Spread over 153,000 hectares, the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in Dongying is not only one of China's largest wetlands but also one of the most important. With 1,555 varieties of wild fauna, it provides a natural habitat for almost 300 bird species.

A flock of one of many species of birds gather in a pool at the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in Dongying, Shandong province. In other parts of the reserve, bulldozers are busy leveling the land for the construction of an economic zone. [China Daily]

Yet a large slice of this reserve in Shandong province is being destroyed to make way for industrial development projects sanctioned by the local government - a move that flies in the face of the country's strict laws on conservation.

The vast wetlands, which were formed over centuries by silt from the Yellow River, are about 30 km north of Xianhe, a small town on the east coast.

Today, only a road separates the eastern border of nature reserve and a petrochemical base currently under construction.

On one side of the road, bulldozers are busy leveling the land, while construction workers bury pipes underground as part of the industrial project. On the other is what used to be the wetlands, now drained and dredged, with the soil piled up into ridges. Heavy-duty trucks arrive every day to take the soil away.

Only several pockets of wetlands are still visible, with reed marshes dotted with small ponds and a flock of black-winged stilts cruising in the water pools.

When it comes to natural ecological systems, wetlands are commonly referred to as "Earth's kidneys" as they play a crucial role in water conservation, as well as the prevention of erosion and flooding.

Residents and ecologists argue that the ongoing development is not only a threat to the reserve's abundant vegetation and aquatic organisms, but also could disrupt a vital migratory point for waterfowls and other birds from Northeast Asia and the Western Pacific.

More than six million migratory birds spend the winter and breed in the area, according to the reserve's administrative bureau.

"The birds are very sensitive to any changes in their habitats, so to preserve the original landscape is the best way to protect the Yellow River Delta," said 40-something bird lover and amateur photographer Sun Jinsong, who has spent years taking pictures in the conservation zone.

In the middle of the construction site, a petrochemical plant called Haike Ruilin is already in operation, with flames reaching into the sky from its flare stack.

The factory opened the first phase in March to make products including gasoline, diesel, liquid gas and refinery coke, and was expected to bring an annual sales income of 5.8 billion yuan ($850 million), according to a city newspaper in nearby Dongying.

The work now under way on the industrial site will see it expanded to 100 hectares, with 11 new projects including petrochemical, chlorinate alkali and oil refining plants. All are expected to start operations by 2013, while the budget is estimated at 4.3 billion yuan.

Five chemical plants have already been built, five are under construction and two more are still in the planning stages, according to a Xianhe-based engineer named Lu who cited information from the Dongying Mayor Hotline.

The petrochemical base is part of Dongying port economic development zone, approved by the Shandong provincial government in 2006, which will eventually cover an area of 232 square kilometers, focusing on petrochemical, marine chemical, salt chemical and coal chemical industries.

The coastal site boasts many important competitive edges, according to the website of Dongying's management committee for the development zone, which cited that fact it is close to a large port, as well as Shengli Oil Field, the second largest in China, which has 4.8 billion tons of proved oil reserve (annual production of crude oil is about 27 million tons) and 230 billion cubic meters of proved natural gas reserve.

The vast State-owned "waste alkali land" is another advantage for the development zone as no arable land is involved, the website reads, before adding: "The abundant land resources will provide solid guarantee for industrial development, especially when other coastal areas are currently running short of land."

However, the website fails to mention anything about the Yellow River Delta Nature Reserve, even though a featured planning map suggests the development zone actually overlaps the conservation area.