In November 2000, the China Action Plan for Wetland Protection was officially promulgated for implementation. It was a joint effort by the State Forestry Administration and 17 related ministries and commissions after six years of investigation and research. The Action Plan will guide the regularized and systematic protection and rational utilization of wetland in China. According to the plan, at present, China, as one of the countries with the richest wetland biodiversity, has established more than 260 wetland nature reserves. The total area of wetland in China is 650,000 sq km, or 10 percent of the world?s total, ranking first in Asia.
China became a signatory country to the International Convention on Wetlands in 1992. In recent years, more and more efforts have been made for wetland protection. So far, seven wetland sites have been put on the List of International Important Wetlands. It is planned that in the next five years 50 more new wetland reserves will be established in China, and man-made factors that lead to wetland shrinkage will be basically brought under control.
