China's first wetland park will be built at Dongtan Beach on
Chongming Island to create an ecological paradise for local
residents.
Five companies - the Netherlands' Alterra, Fleming and Sasaki from
the United States, Japan's System Planning and Belgium's Groep
Planning - have completed the conceptual master plan for the
park.
The project, known as the Dongtan International Wetland Park, will
occupy 24 square kilometers and will take 10 years to complete,
according to James Qiu, general manager of the Wetland Park
Preparatory Office.
Qiu told China Daily yesterday that the total cost was estimated at
about 5 billion yuan (US$600 million) and "the project needs
foreign funds."
He
said he hopes the park will be built along the same lines as some
parks in other parts of the world, saying sizable foreign companies
are welcome to get involved.
On
Monday, the US consulate-general in Shanghai sponsored a seminar to
discuss the wetland park with US BioCHEM and the Shanghai Chongming
Dongtan Investment and Development Co.
The island's beach, one of China's 21 designated wetlands, has been
listed as one of the world's top 40 wetlands of international
importance.
The future park, 40 kilometers from downtown Shanghai, will become
important as an eco-education, research and tourism base, Qiu
said.
It
is set to include zones for rare and endangered species, water
fowls, eco-functional demonstrations, a laboratory and workshop,
and a resort.
The 32,600 hectare Dongtan wetland is located at the east end of
the island, China's third largest, and has become a home or resting
place for migrant birds travelling between Siberia and
Australia.
Every year, about 3 million birds made up of more than 100 species
use the wetland.
"It is a very important stopover point as Dongtan can provide
enough food for the migrating birds," said Lu Jianjian, a professor
at the State Key Laboratory of Estuary and Coasts, which is
affiliated with the East China Normal University.
"If they stay longer, the wetland will probably attract more birds
next year."
(China Daily May 23, 2003)