07 Jun
2006 - Anqing, China – A WWF project has resulted
in the simultaneous opening of several sluice
gates that are reconnecting eight lakes to the
Yangtze River. The move is the first step in restoring
natural ecological processes that will help heal
the degraded Central and Lower wetland ecosystem.
"Lakes will once again
be able to act as natural sponges, absorbing water
during the flood seasons, releasing water during
the dry season, and purifying water all year around,"
Dr Zhu Jiang, WWF-HSBC Yangtze Programme Officer
with WWF China.
"Large-scale reconnection
of the Central and Lower Yangtze will be of tremendous
benefit to both wildlife and people who depend
on the Yangtze’s natural resources."
The Yangtze River is the world’s
third longest, with its basin covering an area
of 1.8 million km2. The vast area of the Central
and Lower Yangtze once acted as a natural sponge
to soak up flood waters during the rainy season.
However, dyke and embankment building along the
river has seriously disrupted natural processes
across the basin. The natural links of more than
100 lakes have been cut off from the Yangtze during
the last five decades due to unsustainable practices
such as land reclamation, dyke building, and over
populated urban settlements along its waters.
This has greatly disrupted the Yangtze, once a
vibrant, complex network of river, wetlands and
lakes.
WWF believes that a practical
solution is to reform the existing sluice gate
(dyke gate) management regime, which currently
mainly serves agricultural needs and addresses
flood control issues in reclaimed lake areas.
Previous sluice gate openings
in other parts of China, such as in Lake Zhangdu,
have resulted in a total fish yield increase of
17 per cent in 2005. Fourteen native species have
been successfully introduced into the lake and
nine fish species that had previously died out
in the area have returned.
"Better sluice gate management,
together with addressing farmers’ livelihoods,
fisheries and water quality, will help heal degraded
wetland and aquatic ecosystems in the Yangtze,"
Zhu added.
To achieve these goals and provide
solutions for China’s decision-makers, the WWF-HSBC
Yangtze Programme has been working to restore
the "web of life" along the Yangtze
River since 2002. In addition to re-linking isolated
lakes and introducing fish fry at Zhangdu Lake,
Hong Lake and Tian’e-Zhou Oxbow in Hubei Province
and Baidang Lake in Anhui Province, the project
is also helping to restore wetland habitats for
displaced migratory and endemic birds and fish,
reduce water pollution and establish key protected
areas for the region’s most endangered species.
The project is introducing sustainable alternative
livelihoods, such eco-fisheries, eco-tourism,
and growth of aquatic vegetables, for local communities.
END NOTES:
• Established in 1865 in Hong
Kong and Shanghai, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation (HSBC) Limited has always been involved
in the welfare of the communities it serves. Since
it began to track donations for mainland China,
more than RMB150 million covering the areas of
disaster relief, community welfare, vocational
training, environment and education has been recorded.
In 2002, the HSBC Group established the five-year
Investing in Nature Programme, which supports
a range of conservation initiatives around the
world. The WWF-HSBC Yangtze Programme is one of
these initiatives.
• The WWF-HSBC freshwater initiative
seeks to restore natural ecological processes
between the Yangtze and obstructed lakes. Last
year, the initiative was instrumental in the opening
of four isolated Yangtze River lakes, benefiting
448km2 of wetlands. One year later, 800km2 of
Anqing lakes have been connected with the Yangtze.
WWF’s initiative has also helped shaped new national
aquatic resource policy. On 14 February 2006,
the "restore river-lake connections and adopt
fish fry introduction practice" was incorporated
into a national policy to conserve aquatic resources.
