Li Fengting gets excited when he talks about Africa.He has formed profound feelings for the continent over the past decade.

"Every timeI get in a plane heading for Africa, I am always brimming with anticipation andexcitement. It's just like coming home because I know everything and everyonethere," says the 51-year-old, who often jokes that he goes to Africa more thanhe visits his hometown in Shangdong province, less than a two-hour flight fromShanghai.

Li is thevice-dean of the College of Environmental Science and Engineering andUNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD) at theShanghai-based Tongji University. The institute was co-established by theUnited Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and Tongji University in 2002 for thepurpose of strengthening scientific research and providing educational programsin environment and sustainable development.

Since then, Li,as the head of the institute and scientific specialist to UNEP, has beendevoting himself to the supply of safe water resources in Africa, which isfacing severe scarcity of ecological resources.

Climate changeand soaring demand for economic development has led to a shortage of safewater, and has become a top priority for leaders in Africa.

In order toimprove the technological ability in African countries, China's Ministry ofScience and Technology (MOST) and UNEP signed the Memorandum of Understandingon Technical Cooperation on Water Resources in Africa in 2008. Marking thestart of the Technical Cooperation on Water Resources in Africa with 16 Africancountries. Four projects were launched in Africa, mainly relating to water treatment.

Under theUNEP-MOST-Africa water project, a series of projects on safe water supply andtechnology were implemented by Li and his research team.

"When Ifirst came to Africa, the landscapes natural beauty, breathtaking scenery andgreat wildlife really appealed to me. But at the same time, I was shocked bythe condition of the local water," Li says.

"Many localpeople got sick due to the scarcity of safe water and the lack of sanitationsupplies. Since then, a powerful sense of mission has developed and thatunderpins everything we do there," Li says.

Despite the manydifficulties, Li and his team constantly travel throughout Africa, and theyhave struggled on tirelessly and without complaint.

"Whenever Iarrive in an African country, I will take some time to visit local museums andmarkets to try to understand more about the local culture and life-style. Ithink this will help improve collaboration," he says.

Li and hisresearch team work on two main projects, the re-use of waste water for forestplantation irrigation, and the development of new technologies for the supplyof safe water. The team has gained first-hand knowledge about water resourcedistribution and the main barriers to water treatment in Africa.

Threememorandums of understanding on safe water supply and water treatmenttechnology were signed with partners from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Kisumu,Nairobi of Kenya and demonstration projects have been ongoing.

In order toadapt to East Africa's unstable raw water quality such high turbidity andfrequent variation, Li and his team carried out thorough technological researchat Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company, and made technical progress inwater process design, monitoring and management as well as emergency responsesystems, which effectively ensured the safety of the city's water supply.

Meanwhile, thenew water treatment chemicals provided by China not only lowered the chemicaland energy costs, but also helped save about 355,000 tons of backwash watereach year.

As an educator,Li often says, "Giving a man a fish is not better than teaching him how tofish". He hopes that more environmental talents can be trained to helppeople in developing countries promote sustainable development.

In addition toundertaking research on international environment issues, he also providedtraining for both domestic and overseas environmental officers and students forsustainable development through the UNEP-Tongji Institute for Environment andSustainable Development (IESD).

The institutedeveloped a number of specialties for the cultivation of senior technical andmanagerial personnel, such as water resource reservation, industrial ecologyand environment management, eco-city planning and management, energy andenvironment, economic development and ecological protection, environmentalinformatics, environmental monitoring and remote control, environmental valueanalysis, regional and global environmental studies.

So far, morethan 3,000 representatives from governments, NGO, institutions and private sectorsfrom developing countries have benefited from more than 50 training programs atthe institute.

Li's tremendousefforts have paid off. Last year, he was honored with the UN prize "InRecognition of Special Contribution to South-South and Triangle Cooperation"due to his significant contribution to the China-Africa cooperation on the safewater supply technology transfer during the 2013 Global South-South Development(GSSD) Expo held in the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

"In spiteof substantial progress achieved in the projects, there is still a long way togo due to the factors restraining cooperation among developing countries, suchas regional conflict and asymmetric information, But we will spare no effortsin the poverty reduction and economic development and most importantly,maintaining a sound ecosystem in this beautiful African continent," Lisaid at the awards ceremony.

This month, Liwent to Africa again, working as special coordinator of UNEP in a one yearstint. This is his 40th trip to the continent. "Here, I will continue todevote myself to strengthening the South-South Cooperation. Africa is stilllagging behind other places in terms of social and economic development, but Ithink the continent will definitely have a better future in next 10years," he says.

wanghongyi@chinadaily.com.cn

Source from: http://www.chinadailyasia.com/life/2014-03/26/content_15127180.html