Int'l birdwatching week kicks off at China's largest freshwater lake

The first Poyang Lake International Birdwatching Week opened Saturday in East China's Jiangxi province to raise public awareness on wetlands and migratory birds protection. The event will last for five days in the cities of Nanchang, Jiujiang and Shangrao around Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake.

Poyang Lake is an important hub for migratory birds and hosts up to 700,000 wintering birds every year. Around 600 ornithologists, scholars and bird lovers, including representatives from the United Nations Environment Program, World Wildlife Fund and International Crane Foundation (ICF), attended Saturday's opening ceremony.

"China is an important country for cranes," said Spike Millington, the ICF vice president. "We greatly support China's ecological civilization philosophy and harmony with nature, which are so important in the global context."

Doug Watkins, chief executive of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership Secretariat, praised China's increasing consciousness in protecting its ecological environment over the past three decades. "The concept of ecological civilization is really making a major difference in China," said Watkins.

Watkins believes that China's experience in managing the wetlands of Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake is particularly valuable for developing countries as they are experiencing some of the issues that China had 20 years ago. A range of activities, including a photo exhibition of migratory birds and an international forum on migratory birds protection, will be held during the birdwatching week.