New York (People's Daily) - The United Nations on Thursday launched a 10-year water sustainability plan which aims to forge new partnerships, improve cooperation, and strengthen the capacity to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development seeks to accomplish a variety of goals, including achieving world peace, improving water conservation, and eliminating world hunger.
The launch of the plan coincides with the World Water Day, marked annually on March 22, to highlight the importance of freshwater resources and the challenges surrounding its availability. This year’s theme, Nature for Water, urges people to explore natural solutions to contemporary water problems.
Water-related environmental and ecological problems are becoming more prominent due to the debilitating effects of climate change, sustained population growth, industrialization, and accelerated urbanization. Water conservation is essential to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially when it comes to eliminating poverty and hunger and improving health and sanitation.
Ambassador Ma Zhaoxu, China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said in a statement issued on Friday that the Chinese government is actively working to “implement an innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development concept” to achieve “human-water harmony.”
“In order to build a healthy ecology, President Xi Jinping pointed out in his report to the 19th Congress of the CPC that China must realize that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets,” said Ma.
Ma said that China needs to practice strict resource conservation while protecting and cherishing the environment “as we cherish our own lives.”
Ma noted that while China only has 6 percent of the world’s fresh water resources, it contains nine percent of the world’s farm land while also feeding 21 percent of the world’s population. Ma said that even with this level of responsibility, China’s water usage has decreased 25.3 percent per $10,000 of GPD and 27.5 percent per $10,000 of industrial value increase.
China has cooperated with various water-related international organizations and hosted important international events on water, such as the Yangtze River Forum and the International Yellow River Forum, Ma added.
China has aided more than 30 developing countries in water conservancy efforts and hydropower plant construction. It has also helped train more than 2,000 technical and management personnel from more than 100 countries and plans to enhance the capacity of technical personnel of other developing countries, Ma noted.
Ma said that China is ready to further improve its cooperation with other countries to successfully implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He said the success of the plan, and the act of cooperation between nations, will provide mankind with a “beautiful home with ecological security and green development.”
Top Photo:Water-related images are projected onto the General Assembly building on the occasion of the International Decade for Action on "Water for Sustainable Development 2018-2028", organized by the office of the President of the General Assembly. ( Credit: UN)