The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the All-China Environment Federation (ACEF) have raised awareness on pollution levels on Lake Poyang, China's largest freshwater lake, by providing findings to key government officials and distributing information to the public and environmental law sector.
UNDP notes that their efforts contributed to the suspension of production at textile plants and a lawsuit.
22 June 2012: The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has highlighted the outcomes of its collaboration with the All-China Environment Federation (ACEF) to raise awareness on water pollution in China’s Lake Poyang.
Lake Poyang is China’s largest freshwater lake, and serves as an important water source for millions of Chinese people. It is also home to the endangered freshwater porpoise and is the largest East Asian wintering area for migrating birds. Toxic waste from nearby textile plants threatens the lake’s role as a clean water source, as well as its ecological diversity.
UNDP and ACEF provided reports on the lake’s pollution levels to provincial government officials, and raised public knowledge through exhibitions and distribution of material to individuals affected by the pollution, environmental NGOs, lawyers, and judges. According to UNDP, these efforts contributed to the suspension of production at textile plants and a pending environmental lawsuit.
This effort is part of the joint UNDP-ACEF “Project Environmental Rights and Justice of the Public” project, which aims to support rights-based democratic approaches, such as legislation, mediation and public interest litigation. The project is funded by the UN Democracy Fund. ACEF is the largest government-sponsored non-profit organization in China. [UNDP Press Release]