Will Legend Loves Nature – SDGs, ESG & CSR

I love doing something to help nature and society, not just for now, but for future.

– W.L. Hung, CEO

For some people who especially live in the cities, it’s hard for them to understand the value of nature such as wildlife animals, insects, plants, rivers, oceans, forests, and beautiful landscapes etc. The fact is, nature underpins our society, economy, lives, and our very existence indeed. We shouldn’t consider that nature is free, and often take it for granted and overexploit it.

To Will Legend, safeguard the glaciers, glacial water sources is to advocate:

  1. Safeguard the Third Pole, Antarctic and Arctic, and slow down the glacier ablation rate
  2. Build Will Legend “The Third Pole (HK) Glacier Museum”, promote glacier protection through education and popular science
  3. Build Will Legend “Tian Shan (HK) Glacier Research Institute”, promote glacier protection through academic research collaborations
  4. Lead the Public to safeguard glaciers, promote Glacier-Snow-Ecosystem school tour & research
  5. Explore the “Green-Blueprint”, build “Glacier-Snow-Ecosystem, Glacier-Snow-Economy”
  6. Let the Glacier Cool, safeguard Wildlife Corridor, Let the Ocean Breathe, live in harmony with nature
  7. Will Legend “Let the Glacier Cool” as the starting point, practice the “Belt and Road Initiative” sustainable development goals for humans
  8. Support the UN “Water for Sustainable Development” and the Paris Agreement
  9. Support Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to declare 2025 the International Year for the Protection of Glaciers, & United Nations the World Day of Glaciers
  10. “Dual Carbon Targets (carbon peak and carbon neutrality)” and low-carbon lifestyle
  11. Build “Cradle of Ecosystem” as a seed bank for different living things
  12. Promote circular economy, aims at future sustainable development and resource symbiosis
  13. Adopt green energy (clean and renewable energy) such as wind energy, water energy, solar energy, and geothermal energy
  14. Balance economic development goals with nature, and fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
  15. Biodiversity and a balanced ecosystem are the treasures of humans, and the hope for humanity’s future

Will Legend “Let the Glacier Cool” Conservation & Education Programme
Let the Glacier Cool, Let the Earth Cool

Safeguard the last piece of pure land on the Earth, let the glacier cool, let the ocean breathe, run through the pulse to wildlife corridor, draw a “Green-Blueprint”, build a cradle of ecosystem, breed biodiversity, make human health and prosperity sustainable

– The Sustainable Conservation Goals of Will Legend

Will Legend “Let the Glacier Cool” Conservation & Education Programme

Let the Glacier Cool, Let the Earth Cool

Safeguard the last piece of pure land on the Earth, let the glacier cool, let the ocean breathe, run through the pulse to wildlife corridor, draw a “Green-Blueprint”, build a cradle of ecosystem, breed biodiversity, make human health and prosperity sustainable

– The Sustainable Conservation Goals of Will Legend

Will Legend Safeguards the Last Piece of Pure Land on the Earth

The three poles refers to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Arctic, and the Antarctic. Humans cannot survive without water and land. Tibetans living an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters atop the “Roof of the World” understand the preciousness of pure water and soil. There are many ancient glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau (the Third Pole) including Xinjiang. The melted water of the glaciers formed water sources. Water and land nourish the nature, forming oases on land, sending pulses through rivers, and giving birth to all living things, including humans. Similarly, meltwater from glaciers turns into rivers carrying nutrients, and eventually merges into the sea, nourishing marine life and “Let the Ocean Breathe”.

Will Legend and the public jointly build “Cradle of Ecosystem” that belongs to the future of humans, as a seed bank for different organisms and a habitat for them to breed and grow. After all, biodiversity and a balanced ecosystem are the treasures of humans, and the hope for humanity’s future. Will Legend is willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with the public to protect the cleanest regions on Earth. At the same time, we advocate the establishment of “Green Corridor” in different regions, including cities, and work together with the “seeds” of the future to explore and establish a “Green-Blueprint”, build “Glacier-Snow-Ecosystem, Glacier-Snow-Economy” to protect the fragile ecological environment and the Earth.

Glaciers Are Not Only Beautiful Natural Scenery,
but Also Important Ecological Resources

Glacier is magnificent, but it becomes very helpless and vulnerable when it faces the enemy of climate change. Glaciers have a very important function, which is to regulate solid and liquid water (glacier accumulation and glacier ablation). The greenhouse gases and black carbon suspended particles on the surface of ice and snow accelerates the rate of glacier ablation on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Eventually the lake level may rise, flooding the grasslands and villages. Another situation is that, if the glaciers disappear due to rapid melting, the lakes and oases will also become dry land, and the livestock and local people that depend on it will not be able to continue.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters. As the Third Pole of the Earth, it is the ice and snow storage area second only to the Antarctic and the Arctic. Here is the starting point of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, the mother rivers of the Chinese, and also the birthplace of 13 rivers in Asia, including the Mekong River, the Indus River, and the Ganges River. There are 50,000 square kilometers of lakes, 100,000 square kilometers of glaciers, 300,000 square kilometers of perennial snow, and more than 9 trillion cubic meters of water resources, which involve the survival and development of more than 2 billion people, so it is called the “Asian Water Tower”. According to the traditional Tibetan saying, Mount Gangdise is the “father of all mountains” and Lake Manasarovar (Mapang Yongcuo Lake) is “the source of all waters”, all mountains and waters in the world originate from this place.

Safeguard the Fragile “Asian Water Tower”

The glaciers in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the huge glaciers in Xinjiang, such as the Qilian Mountains, Altai Mountains, Tianshan Mountains and Kunlun Mountains form clean glacial water sources. Here is the starting point of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, the mother rivers of the Chinese, and also the birthplace of 13 rivers in Asia, including the Mekong River, the Indus River, and the Ganges River. There is also the only river in China that flows northward into the Arctic Ocean – the Irtysh River, originating from the Altai Mountains.

There are 50,000 square kilometers of lakes, 100,000 square kilometers of glaciers, 300,000 square kilometers of perennial snow, and more than 9 trillion cubic meters of water resources, which involve the survival and development of more than 2 billion people, so it is called the “Asian Water Tower”. According to the traditional Tibetan saying, Mount Gangdise is the “father of all mountains” and Lake Manasarovar (Mapang Yongcuo Lake) is “the source of all waters”, all mountains and waters in the world originate from this place.

Let the Glacier Cool, Let the Earth Cool

In August 2021, professor Wang Feiteng, a researcher at the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, member of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Cryosphere Monitoring Program (GCW) Expert Team and Third Pole Regional Climate Service Center (TPRCC) expert team member, led a team to the Dagu Glacier in Heishui County of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province to conduct experiments on slowing glacier melting. The energy required for glacier ablation mainly comes from the short-wave radiation of the sun. The absorption of short-wave radiation by glaciers mainly depends on the albedo of the glacier surface. In the two-month experiment, the melting speed of the glacier covered with insulating blankets was significantly slower. Compared with the glacier without any protective measures, the thickness of the melting slowed down to 1 meter.

Cover Glacier With “Cooling Patch”, Let the Glacier Cool

Will Legend uses the meaning of Tibetan prayer flags to let the glaciers cool. (Red – Fire) Build a large fan (wind power generation) to blow away the hot and high temperature for the glaciers; (Yellow – Land) Plant sunflowers and flowering plants on the land to cool down the glaciers; (Green – Water) Increase the number of phytoplankton in the ocean to absorb greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide) for glaciers; (Blue – Sky) Build land-based blue ocean photovoltaic power generation, let heat becomes vitality; (White – White Clouds) Build “Cooling Patch” (reflective heat insulation materials) to reflect short-wave solar radiation.

As the climate situation becomes more severe, Will Legend believes that plans organized and led at the community level can be implemented more effectively, which is crucial for people and ecosystems. The essence behind the various glacier-saving experiments or campaigns introduced by Will Legend is from the perspective of education and popular science, so that the public and our next generation can pay more attention to the problem of glacier shrinkage and retreat. Then through other land and ocean conservation programs also founded by Will Legend, to absorb carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas) in the atmosphere to tackle climate change and truly achieve a long-term solution.

Save the Melting Glacier and Earth’s “Third Pole”

As the Third Pole of the Earth, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the storage of ice and snow second only to the Antarctic and the Arctic. Half of the world’s population depends directly or indirectly on glaciers as a source of water for domestic use, agriculture and power generation. Glaciers are also the backbone of biodiversity and support numerous ecosystems. When glaciers melt rapidly, humans are at increased risk of natural disasters such as water shortages and floods.

Glaciers at World Heritage Sites are melting at an accelerating pace, with a third of them set to disappear by 2050, according to new research released by UNESCO. These glaciers have been melting at an accelerated rate since 2000 due to rising temperatures caused by carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new study by UNESCO in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

As a special and important component of the global ecosystem, glaciers are of great significance to maintaining regional ecological stability and regulating meltwater runoff. However, melting caused by climate change threatens this important resource. However, with global warming, the Dagu Glacier has melted significantly, and its total glacier area has shrunk from 2.65 square kilometers in 1980 to 0.54 square kilometers in 2020. Therefore, Will Legend joined forces with the Dagu Glacier Management Bureau and the Northwest Institute of Ecology and Environment Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to form the “Glacier Sustainable Partners”, through “Let the Glacier Cool” to further strengthen scientific research on glacier protection, and use glacier-study tours as education and promotion, encourage the public to protect glaciers and water resources.

Will Legend – A Journey to Safeguard Glaciers

Will Legend created the “Let the Glacier Cool” conservation and education programme, which focuses on protecting glaciers and promoting the importance of glaciers and glacier as water resources to humans and living things. Will Legend leads the journey to safeguard glaciers, showing the public and students how to apply the concept of “Supporting Social and Economic Development with Glacier Ecosystems, and Giving Back to Glacier Conservation with Economic Results” – meaning while improving economic and social development, we should practice peaceful and balanced coexistence with nature and seek sustainable development of peace, health and prosperity for humans now and in the future. Although glaciers are far away from us, if each of us can love nature and is willing to shoulder the responsibility of environmental protection while developing, we can protect the glaciers, slow down the melting speed of glaciers, reduce the rate of glacier ablation and, save the future of humans.

As the initiator of the “Let the Glacier Cool” programme, Will Legend takes the lead in injecting start-up funds into “Will Legend Glacier Scientific Research and Talent Development” to serve as training scientific and tour guide ambassadors for the “The Third Pole 4860 Study Tour”, “The Third Pole 4860 Research Tour” and “The Third Pole 4860 SDG & ESG Trip”, for providing students and participants a solid foundation in glacier science to achieve sustainable development of glacier ecology. Will Legend has received support from Tianshan Glaciological Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Dagu Glacier Management Authority to establish Will Legend “The Third Pole (HK) Glacier Museum” at Dagu Glacier, Heishui County, Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, together with “Let the Glacier Cool” school tours serving as the foothold and starting point, to organize academic research, trips and study tours and lead the public to embark on a journey of glacier conversation for all. At the same time, through “Education, and Promotion” to promote the protection of The Third Pole, Antarctic and Arctic, so that the public, especially the next generations can understand that protecting glaciers is equivalent to protecting mankind’s most precious freshwater resources, nature and the Earth.

Safeguard Glaciers with Our Hands

Will Legend “Let the Glacier Cool” as the starting point, practice the “Belt and Road Initiative” sustainable development goals for humans and nature. Glaciers contain approximately 78% of the world’s fresh water resources and play an important role in regulating the Earth’s temperature, global heat balance and water balance. Will Legend advocates safeguarding the glaciers, glacial water sources at the society and community level, through educate and promote in responding to climate change, “Dual Carbon Targets (carbon peak and carbon neutrality)”, a low-carbon lifestyle, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, Will Legend creates a flower to wildlife corridor with bees and sunflowers, plants phytoplankton to let the ocean breathe, and organizes journey to glaciers to let the glacier cool, to keep the balance between glacier accumulation and ablation.

Will Legend believes in adopting green energy (clean and renewable energy) such as wind energy, water energy, solar energy (photovoltaic power generation), geothermal energy, etc., and using circular economy as the goal of sustainable development and resource symbiosis in the future. While developing the economy, building “White Ecology and White Economy” as promoting glacier-snow-ecosystem, glacier-snow-economy, echoing the concept of “Green Waters and Green Mountains are gold mountains and silver mountains, Glaciers and Snows are also gold mountains and silver mountains”. Humans safeguard the Earth is to safeguard the peace, health and prosperity of humans now, and in the future. Will Legend firmly believes that humans should live in harmony with nature.

In the past 50 years, the temperature on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has risen by an average of 0.3 to 0.4°C every ten years, which is twice the rate of global warming, Environmental Audit Sub-Committee on Polar Research points to research that the Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the globe. Will Legend hopes that through a series of conservation and education programs to encourage protecting glaciers and biodiversity, support the United Nations International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” (2018-2028) and the Paris Agreement to take action on climate change, hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels”, pursue efforts “to limit to below 1.5°C”. At the same time, Will Legend supports Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to declare 2025 the International Year for the Protection of Glaciers, and the United Nations World Day of Glaciers on March 21.