion RMB, or 23.16 billion USD) touches the Poyang Lake outlet in Jiujiang City in the north, runs southward across the Lake and Ganjiang River tributaries, enters Taojiang River by way of Nanchang, Ji’an, and Ganjiang cities, and passes through the watershed in Xinfeng County, Ganzhou City into the neighboring Guangdong Province. There, it joins Zhenjiang River, reaches Beijiang River in Shaoguan after passing Nanxiong, and later arrives at the joint estuary of three rivers (Beijing, Xijiang, and Suijiang Rivers). With a total length of 1,228 kilometers, it is expected to be navigable with Class III waterways along the whole channel.

 

Now that the land transport is so convenient, is the whopping investment into water and land transport another exploitation for mineral resources? This also demonstrates what we have said before –the sluice gate really serves for navigation under the disguise of so-called “protective” measures.


http://file.cbcgdf.org/T18/O125/image/20210111/20210111202755_9218.png

(Photo credit: Zhou Haixiang)


Original Chinese article:

http://www.cbcgdf.org/NewsShow/4854/15049.html


By / Xi Yang Editor / Linda Wong


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