Zhou Jinfeng put forward the following views on the ecological construction of the city during the discussion stage of the “Environmental Law Teaching and Talent Cultivation Seminar” held on November 16th:

1.    The Cost Issue

Not counting the cost of land, the cost of central parks in many developed countries is much lower than what we spend, such as the Yangtze River's River Beach Park, and the cost of adopting ecological governance is the lowest. If wilderness-type ecological management is adopted, the cost is lower.

2.    Public Service Function Issue

For example, New York has a larger population than most of our cities. New York also requires Central Park to have a social and cultural public service function. This aspect is the same as our Yangtze River Beach Park and should not be used to justify the over-governance of our River Beach Park. There is a river in South Korea, and the roads and parking lots that originally provided transportation functions and service functions were smashed because it violated the ecological service function. After long-term research, it was discovered that the tsunami caused human disasters. The most serious is that the hardening of the seaside and the riverside provided great kinetic energy to the tsunami. If the riverside is full of reeds and mangroves, then there will be few people who die in the tsunami. There are floods in the Yangtze River, and there are internal problems in riverside cities. The Yangtze River Beach Park should not be over-regulated.

3.    The Roundtable Approach

Government decision-making departments should emphasize round-table discussions and invite experts, scholars, and social organizations in the ecological environment to participate in decision-making. From the methodology, we must adhere to equality, discussion, dialogue, and public participation, but at present our mechanism in this regard is still not perfect. Although CBCGDF has sent a letter to the relevant departments on the issue of the Yangtze River Beach Park, the relevant departments have not seriously discussed with us so far. If it is really discussed, even if the part of the Yangtze River Beach has been built, it can carry out many reasonable and more ecologically-oriented transformations.

The lawns on the streets of London are not the same as ours. The lawns on the streets of London are wilderness-type, with low maintenance costs and no need to sprinkle pesticides. The ecological construction concept of Central Park in New York is also more reasonable than the construction concept of Yangtze River Beach Park. They are the same in terms of providing public service functions for big cities, these are successful practical experiences, we should learn from them.

The reason why the pesticides in the Antarctic penguin exceed the standard is that no one goes to the Antarctic to sprinkle pesticides. It is the spread of insecticide pesticides that people sprinkle into the river and enter the atmosphere. Ecological hazards are not just floods, guilts, but also the environment, smog, etc. This cost is huge, and the real cost is too large to count. In short, from the perspective of cost and public service, Wuhan Yangtze River Beach Park should not be built as it is now.

(Photo: CBCGDF)

Original Chinese article:

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/rex79pWvZQBmQuCHMXCkDQ