Restore the beauty of rivers & lakes
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This is Roundtable.

On this Environment Day, China set sail on an inspiring journey to restore rivers and lakes from shore to source. What does it take to bring a river back to life? And how can the public ride the current of this transformation? Coming to you live from Beijing, this is Roundtable. I'm He Yang. For today's program, I'm joined by Steve Hatherly and Gao Junya in the studio. First on today's show...

June 5th isn't just World Environment Day. It's also China's own day to reflect on and commit to ecological progress. This year, the spotlight is on rivers and lakes, with a sweeping action plan aiming to make 40% of China's waters beautiful by 2027. But this isn't just about cleaner water. It's about vibrant life, scenic beauty, and community participation.

So let's take a look at the River Protection Action Plan. Could you help us go through it? Yes. China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment unveiled a fresh action plan actually just last month to protect and restore rivers and lakes across the country. And based on the plan,

It integrates the management of water resources, water environment, and water ecology. The plan sets the goal of completing 40% of the Beautiful Rivers and Lakes Initiative by 2027.

achieving significant progress by 2030 and full completion by 2035. That's 10 years away. Yeah, so they refer to this as the Beautiful Rivers and Lakes Initiative. Now, you might be asking, well, what does that actually mean? A

beautiful river or lake. Well, under the plan, it's defined as one with sustained ecological flow, also intact or restored ecological functions in surrounding buffer zones. And by having that buffer zone, you're effectively protecting the biodiversity there. Also controlled pollutant discharges and water quality that is really improved, fundamentally improved or maintained at excellent levels. It also...

has the idea of spaces that meet public expectations for scenic and recreational use. So that was taken into account as well, what people want and what people expect when they go out to experience a beautiful piece of nature. Yes, indeed. And also a big part of the plan is to restore aquatic ecosystems. And that sounds like something pretty big.

You know, I'm surprised because they aim to make 40% of China's water beautiful by 2027. Because personally, I thought maybe China has already achieved that goal. I don't know. So far, it's less than 40%. I can't believe that because I think our surroundings, the rivers and waters, I think we can see by ourselves they're improving all the time.

And I think we've been telling by many friends their own stories, especially foreign friends, their own observations on China's improvement in terms of water protection. And for example, I was actually working on a climate-related podcast and I was talking to the former president

Under Secretary General of the United Nations. He's also the acting director of United Nations Environment Program, Eric Solheim. And I think he has many, so many examples to share because he first arrived in China back in 1980.

And over the years, he's been witnessing all the positive improvements. He's given us an example. There was this milk river back in Zhejiang province. Why is it milk? Because it was polluted by industries. And now, we can't believe it. It's become drinkable water. Oh, really? Yes. So...

Plenty of examples like that. Yeah, and it's about protecting aquatic life too. That's what they want to do. They want to restore habitats. They want to improve flood control. They want to improve drainage systems. They also want to curb what they call eutrophication in lakes and reservoirs.

that means excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water. And that's due to the runoff from the land a lot of the time. And that causes a lot of really dense... Perhaps you've seen it along a riverbank or around a lake where you'll have this really dense growth of plant life and death of animal life, and that's because of a lack of oxygen. So that's part of the goal too. Yes, and unfortunately we've seen...

a few pretty iconic lakes in China that went through this detrimental phase. But the great news is after a lot of effort being put in, a few of these rivers now have seen

much clearer water quality. And these are things that we can definitely go through some of these examples in the later part of today's discussion. And while the world marks Environment Day with a global focus, China adds its own meaning to June 5th. So how did this date take root? And what does it reflect about China's environmental journey? Let's go from the world.

aspect first. Yeah, so this is from UNEP.org talking about World Environment Day. It's the biggest international day for the environment and yes it is indeed led by the United Nations Environment Program or UNEP. They've held it annually since 1973 so this has a really long history and it's grown to be the largest global platform for environmental outreach and

And it is indeed celebrated by millions of people all around the world. And the event this year is taking place in Korea, and they're hosting World Environment Day 2025. And the focus this time around is on ending plastic pollution globally, getting rid of the planet's plastic problem. It's an important contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, included

including those on climate action and sustainable production and consumption and protection of seas and oceans and also repairing ecosystems and retaining biodiversity. They're holding it this year in Jeju, on Jeju Island in Korea. That's an island south of the country. And I've been there a few times. It's a beautiful place. It looks like it's a naturally protected environment. So I think it's a wonderful location there.

to have this year's event. And the theme is beat plastic pollution. Plastic pollution has been a huge problem plaguing the world. And could you give us an update on status quo now?

Yes, plastic pollution actually permeates every corner of the planet, even in our bodies in the form of microplastics. We talked about that on Roundtable one episode. And right now, actually, more than 400 million tons of plastic is produced every year worldwide, and half of which is designed to be used only once. And of that, less than 10% is recycled.

Yes, and an estimated 11 million tons end up in lakes, rivers, and seas annually. This is terrible. It's terrible, and if those numbers don't make sense to you, we can put it in this context. That's about the approximate weight of 2,200 Eiffel Towers all together. It's really shocking, and it is, yeah, a problem, as you said, Junya, that permeates every corner of the planet. Discarded.

burnt single-use plastic. It harms human health. It harms biodiversity. It pollutes every ecosystem from mountaintops all the way down to the ocean floors. And as I mentioned, we talked about microplastics on Roundtable on one episode.

Those are those little tiny plastic particles that are up to five millimeters in diameter, and they find their way into... Everything. Places where we don't even suspect it'll be there. Food, water, air. Chewing gum, I think, was one of the surprising things that we talked about on that particular show. It's estimated... This is a little alarming as well. It's estimated that each person on the planet consumes more than 50,000 plastic particles per year...

Many more if inhalation is considered. So you mean breathing in. Yeah. Thanks for reminding me of this terrible state that we are in. But considering that today is World Environment Day, so not only do we hear or raise awareness on these big, important environmental issues, then it'd be great if we could see more action.

Well, and we are seeing action. And I actually had a peek around at some different news outlets to see what they were reporting on for this year's event. And one of the things that I found, this is from Travel and Tour World, the green revolution has been ignited across the global travel industry. And there were a few examples that they talked about. You know, aviation is kind of like the...

The elephant in the eco room, if you want to put it like that. But this year, 2025, it's proving to be a pivotal year, according to that outlet. Major airlines, they're accelerating their fleet upgrades. They're replacing older aircraft with fuel efficient models. These jets can burn less fuel. They can emit fewer pollutants and offer better long haul performance.

That's one example. The hospitality sector, they're no longer treating sustainability as a luxury, but it's treating it as a necessity. I'm not sure if you've seen in your travels recently where you'll, you know, if you're looking through lists of hotels for a possibility to stay.

You'll see these eco-friendly hotels that are all about sustainability. They're all about being nice to the planet. And we're seeing a lot of movement in the hospitality sector that way as well. A lot of major hotel chains are making moves.

And then finally, a lot of popular destinations, they're feeling the pressure and then they're responding with purpose too. Italy, for example, has introduced new crowd control measures in Venice. Peru has announced stricter entry protocols from Machu Picchu to ensure preservation of the ancient site there. And also in India, the Ministry of Tourism, they've launched new sustainability training programs for local guides. So it's not just about lakes and rivers.

It's also about the travel industry and what the industry as a whole can do to better protect our planet. And what,

Yes, and I think every action matters, right? So we can start from ourselves to take small actions and maybe it will make a big difference. I think all of us here in the studio, we are using our own water bottle instead of drinking those water from the plastic bottles. And if we travel to a certain hotel, maybe we're bringing our own, I don't know, toothpaste.

Yes, slippers, things like that. It will help to reduce pollution. Yeah, definitely. And also on June the 5th, this day in China, there's our own theme that is, you know, about the river and lake protection. What else is happening in China on this day?

Well, this actually goes back to 2014, when China officially included June 5th as the annual Environment Day in its environmental protection law. And this, giving this global event kind of a Chinese connotation, if you will. And this year's event, it's held in the southwestern part of the country in Chongqing municipality.

And it showcases achievements in ecological protection and also promoting ecological culture. And it calls on society as a whole to promote and to protect ecological civilization. There have been a lot of achievements, I think, in the very beautiful country called China.

Yeah, the Beautiful Rivers and Lakes Initiative is a key chapter in the larger story of beautiful China, a national vision that also takes center stage on this year's Environment Day. But what does building a beautiful China truly mean when it comes to our water?

Well, there's another report from China Daily from April of this year, and it talked about the fact that China uses a five-tier system for surface water quality. So grade one would be the best.

And water graded at or above grade 3 is considered fairly good and suitable for most aquatic organisms. To go over some figures and maybe an example or two, back in 2024, almost 91%, 90.4% to be specific,

of surface water was found to be at or above grade three and that's up one percentage point from the year prior and that was a big deal because it marked the first time that the proportion exceeded 90%. The Minister of Ecology and the Environment highlighted the significant progress that was made in pollution control at one particular lake called Taihu, if I'm saying that correctly.

That's the country's third largest freshwater lake in the lower Yangtze River region. And then another area, the Songhua River in northeast China as well. And back in 2024, the quality of water in Taihu Lake, it reached the level of being fairly good for the first time in the past 30 years. Well done. I really want to...

Clap my hands because as a Chinese citizen and following environmental news, I remember a few years back, Taihu was reported to experience...

that eutrophication issue and the locals were so distraught by the fact. And just imagine this is a big lake and then you live nearby, big cities are nearby, and then everybody is experiencing this terrible view as well as smell. And just think about the kind of environmental problem that could be. But now that's all gone.

Yeah, and the minister outlined a range of measures that contributed to the positive progress there, including sustained efforts to minimize pollution from coal burning. In 2024, ultra-low emission upgrades were completed for 130 million metric tons of crude steel production capacity.

On top of that, about 2 million rural households in northern China shifted from burning coal to using clean fuels for home heating. And nationwide, 17,000 kilometers of sewage pipelines were constructed or renovated last year as well. Black and odorous water bodies, they were eliminated in cities at and above the prefecture level. And 80% of such water bodies in county levels or county seats were cleaned out.

And he also said that around 1,440 tailing ponds at the Yangtze River Economic Belt and 360 such ponds in the Yellow River Basin were effectively treated. That's a lot of work being done and being done effectively.

Yes. And as we were doing research, I have to confess, tailing ponds was the first time did I come across this term. And I did a little bit of digging. So it is a man-made structure.

storage facility, often resembling a large lake or reservoir, used to store the waste materials, and that's the tailings, generated during mining operations. And these tailings, typically a mixture of ground rock, minerals, and water, are deposited

in the pond for controlled containment and management. Tailing ponds matter a lot because they help manage the environmental impact of mining by preventing the release of potentially harmful materials into the environment. And in China, we are a huge country with a huge population and we have massive natural resources reserves, including mining is a big part of it. But

But when you do the per capita calculation, then actually it isn't very much. And these are some of the really big issues that the country has been grappling with. And it is great to see that there are these new developments to help the environment.

Yes, and speaking of coal burning, you know, my hometown was actually 90 kilometers away from the coal capital of China, which is...

Which is Shanxi province. Yes, Datong City. It's 90 kilometers away from it. I think it's just the greater Datong zone. And when I grew up, it's just everywhere. It's just coal, coal in trains or taking coals to the seaside. And we are using coals in our daily life, be it cooking or taking showers.

But now, you know, the high-speed railway from Beijing to Datong is actually almost every weekend is fully booked because people are now traveling to Datong. Datong has set a very good example in terms of reducing pollution, in terms of improving its air quality.

be it air quality, water quality, and environment. And it has its, of course, it has its historical relics, but most importantly, its natural environment is improving and people are enjoying it. Is it still a coal-based city? Economy. Economy? I think it's changing, but still, maybe on the larger part, still coal-based. Yeah. See, this is something that I beg the world to reaffirm

read more, spend a little bit more time listening to our show, for example, and just to learn a little bit more about China's situation in the sense that a lot of, as I, you know, have been doing some reporting throughout the years and engaged in some of the international exchange programs, etc. For example, like an average person sitting in a nice house in Europe, perhaps,

would question, why don't you just switch off coal altogether in China? And it's not that easy for China, nor is it for a lot of European countries either, if we're just talking about flipping the switch. Because here in China, actually, this is something that

My international peers don't always understand. Sometimes we talk about, okay, we're refining our technology and making it far less pollutant in using coal. And that is a huge development for China because we can't, we simply cannot afford to completely abandon coal overnight, although we've been trying to phase it out. So that's, I think, part of what...

Junya has been sort of referring to as well. And there's less use of coal, more efficient use of coal. And we're trying our best to switch to greener energies. And this is all happening at the same time. And let's talk more about

the environment protection in China. Restoring rivers and lakes is a powerful step towards ecological recovery. But clean waters is not only, it's

is perhaps only part of the picture. What about the air we breathe? Yeah. Yeah. Also an important part of the environment, right? Again, this is from that China Daily report from April of this year. The average density of PM2.5 particulate matter in major cities nationwide reached 29.3 micrograms per cubic meter

in 2024 compared to the annual target of 32.2 micrograms. It was also noted that major cities experienced fairly good air quality, defined as an index below 100 on the 0-500 air quality scale. On 87.2

percent of days in 2024 that's an improvement of 1.7 percentage points year on year and 0.3 percentage points higher than the yearly goal so air air quality is improving um

You see that number, 87.2% of decent air quality in 2024, and that's an increase from the year before, proving that the country's headed in the right direction. And living here in Beijing, I'll be honest, before I moved here, you know, the kind of...

I guess the kind of stereotype globally, I don't know. I don't even know if that's fair to say, but I guess I had it in my mind. Oh, I, the air quality is going to be bad every single day. And I've lived here for almost one year now. And I can say, yep, there are days where it's bad. There's no question about that. Springtime is a, is a tough time of year.

But once you get into the summer and fall, it's gorgeous. Yeah. Blue skies, beautiful white clouds overhead. And I must say, that was a really pleasant surprise after moving here because, of course, you know, you believe some of the stereotypes that you hear. Yeah. Well, for the years back, I remember in Chinese media and international media, there were lots of these reports that usually have the

illustration of a really smoggy day or a site in the news report of somewhere in Beijing. And that was true to a certain extent. But if you've lived in China for the last 10 years like I have, then you'll see, at least in Beijing,

The improvement has been visible and significant. And there's been so much effort going into fighting air pollution. And that means a lot of people had to choose. Well, actually, this is more of a government effort to switch from coal fire power plants to clean energy, right?

And some went for natural gas and others. So, yeah, this is a united effort and it's not done overnight. And we're sort of reporting along the way to our listeners as we go through this process. And with June 5th now deeply rooted in China's environmental calendar, it's only fitting that the year's spotlight falls on Chongqing.

a municipality that's quietly leading by example in all these different frontiers of environmental protection. What stood out to you guys?

From Chongqing, yeah, this is from the People's Daily. They've made some really great efforts in advancing the Beautiful China initiative. Last year, the water quality of the Chongqing section of the mainstream of the Yangtze River remained excellent for the eighth consecutive year. Well done there. Also, the number of days with good air quality reached 333, which is also a really significant number. The

city itself, Chongqing, has inspected over 1,200 rivers and identified 15,000 pollutant discharge outlets into rivers. So using what they called the Bayou Water Governance Big Data Platform, they've built this digital monitoring system for discharge outlets that

And that enables intelligent long-term oversight. And the city promotes joint river management and deepens horizontal ecological compensation mechanisms, ensuring that those who protect the environment are benefiting from it. And those who damage it, well, they have to

kind of compensate for that. Yes. And the vision of a beautiful China is grand, but it also comes down to everyday choices. So what can individuals do to turn this vision into reality? One action at a time. Yeah. What can everyday people do?

Oh, well, I think there's plenty that we can do. You can reduce, you can reuse, and you can recycle. I remember learning that in my school days, right? The three R's to conserve natural resources. But that's kind of the stuff that we hear about, like I said, in our schools. You could volunteer. You could volunteer to help cleanups in your community. You can get involved in your community.

In your town or your city, probably a search on the internet will lead you where you can volunteer and spend some time there and some energy. You could also educate yourself. Knowing what you can do and what others can do can help understand the importance and value of our natural resources and of our planet.

Yeah, I've been talking about taking our own cattle, taking our toothpaste, toothbrushes. But the one thing that I can't resist is shopping online and all the parcels, you know, the packages. Too much pollution, I think, to the environment. But I don't know. I think the government or even the producers, at the beginning, they need to figure out a certain way

to package it maybe not in that much plastic, just make it more environmental friendly. I don't know. Well, that's certainly one regulation that is already in place, that there's a guideline on, well...

to stop the over-packaging issue, I suppose. It's such a challenge. You know, I remember when I lived in Korea, one of the things that I would do when I would go to the grocery store and buy, I don't know, bananas, for example. The bananas are packaged...

in a styrofoam base and then they have this other kind of styrofoam around them to protect them, to keep them healthy. And then that's all wrapped in a plastic wrap. So what I would do is I would go to pay and when I paid, I would take off all of the plastic

And I would just give it to the cashier and then just put the bananas in my bag and go. But I don't think she will reuse it. No, and she definitely didn't appreciate it. But I think the point that I was trying to make very ineffectively is that, hey, you know, customers...

we don't need this. Now that's from a customer's point of view. Why that's so difficult is because they have to get the bananas to the grocery store in a condition that's good enough that customers will buy it. So I, listen, if I knew the solution, I'd probably be working in some high up government organization, but, uh,

It is something that needs to be solved. I just think we haven't solved it yet. Yeah. Well, you know, your customer reaction, if that company is smart enough, should take note. And, you know, you've got this bottom up demand and there should be also the top down action as well. And a lot of the policymaking, which is happening now.

at this moment, will further target, you know, these environmental issues that we've brought to your attention today and hopefully come up with better policy in that sense. And of course, implementation is always key. And, you

This is such a big topic. And I guess for kind hearted, goodwill people, we try our best. I always try to keep this in mind is that number one, we're all roommates sharing the same apartment. If we think of the globe as an apartment and we don't own it.

Right. We don't own planet Earth. We're almost renting it in a sense or living here for free. So it deserves to be treated with respect. If you stayed at your friend's house, you'd clean up after yourself, wouldn't you? Then why don't you do that for the planet, too?

Yes, in the end, safeguarding rivers and lakes and the air isn't just a government mandate. It is a societal shift. It asks us to look at the environment not as a resource to be consumed, but as a living ecosystem that we belong to.