China's first attempt to integrate state-of-the-art technologies to monitor the ecological environment of Poyang Lake, the country's largest freshwater lake, has been a success, said sources at this capital city of east China's Jiangxi Province, where the lake is located.
Since 1998, scientists at the Provincial Meteorological Bureau have integrated remote sensing (RS) technologies with Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) to study the cultivation of farmland around the Poyang Lake, flood, silt, water pollution and the epidemic situation of schistosomiasis.
The integrated technologies, known as the "3S," are more scientific and cost-effective compared with traditional technologies, said experts who are here to appraise the research findings.
The research and analysis with "3S" technologies on the lake have reached world standard and will help find better ways to protect ecological environment, exploit water resources and maintain sustainable development in the region, said the experts.
Rich in aquatic resources, the Poyang Lake Nature Reserve is one of the world's important wetlands.
(People's Daily January 7, 2002)
