A long-term wetland protection program using international funds to
guard biological diversity and regulate use of China's wetlands has
been kicked off this week.
Under the program, a record US$34.57 million will be poured into
the protection of wetlands in China's five provinces during the
2000-04 period. Over 33 per cent will be given from the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP) and about US$2.6 million is
pledged from the Australian Government, according to the State
Forestry Administration.
The remaining funds, about 58 per cent of the total, are scheduled
to be raised by both the Chinese central government and local areas
that will benefit from the program.
A
conference financed by the Global Environmental Foundation (GEF)
and UNDP was held in Beijing to discuss details of implementing the
program, the largest ever launched by UNDP for wetland protection,
sources with SFA said.
The program zone will cover wetlands in Northeast China's Sanjiang
Plain, along the coastal shoal in Yancheng in East China's Jiangsu
Province, in Dongting Lake of Central China's Hunan Province and
Nuoergai swamp crossing Southwest China's Sichuan Province and
northwestern Gansu Province.
Wetlands, the natural ecological system often referred to as the
earth's "kidneys,'' play an important role in water conservation
and the prevention of soil erosion and flooding.
It
is of vital importance for China to carry out a long-term wetland
protection program, senior officials with the SFA said, adding that
they hoped it could focus on tackling major issues threatening the
biological diversity of the wetlands.
Major problems facing the areas include loss caused by human
activities, worsening pollution, damage to ecological diversity,
degeneration of ecological functions and abuse of resources, one
expert said.
China has the largest wetland area in Asia at about 65 million
hectares, or 10 per cent of the world total.
Chinese wetlands have 1,540 varieties of plants and 1,500 species
of animals, including 300 species of waterfowl, one-fourth of
China's bird families.
Wetlands in North China and in the middle and the lower reaches of
the Yangtze River have degenerated, forcing an increasing number of
migratory birds to change their annual flights from inland China to
coastal areas of East China.
In
past years, increasing population and economic development have
resulted in a continuous deterioration of the wetlands.
Some experts have even partly blamed the heavy flooding along
China's Yangtze, Nenjiang and Songhuajiang rivers in the summer of
1998 on the continuing degeneration of the wetlands.
While introducing advanced management experiences to China, SFA
officials said they also hope that protective and technological
management capabilities of wetland protection can be improved.
One of the most important impacts of the program, officials said,
is to raise awareness of protection among people living around
existing major wetlands.
Protecting the wetland diversity will not only safeguard the
natural resources and environment but also ensure a solid
foundation for the sustainable development of local economies and
social progress, experts said.
Sustainable exploitation of the wetlands and their neighboring
areas are also expected to be further promoted with the completion
of the program.
(China Daily )