IWHR Vice President Peng Jing gave a report on river corridor at the Great Rivers Forum held during October 29-30, 2018 in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei Province. The event was jointly hosted by the UNESCO and the Wuhan Municipal People’s Government, attracting about 150 participants, including Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwang, Assistant Director-General for Africa of UNESCO Firmin Edouard Matoko, Secretary-General of the Chinese National Commission for the UNESCO Qin Changwei, and Director of Changjiang Water Resources Commission of China’s Ministry of Water Resources Ma Jianhua, who all addressed the opening ceremony.
The Forum is based on the world's major river basins and builds a platform to explore the sustainable development of large rivers and the basins, and was well responded and attended by interdisciplinary experts and scholars from UNESCO's networks of World Heritage, Creative Cities, Biosphere Protection and Eco-Hydrology Base. At the event, the promotion of high-quality development of economic and social synergy and culture were explored from different perspectives. Topics of “River Culture: Protecting and Developing the Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Big River”, “Water World” along the Great River – Water Museum, Heritage, Memory and Regional Sense” and “City Development along the River” were discussed.
Peng Jing made a report on the related-research of the Yangtze River conducted by IWHR in recent years, especially on the water ecological protection and restoration of river corridor. He report combines the practice of using science and technology to support the ecological dispatch of the Three Gorges Project, emphasizes the key role of scientific research and scientific and technological innovation in the protection of the Yangtze River and the implementation of new development concepts, and shares the understanding of strengthening interdisciplinary research on nature and society, and strengthening international cooperation, exchanges and interconnections with the forum as a link.
A number of UNESCO Chairs attended and chaired the sessions, and Marielza Oliveira, Director of the UNESCO Office in China, delivered a speech at the closing ceremony, during which the signing of the Yangtze River Civilization Museum to join the Global Water Museum Network was also held.
