GNF - Network China
 

Living Lakes Network China

 

CLLN @ EXPO

Chinese Living Lakes Partner MRLSD organizes public awareness raising event at the Shanghai Expo

From September 9th to 16th 2010 our Living Lakes partner MRLSD (www.mrlsd.org.cn) from China organized a Living Lakes week in Shanghai. Together with WWF China, another founding member of the national China Living Lakes Network (CLLN), MRLSD organized an awareness rising event at the Shanghai Expo. This time the World Expo theme was “Better city, better life”. As September was the freshwater month in the WWF Pavilion, MRLSD drew public attention to lake protection in China. Visitors from all over the world were invited to take action: Writing their wishes for their respective lake and paste that wish on a big China map!

“The activity was very welcomed by the visitors and at the end of the week we had a wonderful and colorful map full with wishes from all over China as well as from foreign guests”, MRLSD-organisers stated.

 Girl in front of the map with wishes.
 

Background Living Lakes Network China

The launching of the national network took place at the 13th World Lakes Conference in China in November 2009. The establishment of this network will help find solutions and exchange strategies for the protection of the lakes within this vast country. Global Nature Fund’s partner organisation MRLSD (Promotion Association for Mountain-River-Lake Regional Sustainable Development) was the co-ordinator the network. In November 2006, five organisations attended the first preparation Meeting. Currently, the following organisations are members of the network:

  • China Association for NGO Cooperation (CANGO)
  • Promotion Association for Mountain-River-Lake Regional Sustainable Development (MRLSD) – Living Lakes Partner since 2002
  • Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, CAS (NIGLAS)
  • WWF China
  • Yunnan Environment Development Institute (YEDI)
  • Jiangxi Academy of Sciences

The following lakes belong to the network in China

 

Lake Dongting

Lake Dongting is the second largest lake in China and is situated in the province of Hunan. Normally it has an area of 2,820 sq. km. However, during the summer months (July to September) this area can grow up to 3,900 sq. km due to the flooding of the Jangtsekiang River. Thereby, making this lake an extremely important flood control basin that regulates the flow of the Jangtsekiang River.

 

This important function is being negatively influenced through the deforestation of protection forests, drainage of wetlands, settling of residential and industrial areas and the emergence of rice paddy areas. Thus, resulting in yearly flooding that is not only increasingly reaching critical levels, but additionally placing strain on human lives.

 

Lake Chao

Located in the province of Anhui, Lake Chao belongs to the five largest lakes in China. It spans an area of 760 sq. km and supports 5 million people by providing water for irrigation, transport and fishing opportunities. The intensive usage of the lake and its resources in previous years has led to a strong siltation and eutrophication of the water. 

 

Lake Dian

With an area of 298 sq. km Lake Dian is the eighth largest lake in China. It is situated in the province of Yunnan, has an average depth of 4.4 m and a length, measured from North to South, of over 39 km.

 

Until the development of the first waste treatment plant in 1990, over 90 % of the waste water from Kumning, the province’s capitol, was released untreated into the lake. Due to this, the quality of the water has deteriorated considerably so that the water can no longer be used for agriculture or industry.

 

Lake Tai

Located in the Yangtze River delta close to the city of Wuxi, Lake Tai is the third largest freshwater lake in China. It borders the two provinces Jiangsu and Zhejiang and spans an area of 2,250 sq. km. 90 islands of differing sizes are all situated in an average depth of 2 m.

 

Taihu rocks are found in the area of Lake Tai and have probably famed the area the most. These highly perforated and bizarrely formed limestone rocks are mainly used in gardening.

Due to the rapid regional economic growth and the ensuing environmental impact, an increased algal and bacterial bloom occurred in May 2007. The lake’s water could, thus, not be used for drinking water by 30 million inhabitants of the region.

 

Lake Poyang

Further information….

 Logo China Living Lakes Network
 Group picture at the launch of the Living Lakes Network China
 Cranes at Poyang
 Landscape at Poyang-hu
 Fishermen
 Rice Paddy
 
 

 

Coordination Living Lakes Network China

 

 

Promotion Association for Mountain-River-Lake Regional Sustainable Development (MRLSD)

Mr. Liao Guochao, Mao Yuting

North One Road No.14, Jiangxi Provincial Government Complex

Nanchang City 330046, P. R. China

Phone:  00 86 – 791 – 62 68 623

Fax: 00 86 – 791 – 62 88 747

E-mail: mrlsd@nc.jx.cn; gchliao@189.com

Website: www.mrlsd.org.cn