This year, August 15th marked China’s first National Ecology Day,    1    aims to raise awareness of environmental protection and address unlawful activities and safeguard the development of forestry and grassland resource    2    law.

The establishment of National Ecology Day will enhance ecological understanding among the public and help the nation    3    (well) participate in global environment and climate governance.

The move     4    (see) as part of China’s efforts to build an ecological civilization, a concept that glorifies balanced and sustainable development and harmonious coexistence between    5    (human) and nature    6    promotes the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

China’s laws and administrative regulations    7    (involve) the environment and ecology,    8    (base) on what environmental difficulties villagers are eager to solve and what ecological measures should be taken urgently from their opinions, have laid a solid legislative (立法的) foundation for the ecological civilization.

    9    makes Aug. 15 special is that on that day in 2005, the concept of “lucid waters and lush mountains” was first put forward, being    10    (value) assets.

The day starts early for Shi Xiaogang, a wildlife ranger (护林员) at the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Southwest China’s Sichuan province. He monitors the population of giant pandas and conducts long-range patrols (巡逻) in some of the most extreme environments,     1     is a challenging and, often, dangerous job.

    2     (cover) about 200,000 hectares, Wolong National Nature Reserve is home to one of the largest remaining giant panda populations in China. Thanks to the rangers’ like Shi’s efforts,     3     number of wild giant pandas in the reserve has increased from 104, in 2015, to 149 today. In 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature     4     (announce) that the giant panda’s status had been changed from “endangered” to “vulnerable” on its Red List of Threatened Species.

As well as “the home of giant pandas”, the reserve is     5     (wide) known as a “bio-gene bank”. It features a great number of threatened species of plants and animals, including other famous     6     (creature), such as the red panda, snow leopard and clouded leopard among the 121 species of mammals (哺乳动物)     7     (record). There are also 392 bird species.

To mark the rangers’ hard work and contribution to wildlife     8     (protect) in the reserve, last year, 20 rangers     9     (recognize) with special commendations (表扬) at an online award ceremony for the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas’ International Ranger Awards.

The commission speaks highly of their work, saying that they help stop biodiversity loss and protect the important ecosystems that serve     10     natural solutions to climate change and other global challenges.

About 385, 000 people from 192 countries take part in the yearly project to count birds. The event    1    (launch)for the first time 25 years ago.

Steve and Janet Kistler from the American state of Kentucky are among those     2    (involve) themselves in it. They’ve done so every year    3    the now-international tradition started in 1998. For Moira Dalibor,     4     schoolteacher from nearby Lexington, this is her first event. She’s leading a group of students and parents to a garden     5    (collect) data.

Becca Rodomsky-Bish,    6    works at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in New York, is the project’s leader. The Lab organizes the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) along with the National Audubon Society and Birds Canada. “Every year we see increased participation, and 2022 was a big jump,” Becca said. In India, which had the     7    (high) participation outside the US last year, tens of thousands of people submitted bird checklists.

The worldwide data goes into the eBird database used by scientists for research on different bird     8    (population). The GBBC is part of a rise in “citizen science" projects in which volunteers collect data about the    9    (nature) world for use by researchers. The information helps researchers track the numbers of different kinds of birds, which then helps with their     10    (protect).

Rising sea levels are threatening coastlines in China, for example in     1     (city) such as Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou. If sea levels rise by one meter, more than 92,000 square kilometers of China’s coast could be flooded. This could potentially force 67 million people     2     (move) away. Almost two-thirds of the ice in Asia’s glaciers (冰川) could disappear if average global temperature rises beyond 1.5℃ by the end of the century. If that happens, the impacts     3     China will be felt in multiple areas, from water availability, to agriculture, and to biodiversity.

The good news is     4     China is becoming a global leader on climate action. For example, over the last five years, China     5     (use) more solar and wind energy than any other country in the world. China is also the largest clean energy investor in the world —     6     (spend) some $130 billion in new energy in recent years.

The development of electric vehicles is particularly     7     (inspire) in China. More than 50 percent of electric vehicles in the world     8     (sell) in China every year. And China is now a world leader in the     9     (promote) of clean energy technologies.

Ecological civilization has become the cornerstone (基石) of China’s long-term development strategy, much like climate action is     10     important part of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

In downtown Xiamen, Fujian Province, a 6-meter-high mound(土堆) that stretches for 60 to 70 meters stands in contrast to the high-rise     1    (construction) all around. It is a vital place for the blue-tailed bee-eaters. Now they are under second-level state     2     (protect).

The blue-tailed bee-eater, or Merops philippinus, is known for its colorful plumage and on the Chinese mainland it     3     (find) in coastal provinces, such as Fujian and Hainan.

    4    (establish) in 2011 as Xiamen’s inaugural city-level nature reserve in an urban area, the Wuyuanwan Nature Reserve provides     5     crucial habitat for the species.

In recent years, with improved environmental conditions in Xiamen and the city government’s commitment    6     nature conservation, the blue-tailed bee-eaters have become regular visitors.

In 2015, the center     7     (observe) some 70 to 80 birds in the area while in 2023, over 200 of the birds were watched at the nesting site.

The birds,     8     are sensitive to smell, build a new nest every year. Therefore, the mound must be cleared and refilled after the blue-tailed bee-eaters fly south.

    9     (safeguard) their habitat better, the city government issued a notice in 2017, setting up a protective zone around the nesting site, where noise and pollution-producing industries are prohibited     10     (strict).

The 13-year experience of preserving blue-tailed bee-eaters has given the center a grasp of their habits and made the Wuyuanwan Nature Reserve a stable home for them.

Leonora, a 51-year-old from the Philippines,     1    (make) women’s dresses out of waste materials in recent years since she believes     2    (wear) such clothes can be cheap and look good. To make her dresses, she uses     3    foot-operated sewing (缝纫) machine to join together the waste materials, including recycled newspapers, plastic wrappers and rice bags,     4    which Leonora makes her designs. The bubble (泡沫) wrappers from delivery packages are nice-looking and suitable for a good design,     5    (particular) for making wedding dresses. They are also used for everything from wedding decoration to birthday     6    (party).

In Asia, there is plenty of waste material for Leonora to apply. Most of the world’s ocean waste     7    (carry) by Asian rivers. And her country, the Philippines, is responsible for one third of Asia’s ocean plastic pollution.

“The dresses are really     8    (impress). It’s important to recycle such materials so we can help our earth,” said Lalaine     9    buys clothes from Leonora.

Most of her dresses are used in the beauty     10    (compete) and are popular with young girls. “I get delighted whenever they win. The designs are simple, but they still win,” she said.