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Zhang Yijun, Chairman of ZEHO ECO, recently received an exclusive interview with the reporter of China Environment News during the second phase of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) held in Montreal, Canada. Zhang Yijun said that in the past 25 years, ZEHO ECO has always been positioned as a pioneer practitioner and educator in biodiversity conservation, contributing to the national action of biodiversity conservation by private enterprises.

On January 16, China Environment News published a full-page feature of ZEHO ECO © China Environment News

Be a Practitioner and Educator of Biodiversity Conservation

On December 7, 2022, the second phase of the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) launched in Montreal, Canada.

As a representative of Chinese enterprises, ZEHO ECO was invited again after the keynote speech of the first phase of COP15 to exchange and share at the China Day at the Pavilion for Subnational Governments & Cities on 13 December and the Chinese Pavilion on December 17, 2022.

Zhang Yijun said that in the past 25 years, ZEHO ECO has always been positioned as a pioneer practitioner and educator in biodiversity conservation, contributing to the national action of biodiversity conservation by private enterprises.

Zhang Yijun introduced ZEHO ECO‘s practice of biodiversity conservation at the Chinese Pavilion

01 Be a Pioneer in Biodiversity Conservation

“The Erhai project (the Ecological Restoration and Wetland Construction Project of the Lakeside Buffer Zone Around the Erhai Lake) is a very successful implementation of the Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in China. In the first phase of COP15, we made relevant sharing, and the response was very good.” Referring to this, Zhang Yijun, the chairman of the board, expressed her pride.

Over the years, ZEHO ECO has been committed to the practice of the field of habitat restoration and protection. It has positioned itself in the ecological restoration of “from rivers and lakes to the sea” with the concept of NbS, and has invested heavily in the research and development of relevant technologies. It has carried out active cooperation and co-construction with the Ministry of Ecological Environment, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other relevant departments and units, and supported the ecological protection practice of the whole process of planning, design, construction and operation with integrating production, research and research Integrated solutions are integrated into every project. In the design process, ZEHO ECO adheres to science, digitalization, innovation and multidisciplinary integration, and strives to protect and repair the diversity and dynamic balance of the land ecosystem, to realize the harmonious coexistence of human and nature; In the project's construction, ZEHO ECO adopts the ecological construction method of imitating nature to restore the natural environment, build the ecosystem and protect the biodiversity to the maximum extent.

Such persistence has yielded fruitful results in practice. In the project of ecological restoration and wetland construction in the lakeside buffer zone around the Erhai River basin, ZEHO ECO, based on the problems of non-point source pollution, habitat fragmentation and low public participation, has deeply explored the significance of biodiversity to protecting the Erhai Lake by reshaping the natural space, improving the healthy lake ecosystem, forming a sustainable self-management system, adding a low-disturbance service system, and protecting the natural sacred heritage of the Erhai Lake, Let nature do its work, create a natural, healthy and sustainable lakeside buffer zone for water purification and ecological recovery, and provide a technical model for the ecological restoration of the whole lakeside zone around the Erhai Lake. Today, the Erhai Lake has a vast expanse of blue water. The water of the blue lake is the same color as the sky. The biological proportion of “water quality vane” Ottelia Acuminata in 2020 has increased by 6 times compared to that in 2018, and the number of water birds has also increased significantly. Benefiting from the natural-based solution, the Erhai Lake Lakeside Buffer Zone has improved the quality of life of 770,000 residents in the surrounding area, directly increased the employment opportunities of about 6,000 local people, effectively responded to social challenges, effectively brought about ecological, economic and social composite benefits, improved the well-being of local people, and finally achieved sustainable low-carbon green development to protect the natural sacred heritage of Erhai Lake.

Ecological Restoration of Erhai lakeside Buffer Zone in Dali

The 'water quality vane' Ottelia acuminata returns to Erhai Lake

Improvement of Biodiversity in Erhai Lake, Dali

In recent years, through technological research and development and exploration, ZEHO ECO has gradually expanded the practice of ecological engineering methods from rivers and lakes to marine ecosystems, and has created several successful cases of coastal sea area governance, one of which is the “Blue Bay” project in Putian, Fujian. ZEHO ECO restores the natural habitat and enhances the blue carbon function by imitating the natural ecological construction method. Based on the analysis and simulation of the current data of natural habitat, water quality, hydrodynamics, etc., combined with the needs of the ecological environment and landscape pattern, various measures were taken according to local conditions, such as wetland restoration, rehabilitation of the beach, ecological transformation of the seawall, tide-taking in the inner bay, windbreak forest restoration, etc., to create a sustainable coastal water-land junction with ecological engineering methods such as soil meadow, shrub mat cutting, grid cutting, etc., and successfully renovated 29.8 kilometers of the coastline, we will renovate 6.2 square kilometers of sea area, repair 1.75 square kilometers of wetland, and build a “Blue Bay” ecological restoration demonstration area. The “ecological housekeeper” product developed by ZEHO ECO is also applied in the project. As Putian’s smart bay integrated management system, it can accurately monitor, collect and analyze environmental indicators such as water, air and soil in the coastal zone, dynamically monitor ecological indicators such as plant and animal species, and through carbon sink monitoring, carbon neutralization deduction evaluation and gross ecosystem production (GEP) accounting, it can provide for the restoration and construction of Putian coastal ecosystem Blue carbon measurement provides scientific data support.

Putian Blue Bay Egrets Fly Back

Putian Blue Bay Smart Bay Integrated Management System

As the latest practical achievement of “from rivers and lakes to the sea”, Guangzhou Lingshan Island Tip Project focuses on the marine restoration and mangrove restoration that has received considerable attention in recent years. ZEHO ECO combines the characteristics of regional hydrology and meteorology, and uses a variety of combined ecological engineering methods such as geocell, branch sinking bed, etc. to carry out ecological restoration on the coastal shoreline of tidal reach, adapt to the elastic demand of tidal changes, resist wave impact, create a healthy coastal ecosystem, provide a stable living environment for plants, and enrich coastal ecology. Of the total length of about 5.5 kilometers of shoreline, 4 kilometers of shoreline are designed by ecological engineering method, and the area of vegetation restoration reaches 2210500 square meters. After restoration, the biodiversity of the Lingshan Island Tip outer River in Lingshan Island has increased rapidly, and the intertidal vegetation has reached 17 species, including 8 species of mangrove and semi-mangrove plants, 9 species of aquatic plants. 6 species of benthos, including fiddler crabs, have been observed in the intertidal zone. The green plants distributed along the river are like a chain of emerald necklaces, dotted in the outer river area at the tip of Lingshan Island, forming an atmospheric and natural picture of the outer river green bank; Combined with the existing banded park in the embankment, it also presents a diversified waterfront experience space, which brings the relationship between people, water and city closer, and also promotes the construction of a local “natural city”.

The mangroves in the intertidal zone of Lingshan Island, Nansha, Guangzhou are thriving again

Low-interference habitat construction and biodiversity protection have helped to realize the value of ecological products, such as the Erhai Lake, a sacred natural heritage, and the Tangshan Nanhu Lake, which has turned from a coal mining subsidence area. In order to solve the brownfield problem in Nanhu City, ZEHO ECO focuses on the ecological treatment and ecological restoration of the waterfront, relying on the analysis of ecological base, based on the type of land use and geological conditions, and using the quasi-natural ecological construction method, combined with fly ash recycling, garbage landfill treatment, and ecological slope protection suitable for the settlement area, to repair and maintain the stability of the damaged natural environment, and create a safe, open, diverse Comfortable ecosystem; “Shore green” also brings “clear water”. After the construction of the project, an urban central ecological park was built in the coal mining subsidence area of 30 square kilometers, and a world-wide horticultural event was held, which turned the butterfly into the “urban reception hall” that Tangshan is proud of. Over 220 kinds of plants grow luxuriantly and nearly 100 kinds of wild birds reappear in the Nanhu Lake, which not only provides citizens and tourists with a good place to live happily and enjoy leisure and entertainment, but also effectively increases employment and residents’ income through the development of the “ecological+” industry, driving the interactive development of urban catering, accommodation, transportation, entertainment and other industries, and providing a benchmark for the transformation of over 130 resource-based cities in the country.

Ecological restoration of Tangshan Nanhu Lake

In the Nanhu Lake, the Longshan Mountain, formed by the ecological restoration of the fly ash mountain, stands surrounded by green trees

“We have done nearly one hundred biodiversity conservation and restoration projects in recent years. The Dali Erhai Lake Project brings back the ‘water quality weathervane’ and ‘star waterfowl’ to the water edge; after the construction of the Baiyangdian Project in Xiong’an New Area, the rhododendron which has not been seen for many years swam back to the lake, and the blue-headed diving duck also settled down here; the Lingshan Island Tip Project in Guangzhou has revived the mangroves in the intertidal zone.” Zhang Yijun said in the sharing. The beauty of the biology in the project site has further spread the concept of biodiversity conservation to the public, thus realizing the green cycle of national participation.

Baiyangdian Project in Xiong'an New Area

02 Be an Educator of Biodiversity Conservation

The protection of biological diversity is beneficial to the future, and to achieve this, we need to make unremitting efforts from generation to generation. “ZEHO ECO should undertake the work of popular science education for the next generation.” Zhang Yijun said, “This is our social responsibility to position ourselves as the ‘educator’ of biodiversity conservation.”

How to realize this vision? ZEHO ECO takes “education and pleasure”, “customer-oriented, influential and interesting” products as the answer. At present, domestic biodiversity related industrialization exploration and transformation are mostly based on public welfare or quasi-public welfare activities, with popular science research as the core content. However, after years of continuous efforts in ecological protection, Zhang Yijun believes that the theme of biodiversity naturally has a very full connotation, and there are many spaces that can be content, scene, experience, and further interesting. The demand and enthusiasm of the public for experiencing and getting close to the ecological space are increasing with the acceleration of the urban rhythm. Local cities also have the demand for eco-oriented development and ecological space renewal. The needs of all parties met at once, and the “Kingdom of Life” natural park product developed by ZEHO ECO came into being.

China's original biodiversity theme IP nature park

It is reported that the “Kingdom of Life” natural park is divided into four fixed sections: the origin of species, the epic of the evolution of life on earth spanning 4.6 billion years; Colorful planets, explore the colorful life world, light up children’s natural cognition; The natural code reveals the evolution of nature, science and technology and humanity; In the future world, we will build a harmonious earth home between human and nature in the new ecology and new species in the future. The park will also combine the regional culture of the city and increase the characteristic plate combined with the natural history and culture of the city. For example, in Tangshan, it will increase the integration and innovation plate of industrial culture and ecological culture.

4 theme modules+1 local feature module

“In the ‘Kingdom of Life’ natural park, we will transform butterflies, nighthawks, fireflies, elk, mushrooms, and local representative species of the park into interesting cartoon images, embedded in every venue, every corner of the park, and even extinct animals and plants, with the help of virtual technology, will also become lifelike.” Zhang Yijun said. The children will incarnate as the “ecological guardian” in the story to explore and experience the immersive experience created by the amusement facilities combined with virtual reality. In the play, children will not only get “cool” and “interesting” emotional experience but also gradually understand the nature and a variety of creatures. They will be psychologically familiar with and close to them and imperceptibly establish the awareness of protecting biodiversity and protecting the colorful earth home.

Mysterious Guardians of Ecology

At present, ZEHO ECO has cooperated with Tangshan City in Hebei Province and Liuzhi City in Guizhou Province to jointly promote the “Kingdom of Life” natural park project. Besides its own economic benefits, the park construction can also play a multiple role in enhancing the attraction of local tourism, practicing the concept of biodiversity, and promoting the sustainable operation of urban green assets.

China is one country with the richest biodiversity in the world. We have an all-encompassing habitat, traditional culture hidden in nature, Chinese plants that influence the world, and the ancient wisdom of “harmony between man and nature”, which is the Chinese expression of “harmony between man and nature.” The national education and action for biodiversity conservation has a deep cultural soil in China. “We hope that this product is rooted here, can not only meet the entertainment experience needs of citizens but also fit in with the national strategy of biodiversity conservation, play a role of demonstration and cultural dissemination, drive more people to understand and cherish biodiversity, and actively take part in the action,” said Zhang Yijun.

As the old saying goes, “When people are united, Mount Tai moves.”. Biodiversity protection requires joint efforts at all levels, from government to civil society. Zhang Yijun said that as a representative of civil forces, ZEHO ECO is honored to play an important role in biodiversity conservation. She put forward an initiative that the relevant governments, institutions and enterprises in the industry would work together to launch a batch of high-quality and diversified ecological products with distinctive ecological protection education and demonstration significance in the world, further promote biodiversity conservation and education, and “leave a colorful home for future generations to live in harmony with nature.”