On average, 20 lakes disappear in our country each year; experts criticize citizens’ bad habits [transcribed]

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On November 2, the 13th World Lakes Conference opened at the Wuhan Convention and Exhibition Center. More than 1,500 authoritative experts, officials, and representatives from 45 countries around the world gathered in Wuhan to explore effective solutions for lake management and protection. 　　The organizing committee of the conference stated that the fresh water resources available for direct use by humans account for only 0.01% of the total water volume on Earth ； The global population will reach 9 billion by 2050, and as early as 2008, 1.8 billion people did not have access to enough water ； In the 21st century, it is water that humanity will fight over, not oil ； Saving lakes is saving ourselves. 　　This conference will focus on exchanges and discussions on more than 30 topics, including \"The impact of global warming on lake environments and research on new issues and mechanisms,\" \"Fundamental research on the mechanisms and approaches for controlling water pollution in lake basins,\" and \"Strategies, policies, and regulations for managing the water environment in lake basins.\" 　　During the conference, the World Lake Conference will also hold a special “Governors’ Dialogue” and a “Mayors’ Forum”, as well as thematic events on lake and wetland conservation for youth from China, Japan, and South Korea. Finally, the conference will bring together the academic achievements and views expressed by Chinese and foreign participants during the event, to issue the \"Wuhan Declaration\" calling on the world to allow lakes to rest and recover. 　　On average, 20 lakes disappear in our country each year. Reporters learned at the World Lakes Conference yesterday that the rapid development of our country over the past 20 years has come at a high cost, particularly in terms of the severe depletion of lake resources. 　　According to information provided by the conference organizing committee, over the past 50 years, China has lost around 1,000 inland lakes, with an average of 20 natural lakes disappearing each year across the country. Hubei Province, which was once known as the \"Province of a Thousand Lakes\" in history, now has a lake area of 2,438.6 square kilometers, which is only 34% of what it was in the 1950s. Currently, the number of lakes in the province with an area of over 1 square kilometer has dropped to 217, a reduction of over 58% compared to 522 in the 1950s. 　　“The ecology of freshwater lakes in our country is already extremely fragile; 14,000 square kilometers of lakes are eutrophic or on the verge of becoming eutrophic, and algal blooms occur from time to time. At yesterday’s conference, Liu Hongliang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences, expressed concern, stating that among the 43 lakes surveyed in 2007, 27 were in an eutrophic state, with 12 lakes including Taihu Lake, Chaohu Lake, and Dianchi Lake being in a state of severe eutrophication. 　　He believes that lake management is not only a wastewater treatment project but also an ecological project; it should adopt a watershed-based approach, optimize the economy of the watershed based on its environmental carrying capacity, and shift from an approach where the environment and the economy are seen as opposing forces to one in which the environment facilitates economic development. 　　Experts criticize citizens’ poor living habits. “The challenge in lake management lies not in preventing pollution, but in the quality of citizens; especially, littering causes the greatest damage to lakes.” ”Yesterday, Walter Rast, deputy chair of the Scientific Committee of the International Lake Environment Committee, said in an interview with reporters that bad habits in daily life have become obstacles to the treatment of lake pollution. 　　Walter Rast said that there are mainly two sources of pollution in lakes: sewage pipes from enterprises and residential areas. The solution to this is quite simple – one just needs to **build sewage collection pipes and wastewater treatment plants** ； Another source of pollution is the large amount of waste that ends up in the lake; some household waste does not decompose easily, causing significant pollution to the lake. In fact, this trash wasn’t intentionally thrown into the lake by citizens; it was discarded on the roads and washed into the lake area after it rained. 　　Currently, some **regions are attempting to separate rainwater and sewage pipes before sending them to wastewater treatment plants, but such investments are extremely large. The most direct and effective approach is to make citizens aware of its importance and to avoid littering casually. 　　When lakes fall ill, they need to be treated using \"traditional Chinese medicine\". The theme of this World Lakes Conference is \"to allow lakes to rest and recover,\" and this concept with a strong Chinese flavor was highly endorsed by experts and scholars from around the world during the discussions held yesterday. 　　Despite significant investment in human, material, and financial resources, little progress has been made in controlling lake eutrophication, a challenge faced by lake management around the world. 　　In response to this, Zhang Yongchun, deputy director of the Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences under the Ministry of Environmental Protection, believes that this is because there is currently no scientific, systematic, and comprehensive approach to addressing lake eutrophication; efforts are still largely reactive, dealing with problems as they arise. 　　“Lake restoration cannot be achieved overnight; it does not yield immediate results from a single investment. Even in developed countries, it takes at least 20 to 30 years for lakes polluted to recover slowly. Therefore, when a lake becomes sick, it should be gradually restored using \"Traditional Chinese Medicine\" methods. 　　What people need to do is create the conditions to help lake ecosystems recover naturally. These tasks include sewage removal, aeration, sediment cleaning, as well as the control of aquaculture, fishing, traffic, tourism, and other development activities, in order to allow the lake to rest and regain its vitality. For example, Wuxi plans to shut down 772 chemical plants this year to eliminate the source of pollution in Taihu Lake ； Suzhou City released over 1.6 million fry of fish such as silver carp and bighead carp into the main waterways of Taihu Lake, allowing them to feed on plankton and effectively controlling the blue-green algae in that area of the lake. 　　When discussing how to \"treat\" Donghu, the largest lake in the city, Zhang Yongchun believes that for a super-large lake like Donghu, the top priority is to prevent pollution from entering it. Only by controlling the sources of pollution and then gradually removing the pollutants through methods such as water exchange, aquaculture, and plant decomposition can lakes recover and regain their vitality.