Contribute Chinese wisdom to building a community of life on earth
2021-10-12 11:33:02Source: People’s Daily
Biodiversity is the foundation for human survival and development, and the bloodline and foundation of the earth’s life community. A few days ago, my country released the white paper “China’s Biodiversity Conservation”, introducing the policy concepts, important measures and progress of my country’s biodiversity conservation.
What achievements have been made in my country’s biodiversity conservation? What progress has been made in implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity? How to carry out the next step? The reporter interviewed Wei Fuwen, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a researcher at the Institute of Zoology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, executive deputy director of the Chinese Endangered Species Science Committee, and Xu Jing, a senior engineer at the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences.
my country’s biodiversity conservation has achieved remarkable results
Reporter: my country is constantly advancing the conservation of biodiversity to keep pace with the times and to develop innovatively. In what areas do you think the results are mainly reflected?
Wei Fuwen: China attaches great importance to biodiversity protection, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has vigorously promoted the top-level design and institutional system construction of ecological civilization, and innovatively combined biodiversity protection with land and space planning. In combination, promote the implementation of the red line system for ecological protection, build a natural protected area system with national parks as the main body, and promote the management and restoration of landscapes, forests, fields, lakes, and sand systems, providing institutional guarantees for the protection of biodiversity in China, with remarkable results. Specifically, it is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
The awareness of biodiversity protection in the whole society has increased significantly. The concept that green waters and green mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains has become the consensus and action of the whole party and society. More and more people have turned from ecological users to protectors, becoming wild guards, forest rangers, etc. Since 2016, Tibet and Qinghai have provided more than 900,000 ecological jobs for the people, and farmers and herdsmen have increased their income by nearly 8 billion yuan.
The construction of the natural reserve system and the protection of wild animals and plants have reached a new level. At present, my country has established nearly 10,000 nature reserves of various types, accounting for about 18% of the land area of the country, and has achieved the 17% requirement set by the “Convention on Biological Diversity” “Aichi Target” ahead of schedule. The ecological protection red line initially delineated covers the key areas of the national biodiversity distribution, including various natural reserves and most biodiversity maintenance functional areas. 90% of terrestrial ecosystem types and 71% of national key protected wild animal and plant species are effectively protected. The endangered species rescue project has been systematically implemented, and the population of rare and endangered wild animals and plants has been restored and increased. The number of giant pandas increased from 1,114 in the 1980s to 1864; the number of Asian elephants in the wild increased from 180 in the 1980s to about 300 at present; and the number of Tibetan antelopes increased from less than 75,000 to more than 300,000. .
Scientifically implement the world‘s largest ecological restoration project to improve the quality of the ecological environment. my country has implemented the construction of key protection forest systems such as natural forest protection and restoration, Beijing-Tianjin sandstorm source management, the Three North Project, and a number of major ecological protection and restoration projects such as returning farmland to forest and grassland, returning grazing land to grassland, protection and restoration of rivers, lakes and wetlands, etc. . From 2000 to 2017, 25% of the global greening growth area came from China, and China’s contribution ratio ranked first in the world.
The level of basic research has been improved in an all-round way, scientifically supporting the protection and governance of biodiversity. The Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the National Forestry and Grass Administration, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have initiated a number of major biodiversity surveys, scientific investigations and scientific research projects, strengthened the construction of a strategic biological resource platform and a network of field research stations, and realized my country’s The level of biodiversity research is in line with the international advanced level, and the level of research in the fields of conservation biology of endangered species has shown an internationally leading trend.
my country has made positive progress in implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity
Reporter: As one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity, what progress has my country made in implementing the Convention?
Xu Jing: On May 22, 1992, the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity was passed in Nairobi, Kenya, establishing the three goals of protecting biodiversity, sustainable use of biodiversity, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources. . In June 1992, my country became one of the first countries to sign the “Convention on Biological Diversity”. Since then, it has ratified and joined the “Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety” and the “Nagoya Protocol on Genetic Resources.” my country has taken active actions to implement the conventions and implement the obligations stipulated in the conventions.
It is the obligation of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to report on progress in national implementation. my country has always strictly fulfilled its obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity and related protocols, and submitted national reports on time and with high quality. The Sixth National Report on China’s Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity submitted in 2019 assessed my country’s progress in implementing the 2011-2020 Biodiversity Strategic Plan. This strategic plan was reviewed and approved by the Conference of the Parties, and determined the 20 biodiversity targets (the “Aichi Targets”) that the world needs to achieve in 2020. It is a programmatic document for global biodiversity governance.
The evaluation results of the sixth national report show that my country’s biodiversity compliance has made positive progress. Achieved and surpassed the three “Aichi Goals” of establishing terrestrial nature reserves, restoring and guaranteeing important ecosystem services, increasing ecosystem resilience and carbon storage, mainstreaming biodiversity, sustainable management of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and sustainable Good progress has been made in 13 “Aichi Targets” including production and consumption.
my country actively organizes and participates in discussions and consultations on the “Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework”
Reporter: What do you think of the overall situation of global biodiversity conservation?
Wei Fuwen: Since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, human society has achieved rapid development in just over 200 years. While enjoying the various benefits and conveniences brought about by technological progress, the relationship between man and nature is in crisis. At present, the world is facing severe challenges such as the accelerated rate of species extinction, the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystems. All these constantly warn mankind that we must deeply reflect on the relationship between man and nature, and we need “transformative measures” to reverse the global challenge of deteriorating biodiversity.
Reporter: What are your expectations for the 15th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations “Convention on Biological Diversity” and the future global biodiversity conservation?
Wei Fuwen: The 15th Conference of the Parties to the “Convention on Biological Diversity” will formulate the “Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework” to set goals and paths for global biodiversity conservation in the next 10 years.
As the host country and chair-elect of the conference, my country is actively organizing and participating in discussions and consultations on the “Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework”, striving to achieve a balance that reflects the three goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and is both ambitious and pragmatic. A landmark framework that caters to the concerns of developing countries will inject new impetus into global biodiversity governance.
As the promoter of “transformative measures”, China uses ecological civilization thoughts to guide biodiversity conservation and adopts strong policy actions, providing an important reference for the international community to respond to challenges. “Ecological civilization” is included in the theme of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Environmental Convention, which reflects the international community’s high recognition of Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions.
my country’s biodiversity conservation and conservation biology research has reached a new level. In the future, we will take the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity as an opportunity to embark on a new journey and use scientific research to help biodiversity conservation. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping’s thoughts on ecological civilization, we have made greater contributions to the realization of the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.
Xu Jing: The 15th Conference of the Parties to the “Convention on Biological Diversity” will formulate the “Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework”, which will be an important outcome of the conference. my country has actively participated in the formulation of this landmark global strategic document, and contributed Chinese wisdom to the future global biodiversity governance by summarizing and sorting out domestic experience in compliance.
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