Since 2021, the China Zhi Gong Party has partnered with Anhui Province to protect the Yangtze River's eco-environment. The party's central committee has mobilized intellectual resources, including a think tank of experts, to launch a five-year 'science and technology empowerment' initiative across the Jianghuai region, which encompasses the lower reaches of the Huaihe and Yangtze rivers.
Among the experts is Zhang Wei, a member of the China Zhi Gong Party and a professor at Peking University. She has led a team using environmental DNA (eDNA) technology to monitor biodiversity in Chaohu Lake and the Wanjiang River's main and branch tributaries in Anhui Province. eDNA technology can precisely identify minute traces of life in water, detecting even invasive species that are difficult to spot with the naked eye. 'We capture or collect these minute traces of environmental information and then amplify them,' Zhang explained.
Without the need to fish or disturb aquatic life, this technology allows scientists to assess the biodiversity of a water body simply by analyzing genetic information from water samples. This approach has opened new pathways for evaluating the effectiveness of the fishing ban on the Yangtze River and conducting biodiversity monitoring. Over the past five years, Zhang's team has worked closely with Anhui University and local environmental protection authorities to establish multiple sampling sites in Chaohu Lake and the Wanjiang River.
Zhang hopes that through targeted oversight, eDNA monitoring technology will be promoted and applied on a more comprehensive scale. 'We hope to set an example so that everyone can do their part to support environmental protection and monitoring in this way,' she said. The initiative demonstrates how innovative technologies can empower environmental protection efforts in China, providing a non-invasive, efficient method for monitoring aquatic ecosystems and informing conservation policies.
