China’s first “dark-sky protection area” pilot project launched in Tibet
On Jun. 3 the Chinese Green Development Association and affiliated Chinese Star Association travel from Beijing to Lhasa, Ngari, Nagqu and other places to start pilot work on China’s first “dark-sky protection area”, Xinhua reported.
For thousands of years mankind has looked up at the bright sky and from this has emerged a wealth of history, science and culture. But over the past century, due to excessive use of lighting tools resulting in the spread of light pollution, about two-thirds of the world’s cities are already unable to see the Milky Way and major constellations. The nighttime environment of man and the biosphere is being increasingly eroded and astronomical science observations have also been affected, resulting in mankind’s common resource in the sky gradually “withering away”.
Wang Xiaohua, the person in charge at the China Star Association said that China needs beautiful sky and we should actively urge the public to pay attention to the growing problem of light pollution in order to protect the nighttime environment. International Dark-Sky Association has already promoted and approved more than 40 dark-sky protection areas in the hope of leaving future generations with star resources and heritage, but China currently has no certified dark-sky protection area and this void should be filled as soon as possible.
Starting in 2013 the China Star project team travelled to Tibet four times to put together a joint plan with Ngari Administrative Office and Ngari Observatory, with a focus on astronomical observation areas.
The plan for the dark-sky protection area includes a core area, buffer zone and outlying areas totaling 2,500 square kilometers, as well as guidance on constructing a social dark-sky park, thus kick starting the star culture industry.