China exhibits successful water protection policies, says Turkish expert

Aerial photo taken on Sept. 21, 2022 shows a bird habitat in Baiyangdian Lake in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Zhu Xudong)

China has taken concrete steps to protect its water resources and restore harmonious ecological systems.

ISTANBUL, April 1 (Xinhua) -- China successfully exhibits an agricultural policy based on properly protecting its own water resources, setting an example to the world, a prominent Turkish expert on water has said.

With a large-scale agricultural production and rapid economic development, water protection has tremendous importance for China and the rest of the world, said Murat Kapikiran, head of the Istanbul Chamber of Agricultural Engineers.

"Although the north of China is poorer regarding agricultural water or water resources, the country saw that the solution lies in industrial irrigation systems," he said. "And China started to produce, develop and use industrial irrigation systems in its own country to be able to switch to irrigated agriculture to a large extent."

Speaking about China's Yellow River Protection Law, which took effect on Saturday, the expert said it is priceless to protect the ecological environment of this asset, the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world, with both domestic and global impacts.

"This protection has many dimensions. In addition to ensuring the transition to more closed pressurized and economical irrigation systems in agricultural irrigation, protecting the Yellow River's historical and cultural psychological aspects was also essential," said Kapikiran.

This photo taken on March 12, 2022 shows the view of Gyaring Lake at the Yellow River source region of Sanjiangyuan National Park in northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Xinhua/Lyu Xueli)

In his view, protecting the river and its environment in light of tourism and cultural and sociological elements provides a tremendous economic resource for the country.

"Because many aquatic creatures live here," he said, "the surrounding ecosystem is precious and contains a large number of species."

In Kapikiran's view, despite China's rapid industrial development, its efforts to reduce the amount of grey water (polluted water) through a series of conservation decisions are of great significance for the country and beyond.

China has taken concrete steps to protect its water resources and restore harmonious ecological systems. The Chinese government has been coordinating efforts to improve aquatic environments, water resources, and aquatic ecosystems and strengthen the ecological conservation of major rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, as well as eliminate black, malodorous water bodies in cities.

The pollutant discharge keeps declining while water quality levels improve. Good-quality surface water -- at or above Grade III in China's five-tier system -- accounted for 87.9 percent of the country's total last year, up from 67.9 percent five years ago.

All the main streams of the Yangtze River, the country's longest waterway, have had Grade-II-quality water for three consecutive years, and the Yellow River tested at the Grade-II level for the first time in 2022.