Biological diversity focuses on the preservation of life other than human beings, that is, the plants, animals and ecosystems of the Earth.At the Earth Summit of world leaders in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, a Convention on Biological Diversity was established to which China was an early signatory state. The Convention established three basic goals: The conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources.In 1994 China followed up with a China Action Plan for the Conservation of Biodiversity that provides guidelines for various eco-environmental protection activities, under the State Environmental Protection Administration and coordinated through several state agencies, to implement the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
So far, in China 250 wild animal breeding centers have been established around the country, with a focus on rescuing seven major species, including the giant panda and red ibis. At present, the number of giant pandas in the wild has remained stable at over 1,000, and their living environments keep improving. The number of red ibis has increased to about 250, the number of artificially bred Chinese alligators is close to 10,000 and that of Hainan slope deer to over 700. The number of relict gulls has increased from 2,000 to over 10,000. Tigers, hitherto rarely seen in the country, are now often found roaming the mountains in northeast, east and south China. Research is going forward on artificially breeding the white-flag dolphin. Thanks to the unremitting fight against illegal hunting—and with the cooperation of many animal protection organizations in the international community—Tibetan antelopes are regenerating. Their number had shrunk due to poaching, but today remains stable at about 70,000.
In January 2003 the ChineseAcademy of Sciences initiated a rescue project of endangered plants that plans to increase the number of plant species protected in the academy's 12 botanical gardens from 13,000 to 21,000 in 15 years, with the establishment of the largest botanical garden in the world. Some 300 million yuan in allotted funds will be used to collect rare and endangered species of plants and to establish gene banks centering in QinlingMountains, Wuhan, Xishuangbanna and Beijing.
In line with the United Nations designation of the year 2002 as the International Year of Ecotourism, China explored ways to encourage responsible tourism in natural areas as a way to conserve the environment and help local economies. Local governments in Yunnan Province in cooperation with an organization called “Nature Conservancy” in Yunnan have pioneered programs in ecotourism, and in February 2002 Chinese President Jiang Zemin expressed his appreciation for the Nature Conservancy's contribution over the years to environmental protection in western China to Henry Paulson, chairman of the Asia Pacific Council of the Nature Conservancy of the United States who was visiting China at the invitation of the State Environmental Protection Administration.In reply, Paulson praised the Chinese leadership for what it had done in terms of environmental protection.
