Chinese and Australian scientists are working together to reduce pollution in China's largest freshwater lake, the Poyang Lake in east China's Jiangxi Province.

The joint drive is being carried out under a scientific cooperation program signed between the Jiangxi Provincial Water Conservancy Research Institute and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO ) in Australia, said Li Rongfang, president of the Chinese institute, Sunday.

Scientists from the two sides will endeavor to reduce pollution in the Poyang Lake and recycle those nutrient elements, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, Li said.

The program will last for three years with an estimated investment of 8 million yuan ($1.2 million), he said.

Related scientific studies have started last month, he added.

The Poyang Lake covers 3,583 square km with an average water depth of 8.4 meters. It is fed by five rivers in Jiangxi and empties into the lower reaches of the Yangtze, China's longest river.

Due to fast economic development in recent years, the freshwater lake has been faced with the threat of industrial and agricultural waste water pollution.

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2011)