A summer camp was set up in Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake, on Friday by the Living Lakes Network, the first such activity held here since the lake joined the network last year.

Jointly set up by the Global Nature Fund and east China's Jiangsu Province, the "Sino-German Youth Poyang Wetland Summer Camp" aims to promote understanding and protection of Poyang. The camp will be held for three weeks, said organizer Wang Xiaohong with the provincial society for the sustainable development of mountains, rivers and lakes.

Meanwhile, experts from China, Germany and Russia have been discussing monitoring migrant birds of the lake, said Wang.

Covering 5,000 square km on the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Poyang Lake has rich varieties of fish and shrimps and does not freeze in winter. The Poyang wetland is listed as one of the most crucial wetlands in the world. Poyang was enrolled as a member of the network in 2003, which is the only member in China.

The Living Lakes Network is a network of projects focusing on the protection of lakes and wetland areas around the world. It started in Germany in 1998 with the idea of promoting international collaboration to protect Lake Constance. Today, the network has enrolled 23 lakes from five continen

(Xinhua News Agency July 24, 2004)