CAS Releases Assessment Report on Jiuzhaigou World Heritage Site Recovering from Earthquake

A remote sensing assessment report released by the Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) shows that Jiuzhaigou in southwest China's Sichuan Province is recovering from an earthquake on August 8, 2017.

Jiuzhaigou National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is famous for its spectacular waterfalls, colorful waters, serene plateau lake and lush forests.

The report consists of the environmental change information including the topography, landforms, water bodies, and vegetation coverage at the core area of Jiuzhaigou three years after the destructive earthquake.

A research team, led by Prof. FU Bihong, and his colleagues from the UNESCO's International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritages (HIST), combined multi-source, multi-temporal, multi-scale remote sensing data as well as field investigation to monitor and evaluate the environmental changes in Jiuzhaigou, finding that the water environment in the core area of Jiuzhaigou is gradually recovering. An interpretation of remote sensing image on June 3, 2020 shows that the water body area of the site is about 220 hectares.

However, great attention still should be paid to the risk of geological disasters such as landslides, collapses and debris-flows.

Jiuzhaigou has been affected by active tectonics during its long history, which led to dammed lakes, blocked rivers, and calcified deposits that "gradually shaped the specular landscapes of Jiuzhaigou", and it is a process of “recurring geomorphic landscape formation and evolution”. People must adhere to the scientific concept of "recovery from Nature", and believe the “magic of Time”, waiting to see that Jiuzhaigou regain its vitality, Prof. Fu emphasized.