Bonhams expert Michaela Vergottis holds a yellow Jade Chinese Imperial Sceptre on May 9, 2011 in London, England. The piece which is thought to have been taken by British Troups during the Boxer Rebellion is expected to fetch between £800,000 – 1.2 M GBP when it goes on sale at the “Chinese Art” sale at Bonham's auction house on May 12, 2011. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

A Hindu holy man or Sadhu walks back to his ashram after taking a dip at Sangam, confluence of Ganges river, Yamuna river and mythical Saraswati river in Allahabad, India, Thursday, August 4, 2016. (Photo by Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo)

Growing cities, overuse of fertilizers and factory wastewater have degraded China's water supplies to the extent that half the nation's rivers and lakes are severely polluted. China aims to spend $850 billion to improve filthy water supplies over the next decade, but even such huge outlays may do little to reverse damage caused by decades of pollution and overuse in Beijing's push for rapid economic growth. Photo: Fishermen row a boat in the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui province, June 19, 2009. (Photo by Jianan Yu/Reuters)

Men rest on a boat in the overflowed Ganges River under the Shastri Bridge in Allahabad on August 17, 2022, as water levels of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers rose following monsoon rainfalls. (Photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP Photo)

A river otter (lontra longicaudis) of 6-weeks-old looks in the mirror during a bath in the Animal Welfare Unit of the Zoo in Cali, Colombia, on October 22, 2019. The baby otter was found abandoned brought to the Cali Zoo for breeding, for its extensive experience in raising these species. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature the river otter (lontra longicaudis) are in danger of extinction, because of mining, agriculture, pollution of rivers and housing construction in their habitat. (Photo by Luis Robayo/AFP Photo)

Hugo Belleri (L), a three-year-old boy and the youngest Gilles of Binche, takes part in the parade of Young Gilles of Binche during the carnival event in Binche February 17, 2015. The Binche carnival, a UNESCO World Heritage event, is the biggest and the liveliest annual event in Belgium. Up to 1,000 Gilles parade in the city centre of Binche, wearing a red, yellow and black medieval costume hung with bells and decorated with fluffy lace at the neck, wrists and ankles. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

A boat commutes across the Mekong river in Phnom Penh on August 8, 2014. The Mekong is the world's twelth longest river running from the Tibetan Plateau through China's Yunnan province, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. (Photo by Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP Photo)

Policemen and residents run as waves from a tidal bore surge past a barrier on the banks of Qiantang River in Haining, Zhejiang province August 31, 2011. As Typhoon Nanmadol approaches eastern China, the tides and waves in Qiantang River recorded its highest level in 10 years, local media reported. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)