China held a side event promoting the harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature on Wednesday during the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, Canada. 

Huang Runqiu, president of COP15 and China's minister of ecology and environment, attended the event and delivered a keynote speech.

Huang said only by respecting nature and nature can humans safeguard their shared home.

He said China has actively promoted the construction of a system of nature reserves led by national parks, and the relationship between man and nature is shifting from exploitation to protection. 

Huang emphasized that through years of hard work, China's biodiversity conservation has achieved remarkable results, effectively preserving 74 percent of nationally protected wild animal and plant populations. In addition, more than 300 endangered wild animals and plant species are being restored, he said. 

The Chinese minister also said that China expects all parties to work together to achieve the long-awaited "framework" that is ambitious, pragmatic and balanced to curb and reverse the severe biodiversity loss.

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, and Marco Lambertini, director general of World Wildlife Fund International, also attended the side event and delivered keynote speeches. 

The second phase of COP15 began on Wednesday in Montreal, where the Secretariat of the Convention is located. The first phase of COP15 was held in southwestern China's Kunming in October 2021. China will continue chairing the second phase of the meeting.

(Cover image via VCG)

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