Hainan’s Wuzhishan awarded as ‘China’s Natural Oxygen Bar’
The China Meteorological Administration Meteorological Service Center has recently unveiled the list of China’s “natural oxygen bars” and Wuzhishan was the only city in Hainan to be awarded the title that rewards an area’s environment, as well as their tourism and leisure facilities.
A total of 79 places across China were awarded the honorary title this year, which recognizes places with a high level of negative oxygen ions, excellent air quality, superior climate and environment, as well as improved tourism facilities.
The evaluation for a China’s natural oxygen bar includes five first-level indicators covering development planning, ecological environment, tourism facilities, regional characteristics, and honorary titles, as well as 16 second-level indicators.
Located in the south part of central Hainan, Wuzhishan Mountain is one of China’s most famous mountains and a symbol of Hainan Island. The city of Wuzhishan is named after this mountain, which is named because the peaks and ridges undulate into a zigzag shape like wuzhi, which means five fingers.
Haikou project wins Paulson Prize for Sustainability
The Haikou Wetland Protection and Restoration Project was awarded the Nature Stewardship prize at the 2020 Paulson Prize for Sustainability awards ceremony on Nov 18.
The Haikou project has explored the new model of “wetland plus” in restoration and governance, helping the Hainan capital city establish two national wetland parks and five provincial wetland parks since the project was launched.
The wetland protection rate in Haikou has now increased from 16.01 percent to 55.53 percent, making Haikou one of the first international wetland cities in the world. With wetland resources effectively getting protected, the biodiversity and ecological environment have significantly improved.
Initiated by the Paulson Institute in 2013, the Paulson Prize for Sustainability has been in partnership with Tsinghua University since 2017.
The award is granted annually to projects that represent innovative, replicable, as well as economically and environmentally beneficial market solutions implemented in China that aim to address the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
This year, the prize is awarded to projects in two categories: the Green Innovation category and the newly launched Nature Stewardship category.
The Urban Waste Battery Recycling Innovative Model launched by the city of Wuhan in Hubei province was announced the winner of the Green Innovation prize.（Source: ehainan.gov.cn）