Humanity and nature: White paper reveals China's biodiversity protection efforts

BEIJING, Oct. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This is a report from China SCIO about the country's newly released white paper titled "Biodiversity Conservation in China."

Video link: https://youtu.be/l9cUmbSf42s

Video caption: China issues the country's first white paper about biodiversity conservation on Oct. 8, 2021. As one of the world's most biodiverse countries, China has effectively protected biodiversity and actively worked with the international community on biodiversity conservation.

On Oct. 8, China's State Council Information Office issued a white paper titled "Biodiversity Conservation in China," the first of its kind in the country. The paper introduced the country's work on biodiversity conservation and shared its achievements in the sector. 

According to the white paper, China has proposed and implemented a number of measures to protect biodiversity.

For example, China has been developing a protected area system with a focus on national parks. Since 1956 when the first nature reserve was set up, China has established nearly 10,000 protected areas of all types and at all levels. They now account for about 18% of the country's total land area. The protected area system provides effective protection to 90% of terrestrial ecosystem types and 71% of key state-protected wildlife species.

Another example is the ecological conservation red lines, an important institutional innovation in the country's land use planning and eco-environmental reform. Essential ecological functional areas for biodiversity conservation and the most ecologically fragile regions are brought under the red lines, allowing for stringent conservation measures. At present, the red lines cover forests, grasslands, and other important ecosystems across key regions of biodiversity all over the country, bringing most rare and endangered species and their habitats under protection.

Besides protecting biodiversity at home, China has also participated in international efforts on biodiversity conservation.

The country has been actively implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity and related protocols. According to the white paper, since 2019, China has been the largest contributor to the core budget of the convention and its protocols, and has strongly supported its operation and implementation. 

The release of the white paper came just ahead of a major UN meeting on biodiversity. The world has entered the final 10-year period of realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The international community is standing at a historic juncture for achieving biodiversity conservation and global sustainable development.

In the white paper, China pledges that it will work together with the international community to realize the worldwide vision of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.

Humanity and nature: White paper reveals China's biodiversity protection efforts
http://english.scio.gov.cn/pressroom/2021-10/10/content_77799567.htm

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