"Crucial COP15 biodiversity summit set to be delayed a fourth time

The COP15 summit on the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework, due to be held at Kunming in China during April and May, will now be held in August instead, New Scientist understands"

www.newscientist.com/[...]

"China's new cash deposit policy, expected to be effective from March 1, was delayed for technically reasons, PBOC said yesterday. The rule, aimed at preventing money laundering, requires banks to verify clients' identity when depositing or withdrawing over CNY50,000 or USD10,000."

Source:

The People's Bank of China website notice / Yicai

Although foreign covid vaccines have yet been given green light by China, the Pfizer's oral anti-covid pill version (Paxlovid) was issued conditional approval by regulators today.

"Pfizer in December said final trial results showed its [Paxlovid] treatment reduced the chance of hospitalisation or death by 89% in COVID-19 patients at risk of severe illness given the treatment within three days of the onset of symptoms, and by 88% when given within five days of onset."

www.reuters.com/[...]

Funny you should ask. I was actually here in Haihua dao (artificial peninsula 1) in Danzhou of Western Hainan. Word on the street is demolition orders for island/peninsula 3 buildings now rescinded as media frenzy has subsided on most international news sites for this place. Gov also changing tunes as they try to shore up the faltering industry means of acquiring funds as more offshore bond defaults loom. Evergrande still owes money to contractors/workers at this massive project site. Across the bridge on island 2 are fully developed, delivered, and occupied residential buildings depressingly filled to the brim with few open green spaces compared to yi dao. Feels like a jam packed, giant concrete prison island (er dao) with a view of container shipment port across the artificial shore. Can't imagine investors falling for the same design format for san dao. Yi dao has potential as a major tourist attraction, but stay far away from 2 and 3.

Thank you tiger for years of mod-in'.

"On a sunny November day, Zhang Mei sat on a terrace on Changyao Mountain in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province in southwest China.

At the foot of the mountain lies a protected segment of Dianchi Lake, where newly planted pine trees are still too small to cast shadows on the yellow-brown soil.

Just over six months ago, this area was packed with expensive villas. Not anymore, as the buildings, deemed to have been illegally constructed, were demolished and replaced with trees.

As of Nov. 10, more than 214 buildings covering an area of 140,000 sq. meters (34.6 acres) have been torn down, according to a government statement. The whole process of removing the development cost nearly 2 billion yuan ($313.7 million).

The demolition campaign was triggered by a central environmental inspection in April, when inspectors found that Changyao was encroached upon by real estate projects, severely damaging the ecosystem of Dianchi, the province's largest lake.

The country's top environmental watchdog then urged local authorities to rectify the situation. This was followed by graft investigations against dozens of officials. It was one of the most high-profile public rebukes of a local government over an environmental failure linked to illicit development.

The demolition highlights Yunnan's travails in protecting its high-altitude lakes, and preserving its rich ecology, while at the same time also promoting development in what is still a relatively poor province.

"As an underdeveloped region, Yunnan is facing the dual pressure of environmental protection and development," Duan Changqun, a member of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, told Caixin, adding that the province should spare no effort to balance scientific protection and intelligent development.

The case also illustrates China's struggle to crack down on ecological abuses, as the country prioritizes environmental protection to achieve a greener and sustainable future.

Rectification campaign

Dianchi Lake, a high-altitude semi-closed lake, was once one of the most polluted in China. There are nearly 30 rivers flowing into Dianchi, but there is only one outlet, causing pollutants to build up.

Some 60% of Kunming's more than 8.4 million residents live in the Dianchi Lake basin, generating 80% of the city's economic output. The density of the population and concentration of business activity posed a great environmental threat to the lake.

Over the past few decades, Kunming has spent billions of dollars on protecting the lake. In 2008, the city launched a program to protect wetlands, forests and water by preventing farming on protected land, and reviving ponds, relocating residents and dismantling buildings. Thanks to these efforts, Dianchi is now surrounded by more green land and wetlands.

In 2019, Zhang Mei bought a house in Yunling community, a real estate project on Changyao Mountain. "What attracted me was the unparalleled view of Dianchi Lake," Zhang said. Located on the southeastern bank of Dianchi, the mountain is a vital part of the lake's ecosystem and also an important ecological isolation belt for Kunming.

With an improvement in Dianchi's environment, real estate developers have shown great interest in building around the lake, with most commercial projects going up in the name of cultural tourism and health care, an industry insider told Caixin.

The central government inspectors found that real estate developer Kunming Nuoshida Enterprise Group had, since 2015, erected more than 1,000 buildings in Changyao's mountainous area in the name of building healthy housing projects for retired people, the type project permitted by the government.

With a planned area of 564 acres, the development includes 813 villas and 294 high- and mid-rise buildings. Inspectors pointed out that the massive project has caused severe damage to the environment.

Following the inspection, local authorities started taking action. In May, provincial and city leaders conducted a field survey to investigate excessive development in Changyao Mountain. Shortly afterward, authorities demolished buildings under construction in the Grade-II protected area of Dianchi, while also launching a greening and vegetation recovery program.

In addition to the mountain, a commercial project by a subsidiary of Sunac China Holdings in the Jinning district was also found to have been built illegally. The Wuyucun town project, with an expected area of over 300 acres, planned to build a five-star hotel, a conference center, and homestay clusters, among others. Half of the project was completed and some stores had already opened.

On Nov. 21, Caixin found that the whole town had disappeared. Zeng Hong from Hubei Province told Caixin that he bought a house in the town in 2020, intending to open a homestay, but his house was demolished in September.

Caixin has learned that the Wuyucun town project was located in a Grade-II protected area of Dianchi, and was torn down due to "environmental protection rectifications." After the demolition work is finished, an ecological park will be built on the site.

Strengthening protection work

Starting with Dianchi, Yunnan has launched a campaign to combat illegal construction around lakes. Near Fuxian Lake in the city of Yuxi, an hour's drive from Kunming, buildings under construction were also torn down recently.

On Sept. 27, Yunnan authorities issued guidelines saying the province will abandon urban construction projects around lake and demolish illegally constructed buildings, prohibiting "close-to-line development" in the name of cultural tourism and health care.

However, as Chen Yue, head of the department of law at Southwest Forestry University, pointed out, while Yunnan has been issuing regulations on lake conservation, problems still exist, such as the practice of "damaging while protecting," and developing the economy at the cost of the environment.

"On one hand, local authorities do have a clear awareness of protection. On the other hand, the protection red line is always crossed due to a strong need for economic development," he noted.

Duan said Yunnan should adhere to the principle of prohibiting off-lake development and construction for all high-altitude lakes for the province as a whole, not only in Dianchi.

Corruption

Lake protection efforts have also been hampered by corruption.

According to government statements, more than 20 officials in Yunnan have been investigated over the past five months through November, many of whom were suspected of corruption over lake protection.

In late October, Wang Daoxing, former vice mayor of Kunming, was placed under investigation. A source from an ecology and environment department in Yunnan told Caixin that Wang had long been in charge of the Dianchi Lake environment improvement project and served as chairman of Kunming Dianchi Investment.

According to the company's website, Dianchi Investment is a wholly state-owned company established in 2004 and is the main body for investment and financing in the cleanup of Dianchi Lake pollution, including sewage treatment. The company has raised more than 50 billion yuan ($7.85 billion) for the lake's protection.

Beside Wang, two other Kunming officials who previously served as chairman of Dianchi Investment have also been investigated, including Xu Zengxiong, former deputy director of the city's Bureau of Industry and Information Technology.

At a Nov. 10 conference, Yunnan's graft watchdog revealed details of the suspected corruption cases of He Bin and Fang Xiong, two former deputy directors of the Department of Ecology and Environment of Yunnan, noting the need to close loopholes in administrative examination and approval, and urging the department to draw lessons from these cases.

That same day, two other officials at the department, including chief engineer Xian Wei and the General Office's director, Zhou Shuguang, were put under investigation for "suspected serious violations of discipline and law," a common euphemism for graft.

Zhang Mei and Zeng Hong are pseudonyms used at the request of the interviewees."