Cherish Wetlands, Protect the Future, Promote Global Actions on Wetland Protection
——Speech at the opening ceremony of the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Wetlands
(November 5, 2022)
President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping
Ladies, gentlemen and friends:
On behalf of the Chinese government and people, and in my own name, I would like to express my warm congratulations on the convening of the conference!
Throughout the ages, human beings have lived by water, and civilization has been born with water. Human production and life are closely related to wetlands. With the theme of “Cherish Wetlands, Harmonious Coexistence between Man and Nature”, this conference is of great significance to seek common wetland protection and development. We need to deepen understanding, strengthen cooperation, and jointly promote global action on wetland conservation.
——We must build a global consensus on cherishing wetlands, have a deep reverence for nature, reduce the interference and damage of human activities, maintain the ecological safety boundary of wetlands, and leave beautiful wetlands for future generations.
——We should promote the global process of wetland protection, strengthen the protection of authenticity and integrity, incorporate more important wetlands into nature reserves, improve the cooperation mechanism and platform, and expand the scale of internationally important wetlands.
——We need to enhance the benefits of wetlands to the global well-being of the people, give full play to the functions of wetlands, promote sustainable development, address climate change, protect biodiversity, and bring more benefits to people of all countries.
Ladies, gentlemen, friends!
China has made historic achievements in wetland protection. The wetland area has reached 56.35 million hectares. A protection system has been established, and the Wetland Protection Law has been promulgated. Like Wuhan, many cities in China are integrated with wetlands and are ecologically livable. China will build a modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and promote the high-quality development of wetland conservation.
Not long ago, China formulated the Plan for the Spatial Layout of National Parks. China will set up a batch of national parks one after another, accounting for about 10% of the land area. About 11 million hectares of wetlands will be incorporated into the national park system. and other wetland types of national parks, and implement the national wetland protection plan and major wetland protection projects. China will promote international exchanges and cooperation, protect four migratory birds passing through China, establish an “International Mangrove Center” in Shenzhen, and support the holding of the Global Coastal Forum.
The road is long and the road is long, and the journey will come; the journey will not stop, and the future can be expected. Let us work together to write a new chapter in global wetland conservation.
thank you all!
(according to Xinhua News Agency)