ULAN BATOR, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia held a national conference starting on Wednesday to protect the freshwater Khuvsgul Lake.
The two-day national conference, co-organized by the Office of the President of Mongolia and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, aims to better protect the lake's ecosystem, clean up pollution and hazardous waste and develop sustainable tourism around the lake, according to the organizers.
"The number of domestic and foreign tourists visiting the Khuvsgul Lake is increasing year by year," Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh said during the opening ceremony of the conference. "As a result, many tourist camps have sprung up around the lake, causing widespread pollution and litter."
Mongolians respectfully call the Khuvsgul Lake "Mother Ocean" or "Blue Pearl," Khurelsukh said, calling on his people to pay attention to keeping the lake clean and pure and preserving it for future generations.
Khuvsgul Lake is located in the northern province of Khuvsgul near the Russian border, and is the second largest freshwater lake in Asia, holding nearly 70 percent of Mongolia's fresh water and 0.4 percent of the world's total.
The lake is 1,645 meters above sea level, 136 km long and 262 meters deep. ■
