On the afternoon of September 12, Prof. Wong Fook Yee, a visiting professor in the Department of Geography and Resource Management of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, visited the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development (CBCGDF) and talked with Dr. Zhou Jinfeng, Secretary-General of the CBCGDF about ecological civilization, city and nature, biodiversity conservation and the upcoming 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Kunming, has conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions.

Secretary-General Zhou Jinfeng first briefed introduced the origin of the original history of the CBCGDF and Hong Kong. When Hong Kong returned to China and the British government handed over, a Duke of Betford presented 18 Milu to China, helping China realized the reintroduction of the Milu, which was the predecessor of the CBCGDF, the China Milu Foundation. With the change of times and China's accession to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, it eventually became today's China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation after changing the name twice. The focus of the CBCGDF's work has also been broadened to two aspects: biodiversity conservation and green development. At the same time, Secretary-General Zhou also introduced to Professor Wong the CBD COP15 to be held in Kunming next year and explained why the CBCGDF took the lead in proposing to CBD that "ecological civilization" should be included. We are pleased to see that this proposal was adopted by the 2020 Biodiversity Conference. The theme of this historic conference was finally determined as "Ecological Civilization-Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth".

Professor Wong expressed his appreciation for this and affirmed that the CBCGDF, as a Chinese NGO, actively participated in the efforts of global environmental governance.

Professor Wong Fook Yee, known as "the planner of rural parks," in Hong Kong, has been engaged in the management of rural parks for 30 years. He has devoted himself to connecting nature with cities so that they will no longer become isolated islands of urbanization and over-development. In the era of rapid urban development, most Hong Kong citizens live in concrete buildings in urban areas. Many people do not even have a small balcony, let alone a back garden. Rural parks are the back gardens that help them recover vigor. Moreover, trees in rural parks can help reduce carbon dioxide, cope with climate change and improve air quality. He said that although Hong Kong’s ecological resources and plant diversity are quite rich. There are still rare trees such as incense trees and Grosvenor pine, all of which are classified as rural parks on 40% of the land. He pointed out that because the city is the living environment on which human beings depend, it is necessary to link the city with nature.

Professor Wong also shared a piece of "Green City" news in Britain. In late July this year, London officially declared itself the world's first "National Park City" and established the National Park City Foundation (NPCF). NPCF also plans to name 25 national park cities at least by 2025, which means that international metropolises will gradually transform into more ecological and green cities. Zhou Jinfeng agrees with this. He emphasizes that although environmental protection in conservation areas is important, it is more important in densely populated urban areas.

Professor Wong shared his thoughts on his trip to the Beijing black bamboo park. He described the black bamboo park as "a green area surrounded by the urban". There are trees, water, birds and flowers in the garden. It is a fresh and natural landscape in Beijing. Professor Wang has put forward his unique ideas on the green development, biodiversity conservation and ecological civilization of a mega-city like Beijing. He believes that the existing natural green space in the city should be preserved and protected; especially important is that in the early stage of urban development planning, the arrangement of natural green space should be divided and protected in advance, otherwise it will be too late for the initial construction of the city scale. Secondly, blindly introducing exotic plants and trees is not beneficial to local biodiversity, which needs to be maintained by local plants and green environment. Furthermore, Professor Wong proposed that the natural green space or the conservation area should be connected with the city. Instead of turning the city into an island, it is necessary to build a green corridor with connectivity between animals and plants. Zhou Jinfeng agrees with the idea of nature in cities. He emphasizes that it is particularly important to popularize the concept of ecology.

Secretary-General Zhou and Professor Wong also discussed the relationship between tourism and environmental protection, and the impact of the natural environment on human beings. Professor Wong shared a British study that showed that introducing natural environments into cities could dramatically reduce emotional disorders. For example, when the air index is very good, the mortality rate caused by respiratory diseases will be reduced; accordingly, the related medical expenses will also be reduced. Therefore, from the point of view of quantifying environmental protection, strengthening environmental governance will also reduce a lot of expenditure. Secretary-General Zhou also introduced to Professor Wong the Beijing Walking Forum co-sponsored by the CBCGDF and its related activities, hoping to encourage people in busy cities to put down their smartphones, go out after rest, feel more natural and heal themselves from inside to outside.

At the end of the meeting, Secretary-General Zhou Jinfeng also introduced to Professor Wong the "Green Meeting Index" (GMI) formulated by CBCGDF, the environmental public interest litigation, the efforts to promote the incorporation of the Tiaozini coastal wetland on EAAF in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea into the World Natural Heritage Site, the outstanding contributions of anti-electrofishing volunteers, and the protection of birds, and gave the book Selected Cases of Environmental Relations Litigation to Professor Wang, compiled by the CBCGDF and published in 2018, also received an envelope on marine protection from Professor Wong. Both sides hope to continue to strengthen mutual learning, exchanges, and cooperation in environmental protection, green development, and biodiversity conservation through today's meeting.

(Photo credit: CBCGDF)

Original Chinese article:

http://www.cbcgdf.org/NewsShow/4854/9863.html

By / Li Xue