Experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences: Science and technology help the Belt and Road, and villagers in Kyrgyzstan drink clean water
The 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was held in Beijing on October 17-18. As an expert attending the meeting, Li Yaoming, director of the Silk Road Green Development Research Center of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the "Xinjiang Institute of Habitat"), was deeply impressed by the development of countries along the "Belt and Road" in recent years.
Kyrgyzstan is a Central Asian country located on the Silk Road Economic Belt, in order to help the local rural population drink clean drinking water, Li Yaoming's team customized developed a complete set of membrane technology purification centralized water supply stations for Kyrgyzstan, today, 11 water purification stations cover 7 regions of the country, benefiting nearly 20,000 people. In an exclusive interview with a reporter from the Beijing News, he revealed that such water purification stations are expected to be promoted in other countries in Central Asia.
Project technicians from mainland China pose for a group photo with local villagers in Kyrgyzstan. Photo courtesy of interviewee
The water purification station has achieved full coverage in 7 states, benefiting nearly 20,000 people
Beijing News: In order to ensure the safety of drinking water in rural areas of Kyrgyzstan, Xinjiang Shengdi Institute has developed a distributed complete set of membrane technology to purify centralized water supply stations. How did the researchers notice the problem in the first place?
Li Yaoming: Central Asian countries, like Xinjiang on the mainland, are in arid areas, and water is the core issue. In 2016, we conducted a water environment and water resources survey in Kyrgyzstan to understand the water quality and distribution of 50 or 60 rivers in seven regions. Initially, we thought more about scientific issues, driving in the wilderness and going to various mountains to fetch water for research. Later, we had more contact with local residents, and they reported to us the problem of drinking water quality, and we also felt that some water had to settle for a long time before it could be boiled and drunk.
Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country with no shortage of water resources, but due to its relative backwardness, its rural areas do not have basic water supply facilities, and ordinary people have to draw water from rivers, canals or wells for drinking water, and this water has not been treated in any way. Some water looks clean, but there may be problems such as heavy metals, microorganisms, suspended solids exceeding standards; Some of the water is very turbid, and this part of the water does not even need to be tested in the laboratory, and the naked eye knows that there is a problem. After drinking such water, some local people suffered from encephalitis, enteritis and other diseases.
In the past, some international organizations have also provided funding through the construction of large-scale engineering projects, but whether it is the construction of waterworks or centralized water pipelines, only a small part of the problem can be solved. Because Kyrgyzstan has a population of just over six million, about 66 percent of whom live in rural areas, and live in scattered areas, with only a few dozen households in villages with small populations, it is not practical to build a centralized water supply pipeline for each village.
After the local people raised problems, we also hope to solve the local people's livelihood problems through the "Belt and Road" cooperation, so we have jointly developed a complete set of water purification station system with some domestic units based on the original work base in China.
Beijing News: How much coverage is the construction of the water purification station system?
Li Yaoming: In 2018, we built our first water purification station in a village near Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, which is located on the way to the airport. The village is located in an agricultural irrigation area, and people have drilled diving wells more than 20 meters deep in their homes, but the water from agricultural irrigation and dry toilets will seep down into the intake layer, forming cross-contamination, and some indicators seriously exceed the standard.
Water purification station equipment can soften, filter, purify water, remove all kinds of bacteria, sediment, heavy metal ions and other harmful substances in the water, the reverse osmosis principle used is the same as that of household water purifiers, but compared with household water purifiers, the scale is larger and the cost is lower. The system installed in the village can supply several tons of water a day, and villagers can directly receive water for cooking and boiling water for drinking.
Since then, with the support of the Belt and Road International Alliance of Scientific Organizations (ANSO), as of 2022, we have successively set up sites in 10 locations in 7 regions of Kyrgyzstan, including nursing homes, benefiting nearly 20,000 people.
The water purification station system is expected to be rolled out in other countries in Central Asia
Beijing News: What attempts have researchers made in research and development to adapt to local conditions?
Li Yaoming: There have always been water purification equipment on the market, but the scale and quality reliability cannot meet the local demand. According to the actual local situation, we have carried out adaptive integrated research and development of equipment. In order to reduce maintenance costs, we have carried out a modular design, the modules are assembled in China, shipped over, and then installed and operated by simple training for local personnel.
Due to the very large difference in water quality conditions in Kyrgyzstan, some places may be fluorine exceeding the standard, some places may be some heavy metals exceeding the standard, etc., so we do not batch products, but customized products, equipment purification filtration system is targeted, otherwise the replacement frequency of consumables such as filter membranes is higher, which will cause an increase in operation and maintenance costs, and the equipment we now provide can be replaced once in about two years.
Project technicians provide technical training to local staff in Kyrgyzstan. Photo courtesy of interviewee
Beijing News: Can this water purification station system be extended to a larger area in the future?
Li Yaoming: We hope to further expand the scope of the demonstration. At present, we provide equipment for free, and the next step is to hope that local enterprises will slowly join and establish a market-oriented mechanism. In this way, the core reverse osmosis membrane can be imported from China, and other supporting products can be produced by local enterprises to reduce costs and turn the "blood transfusion mode" into a "hematopoietic mode". In November, the two sides will hold a matchmaking meeting, and some local environmental protection related enterprises will connect with relevant enterprises in the mainland to establish a sustainable mechanism.
After research, we learned that the situation in other Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan is basically similar, and we hope that the mechanism established in Kyrgyzstan can be replicated in other countries. In addition, if Kyrgyzstan implements it well, regional maintenance centers can be established to provide spare parts and technical services.
Beijing News: What do you think of the significance of this project?
Li Yaoming: Central Asia is a close neighbor of the mainland and the first place of the "Belt and Road". Xinjiang and Central Asian countries are connected by mountains and rivers, and both are located in a natural geographical region, and the climatic conditions and environmental conditions are similar.
People-to-people connection is an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative, and although the investment scale of this project is only a few million yuan, it is a drop in the bucket compared with a large project, but it is directly related to the people. We provide equipment and technology that ultimately produces results that can be seen and touched by local people. They also told us that the availability of clean water has led to a significant reduction in the incidence of diseases such as diarrhoea.
Cooperate with "Belt and Road" countries to build field stations
Beijing News: Xinjiang Shengdi Institute has also cooperated with "Belt and Road" countries to build ecosystem field observation and research stations.
Li Yaoming: We have participated in the ecosystem survey project of comprehensive scientific investigation in Central Asia, including natural environment, soil, vegetation, atmosphere, rivers, etc., which is an important means to understand the climate environment and natural conditions in Central Asia. I am responsible for the task of establishing field observation stations in Central Asia, such as automatic weather stations.
At present, we have built 19 observation points in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, as well as Iran and Mongolia. Relying on monitoring and research stations, we have also carried out experimental demonstration projects, and these stations have become experimental bases for cooperation between China and relevant countries.
Beijing News: What problems will be solved by the data obtained by these field monitoring stations for scientific research?
Li Yaoming: These sites focus on the collection of basic data, including meteorological data such as precipitation and temperature, as well as vorticity flux, which we share with our Central Asian partners, and through the analysis and calculation of these data, we can help monitor natural disasters and study the impact of climate change on agriculture.
We have also built experimental plots to demonstrate technologies such as submembrane drip irrigation that China has provided to Central Asian countries. At the same time, relying on field stations to expand the types of projects, using Beidou satellite navigation technology and Internet of Things technology to cooperate with Kazakhstan to carry out smart agriculture.
Beijing News reporter Zhang Lu
Edited by Chen Jing Proofread by Liu Yue