Conservation efforts boost Yangtze River wetland

Waterbirds search for food at a coastal wetland in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province.Yang Shiyao / Xinhua

Conservation network

The "cross-regional and cross-sectoral" wetland network is one of the rare cases of successful extensive protection, according to Chen Jiakuan.

Liu Xiaohai said the network's 10-year development period has given many conservationists confidence in the prospects for Yangtze wetland conservation.

The conservation network had just 27 members when it was founded in 2007 by the Wetland Management Center, WWF China, wetland managing authorities in five provinces and Shanghai, along the middle and lower reaches of the river.

"Now we have expanded to the upper reaches and have 252 members in 12 provinces," Liu said. "The wetland area managed by our members has expanded from 370,000 hectares to 29 million hectares."

Jiang Yong, a manager with WWF China's Yangtze program, said: "The network is a platform for wetland conservationists to share experiences and ideas, identify issues and update our knowledge. Over the years, it has given technical or financial support to more than 100 conservation projects. Many of our successful projects have been promoted among our members, especially new participants."

Momentum

Liu said that more than half of China's wetland has joined the network to create a cooperative mechanism and "a momentum of communication".

The model has been copied on wetland along the Yellow River, the Heilongjiang River and the East Coast, which have established networks of their own.

"We invited representatives from members of the three networks to attend our meeting," Liu said.

At the meeting, Tang from Dongtan revealed that the reserve recently signed a contract of cooperation with the Dongcaohai National Wetland Park in Heqing county, Yunnan, to help improve the park's management.

"We will share our experiences in research, monitoring and education with our counterparts in Heqing," he said.

Invasive plants have become a threat to conservation of the Yangtze River wetland.Wei Baoyu / For China Daily

Black-necked cranes return to their winter habitat at wetland in Dashanbao Nature Reserve in Yunnan province.Hu Chao / Xinhua