The below speech presented during the 4th Annual #WorldWaterDay virtual panel of the Light Millennium Global, which titled , “THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY OF WATER, AGRICULTURE & FOOD: WATER FOR PEACE” held on 03/24/2024.

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By Prof. Yang JIANCHU, Institute of Sustainable Development, Huzhou Normal University, China

D e a r Ms. B i r c a n U n v e r, Mr. O l c a y U n v e r, Dr. V i n y a A r i y a r a t n e, l a d i e s a n d gentlemen, good morning!

[LMGlobal.Org] I am Yang Jianchu from the Institute of Sustainable Development at Huzhou Normal University, Zhejiang, China. Ihave been engaged in theoretical research and practical advocacy in the fields of ecological civilization and environmental protection. I am delighted to have the opportunity to attend the 4th Annual
Conference of World Water Day organized by the Light Millennium, where we will discuss the theme “Water for Peace” with friends from around the globe online. This week marks the 37th “China Water Week,” with the theme “Carefully Manage and Make Good Use of Water Resources, Strictly and Carefully Govern Water Resources.

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Water is the source of life and crucial for human survival. Currently, on one hand, humanity is facing water scarcity, while on the other hand, over 420 billion tons of various types of sewage are discharged into rivers, lakes, and seas globally every year. In response to this situation, my hometown of Huzhou City, Zhejiang, China, has vigorously promoted environmental protection efforts, ensuring that our living
environment remains characterized by “green mountains and clear rivers.”

My hometown, Huzhou, is named for its proximity to Taihu Lake, the third largest freshwater lake in China. It is the birthplace of President Xi Jining’s concept of “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” Huzhou is also the birthplace of beautiful countryside and a pioneer of green development. It is actively building itself into a model city of ecological civilization and was designated as an international cooperation demonstration zone for ecological civilization at the COP15 conference in 2022. “Beautiful China, Dynamic Huzhou” has become a well-known urban brand both at home and abroad.

Over seven hundred years ago, the poet Dai Biaoyuan wrote the poem “Mountains gather in clusters from Tianmu, water flows alongside Taihu dividing into ports, traveling across the beautiful land of Jiangnan, life is only suitable for residing in Huzhou.” The line “water flows alongside Taihu dividing into ports” refers to Lougang Irrigation and Drainage System of Taihu Lake Basin, which Iam about to
share with you today.

In ancient times, the southern shore of Taihu Lake was a marshland and mudflat area unsuitable for human habitation. More than 2300 years ago, the ancestors of Taihu Lake began to build embankments and dig channels to drain the water in the areas along the lake. About 1700 years ago, people excavated Lougang on the mudflats of Taihu Lake, separating the water and soil, and new land began to emerge. The excavated mud was piled up around, forming embankments resembling city walls, which people called “wei”. Water flowed outside the wei, and fields formed inside, creating the Lougang Irrigation and Drainage System of Taihu Lake Basin.

Since the 11th century, our ancestors, during the construction of the Lougang water conservancy project, creatively piled up the excavated soil from the riverbed into embankments. They planted rice in the fertile fields and mounds, bred aquatic products in the low-lying marshes and ponds within the fields, and raised silkworms to feed on mulberry leaves on the banks of the ponds. They used silkworm waste to
feed the aquatic animals and utilized the sediment from the water as fertilizer for rice fields, vegetable plots, and mulberry orchards. This created a sustainable ecological agricultural system known as “raising fish in the ponds, planting mulberry trees along the pond banks, using mulberry leaves to feed silkworms, feeding silkworm waste to fish, using fish waste to fertilize the ponds, and using pond sediment to fertilize mulberry trees”. This system has fostered the picturesque landscape of the southern Taihu Lake region, known as “fields and ponds extending for miles,” and has nurtured Huzhou, a prosperous land known as the “land of fish and rice” and the “silk capital.”

The formation and development of Lougang polders and mulberry fish ponds exemplify the successful practice of ancient ancestors of Taihu Lake in understanding, respecting, and harmonizing with nature, as well as in transforming and coexisting harmoniously with it. They elucidate the social function of water
conservancy in reconciling human-water conflicts and serve as a scientific model for circular economy and ecological agriculture. These practices have extremely high ecological and economic value.

On November 8, 2016, during the 67th Executive Council of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the Lougang Irrigation and Drainage System of Taihu Lake Basin was included in the list of World Heritage Irrigation Structure. On November 23, 2017, the “mulberry fish pond system in Huzhou, Zhejiang” was included in the Global Important Agricultural
Heritage Systems (GIAHS) by expert review of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). On April 19, 2018, during the Global Forum on Agricultural Heritage held in Rome, Italy, the “mulberry fish pond system in Huzhou, Zhejiang” was officially awarded the GIAHS certificate by the FAO.

Since 2014, Huzhou City has established the Leadership Group for the Protection and Utilization of Lougang Water Conservancy Heritage in Taihu Lake, carrying out comprehensive protection of Lougang, vigorously promoting the culture of Lougang polder and mulberry fish pond, integrating them into primary school classrooms, practical education, and including them in the content of beautiful countryside construction. On June 6, 2022, we established the “Lougang Little Guardians Brigade” and held an event themed “Protecting the World Heritage of Lougang Irrigation and Drainage System of Taihu Lake Basin, Building a Green, Low-Carbon, and Prosperous Homeland”. The aim is to cultivate children’s sense of responsibility for protecting hometown water resources, safeguarding the unique culture of Lougang, and continuously enhancing their sense of social responsibility, making efforts to build a green, low-carbon world. The then China Special Envoy for Climate Change, Xie Zhenhua, sent a congratulatory letter, saying, “I congratulate you on establishing the Lougang Little Guardians Brigade to protect the World Heritage of Lougang Irrigation and Drainage System of Taihu Lake Basin! Lougang is a precious heritage left by our ancestors to the people of Taihu Lake. It belongs to Huzhou and to t h e world!

Protecting and inheriting t h e World Heritage of Lougang Irrigation and Drainage System of Taihu Lake Basin is the responsibility of every person in Huzhou, and the Lougang Little Guardians should play the role of little masters. I hope you will study ecological civilization knowledge seriously, cultivate good habits of loving nature, conserving resources, and protecting the environment from an early age, let the concept of green development take root in your hearts, and become guardians and builders of a beautiful homeland when you grow up. Salute t o vou all!”

Today, there are still 66 well-preserved Lougang polders in Huzhou, with a total of 60,000 mu of mulberry fields and 150,000 mu of mulberry fish pond system. A beautiful blueprint for sustainable development of water, agriculture, and food is unfolding on the southern shore of Taihu Lake. The Lougang polder and mulberry fish pond system have become agricultural cultural experience areas and ecological agricultural tourism zones. You are welcome to visit Huzhou, where you can witness a beautiful China!

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