China beefs up wetlands conservation to enhance people's well-being

STORY: China beefs up wetlands conservation to enhance people's well-being DATELINE: Nov. 9, 2022 LENGTH: 0:03:27 LOCATION: XINING/CHANGSHA, China CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT SHOTLIST: 1. various of Qinghai's wetland 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHANG WENLIN, Local villager 3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): REN YONGSHOU, Local villager 4. various of the Dongting Lake in Hunan Province 5. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): XIE ZHIHUI, West Dongting Lake nature reserve in Hanshou County STORYLINE: Known as the "kidneys of the Earth," wetlands can help safeguard biodiversity and cope with climate change. Official data show that China now boasts 56.35 million hectares of wetland, including marshes, beaches and lakes. This is thanks to the relentless efforts China has made in wetland protection and restoration in the past decade. Northwest China's Qinghai is home to the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers. Since 2016, Qinghai has invested over 1 billion yuan (about 138 million U.S. dollars) to implement a series of wet

UNESCO races to rescue Old City of Sanaa in Yemen

STORY: UNESCO races to rescue Old City of Sanaa in Yemen DATELINE: July 29, 2022 LENGTH: 00:02:35 LOCATION: Sanaa CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of restoration work 2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): AQEEL NUSAIRI, Local official STORYLINE: The ongoing truce between Yemen's warring sides has given an opportunity for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to save the Old City of Sanaa, a world heritage site. Airstrikes and heavy rainfalls during the past years have caused great damage to hundreds of the city's timeless buildings. There are over 6,000 houses in the Old City that were built before the 11th century. The multi-storey houses were made of rammed earth, strikingly decorated with geometric patterns of fired bricks and white gypsum. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): AQEEL NUSAIRI, Local official "We still have 380 houses on the danger list, which could collapse at any time. So we must do something now. We have help from UNESCO, but we must call for more help to save rare and

CHINA-LIAONING-FUSHUN-MINING PIT-GREEN TRANSITION (CN)

CHINA-LIAONING-FUSHUN-MINING PIT-GREEN TRANSITION (CN)

(220606) -- SHENYANG, June 6, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Carriages of earth are loaded to refill the former west open-air mining pit in Fushun City, northeast China's Liaoning Province, June 2, 2022. More than 980,000 square meters of an abandoned mining pit area have been gradually turned green in the past three years amid endeavors to restore ecosystems. Some 100 million yuan (about 15 million U.S. dollars) has been invested by Fushun Mining Group Co., Ltd. to repurpose and cover the former west open-air mining site with more vegetation. The company shut down the west open-air mining area in June 2019 for ecological restoration. Today, this huge mining pit, with a depth of more than 400 meters and an open area of more than 10 square kilometers, is gradually turning into a beautiful garden lush with grass, trees and flowers. (Xinhua/Yang Qing)