Category: Environment

The first tiny, no bigger than a grain of rice, half-translucent grey larva of the Yangtze sturgeon hatched on April 16, 2025, in the shallow waters of the Chishui River in SW China’s Guizhou. The adult sturgeons were released into the modified habitat on April 3, 2025, and fertilized eggs were observed on April 12, 2025. It is the first successful natural reproduction of the critically endangered Yangtze sturgeon in the wild in over two decades.

This breakthrough was the culmination of years of painstaking efforts by researchers from the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute under the China Three Gorges Corporation, and other institutions, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. https://www.facebook.com/jeff.mah.5/videos/696948593203867/?__cft__[0]=AZWbE99JbBmmdIpgvVhCCL0cVgglCWlYKTYJ7WKRZZ8XzL7d2v1znxzmcLrXmOuM5QyF-UReevFtGoVW_e3yHQLAjs-3UAtia2mMw_VuGlJPl7umkfor4cmvjckQVNH3nCxzIQgM-9sJ98IHPbx6n11FVFhQ6c-5jgpr2GJuWjOJNQ&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

Water diversion projects from Tibet to Xinjiang.

“Is there a water diversion project from Tibet to Xinjiang?”

“What is the feasibility of diverting water from Tibet to Xinjiang?”

“Environmental impact of water diversion from Tibet to Xinjiang”

“Technical challenges of Tibet to Xinjiang water diversion”

“Hongqi River Project”

“China’s water diversion plans western region”

“Water scarcity Xinjiang”

“Tibetan plateau water resources”

This will allow me to gather more specific details on the existence, feasibility, and impact of such a project.

There have been proposals and discussions in China about large-scale water diversion projects from the Tibetan Plateau to Xinjiang and other arid parts of Northwest China, with the “Hongqi River Project” (Red Flag River Project) being a prominent conceptual plan. However, it’s crucial to understand the current status and complexities surrounding such an undertaking.

The Concept of Water Diversion from Tibet to Xinjiang:

Motivation: The primary motivation behind these proposals is to address severe water scarcity in Xinjiang and other arid regions of Northwest China, which are crucial for agriculture, industry, and population growth. The idea is to tap into the abundant water resources of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, often referred to as Asia’s “water tower.”

Hongqi River Project: This is a conceptual proposal that has gained attention, aiming to annually divert massive amounts of water (up to 60 billion cubic meters) from major rivers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, including transnational rivers like the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra), Nu River (Salween), and Lancang River (Mekong), to Xinjiang and other northwestern provinces like Gansu and Ningxia. Proponents envision it creating vast arable land and oases.

Historical Ideas: The idea of diverting Tibetan water to Xinjiang dates back to the late 1950s, with prominent figures like meteorologist Zhu Kezhen advocating for it.

Challenges and Realities:

Feasibility and Cost: Experts and even some Chinese scientists have expressed significant skepticism about the feasibility and enormous cost of such projects. The “Hongqi River Project” alone is estimated to cost trillions of yuan (hundreds of billions of USD).

Engineering Challenges: The Tibetan Plateau’s high altitude, complex terrain, harsh frozen conditions, and seismic activity pose immense engineering hurdles. Proposed schemes involve building extremely high dams and tunneling through extensive mountain ranges, with some tunnels potentially stretching over 1,000 kilometers. The technological solutions for such large-scale and complex undertakings at high altitudes are largely untested.

Environmental Impact: There are significant concerns about the potential environmental consequences, both within China and for downstream countries that rely on these international rivers. The proposed diversion of large quantities of water could drastically alter ecosystems, impact biodiversity, and affect water security for millions of people in neighboring nations (e.g., India and Bangladesh for the Brahmaputra).

Socioeconomic Factors: The projects would necessitate massive resettlement of populations and involve complex social and economic considerations. The high cost of diverted water would also be a significant factor.

Official Denials: While proposals circulate, Chinese officials have, at times, denied the existence of concrete plans for a Tibet-Xinjiang water diversion project, often dismissing reports as “untrue.” They sometimes point to other, more localized water diversion projects (like the Dianzhong water diversion project in Yunnan) as separate from a Tibet-Xinjiang scheme.

“Madcap” Schemes: Some experts have characterized certain proposals as “madcap schemes” that owe more to fantasy than science, emphasizing the immense practical and environmental obstacles.

Current Status:

While the concept of diverting water from Tibet to Xinjiang remains a topic of discussion and theoretical study, there is no confirmed large-scale project currently under construction or officially approved for diverting water directly from the Tibetan Plateau to Xinjiang on the scale of the “Hongqi River Project.”

China is undertaking other massive water diversion projects, such as the South-North Water Transfer Project, which moves water from the Yangtze River basin to drier northern regions, and localized projects like those diverting snowmelt from the Altai Mountains to northern Xinjiang, and efforts to restore the Tarim River. These are distinct from the highly ambitious and debated Tibet-Xinjiang grand diversion.

In conclusion, while the idea of diverting water from Tibet to Xinjiang is a long-standing ambition in China to address water scarcity, particularly through concepts like the “Hongqi River Project,” its immense technical, economic, environmental, and geopolitical challenges mean it remains largely in the realm of discussion and theoretical exploration rather than an active, approved construction project. https://www.facebook.com/jeff.mah.5/videos/1206463457354298/?__cft__[0]=AZWV-AIZCB7rRYQ49mcGQyCdvbCvGu0-z85Da2En5FjKMcq0h8avHq3ZDJwEuQjDAb2dY835mXsVt7BXyDuNCUakW4KzIMfdb1Yy0HHqxfOg9YjcNtpZO8iq5QCKBK8JEZFLCTe08XAfS_INM6tL0bCy07kS1ygjreWETKRptFzn9Q&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

China unveiled its National Botanical Garden in Beijing on Monday as part of the country’s plan to preserve biodiversity. With a total planned area of nearly 600 hectares, the garden boasts more than 30,000 species of plants, accounting for 10 percent of the world’s total.

http://www.ecns.cn/news/cns-wire/2022-04-18/detail-ihaxmtii6884974.shtml

In a speech delivered on Saturday at the Climate Ambition Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping made three proposals:

1. to close ranks and make new advances in climate governance that features cooperation and win-win;
2. to raise ambition and foster a new architecture of climate governance where every party does its part; and

3. to boost confidence and pursue a new approach to climate governance that highlights green recovery.

China will lower its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by over 65 percent from the 2005 level, and increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 25 percent.
China will increase its forest stock volume by 6 billion cubic meters from the 2005 level, and bring its total installed capacity of wind and solar power to over 1.2 billion kilowatts

Chinese President Xi Jinping says China will aim to stop pumping additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by 2060.

Xi’s announcement during a speech Tuesday to the UN General Assembly is a significant step for the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and was immediately cheered by climate campaigners.

Calling for a green revolution, Xi said the coronavirus pandemic had shown the need to preserve the environment.

Humankind can no longer afford to ignore the repeated warnings of nature, he said.

Xi said his country would raise its emissions reduction targets with vigorous policies and measures. We aim to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.
中国将提高国家自主贡献力度，采取更加有力的政策和措施，二氧化碳排放力争于2030年前达到峰值，努力争取2060年前实现碳中和。