Technology enhances ecological protection in China

Increasing numbers of cutting-edge equipment, including drones, unmanned vessels, all-terrain robotic environmental samplers, and mobile biodiversity monitoring platforms, have been applied to advance ecological conservation and green development, which have become intelligent solutions to the building of a beautiful China.

Industry-leading spatial-intelligent infrastructure company Qianxun SI has customized a drone-empowered intelligent patrol system for the Qiandao Lake. It covers a water surface area of 573 square kilometers and boasts of being able to monitor a shoreline which stretches about 3,500 kilometers in Chun'an county, east China's Zhejiang Province.

Photo shows a Boao Forum for Asia hotel with photovoltaic curtain walls, which can reduce electrical consumption for air conditioning in its lobby by around 20 percent a year, in Boao township, Qionghai, south China's Hainan Province. (Photo/Zheng Hangcheng)

"Drones with a high-precision positioning function can autonomously take off, capture footage, land, and even recharge themselves. They can also transmit video data to the digital management platform for Qiandao Lake, ensuring a far smarter and more efficient patrol," said Fang Chao, an official with the comprehensive law enforcement bureau of Chun'an county.

What used to take an entire week for human inspectors can now be accomplished by drones in a single day, Fang added.

By applying the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and visual AI algorithms, Qianxun SI automatically categorizes the diverse clues found across the vast Qiandao Lake, which are then efficiently assigned to corresponding management personnel for timely handling. This technical approach integrates the information systems of multiple departments in Chun'an, breaking down data barriers between regulatory bodies.

With over 40 types of smart AI algorithms, the platform has enabled drones to accurately identify litter, illegal fishing, and unauthorized roadside businesses, among others.

Records show that since the trial launch of the intelligent patrol system for Qiandao Lake in March 2023, Qianxun SI has boosted the patrol efficiency of the lake by 80 percent. Its drones have conducted 1,329 flight missions with a total flight distance of 5,654 kilometers and discovered 4,091 clues, greatly accelerating issue identification and response.

Photo shows a smart "capsule" warehouse, which ensures more eco-friendly operations and contributes to protecting the ecological environment of the Yangtze River, at the Jiujiang port in Chaisang district, Jiujiang city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (Photo/Zhu Haipeng)

Hydrogen energy plays an important supporting role in China's green and low-carbon transformation in terminal energy consumption. Hydrogen fuel cell technology has been widely applied in the transportation industry, the power sector, the chemical industry, and other sectors.

At the 22nd China International Environmental Protection Exhibition and Conference in Beijing in April this year, a 3.5-ton hydrogen fuel cell forklift developed by Guangdong Guangsheng Hydrogen Energy Co., Ltd. received considerable attention. The forklift can operate for eight hours after just five minutes of refueling with hydrogen.

The forklift has been running for nearly 20 months with a total operating time of more than 6,000 hours at a lighting company in Foshan city, south China's Guangdong Province, said Liu Wei, general manager of Guangdong Guangsheng Hydrogen Energy Co., Ltd.

Liu added that the forklift has been refueled with around 1,600 kilograms of hydrogen, which has provided for the eco-friendly transportation of materials.

At the scientific research and demonstration base for the treatment and utilization of urban and rural organic waste around Taihu Lake in Yixing city, east China's Jiangsu Province, blue-green algae, once a prominent issue in the treatment of Taihu Lake, have been turned into organic raw materials, including industrial algae powder, organic fertilizers and biomass carbon sources, for more and more production scenarios.

Photo shows monitoring devices at the Junzifeng national nature reserve in southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)

By upgrading technologies, the Jiangsu Jinshan Environmental Protection Engineering Group has developed a purifying agent in the wastewater treatment field, with blue-green algae as the main raw material.

While treating the blue-green algae in Taihu Lake and improving its water quality, the group has turned the blue-green algae into valuable resources, and has provided a high-quality, cost-effective, and low-carbon biomass carbon source product for wastewater treatment plants, according to an executive of the group.

China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment has built an intelligent and efficient digital governance system and has established an integrated information platform for environmental management, according to an official with the ministry.