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World Wetlands Day: Healthier wetlands, better humans

CGTN

As the country with the largest wetland area in Asia, China remains stable with its overall wetland area, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration announced its latest report on the occasion of the 28th World Wetlands Day.

A file photo shows the autumn scenery at Ergun National Wetland Park in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. /CFP
A file photo shows the autumn scenery at Ergun National Wetland Park in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. /CFP

A file photo shows the autumn scenery at Ergun National Wetland Park in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. /CFP

A swan flaps its wings as other swans swim across the Salt Lake surrounded by the snowy wetlands of Yuncheng, north China's Shanxi Province on January 16, 2024. /CFP
A swan flaps its wings as other swans swim across the Salt Lake surrounded by the snowy wetlands of Yuncheng, north China's Shanxi Province on January 16, 2024. /CFP

A swan flaps its wings as other swans swim across the Salt Lake surrounded by the snowy wetlands of Yuncheng, north China's Shanxi Province on January 16, 2024. /CFP

China has made remarkable progress in the protection and restoration of its wetlands over the past decade. On November 5, 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the opening ceremony of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands that China had increased its area of wetlands to 56.35 million hectares, established a protection system and enacted a law on wetlands conservation, adding that the country would pursue the modernization of harmony between man and nature and promote high-quality development in the cause of wetlands conservation.

According to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, China has built over 2,200 wetland nature reserves in recent years, and the wetland biodiversity has been enriched, with more than 2,300 plant species recorded. Efforts have also been made to implement the Wetland Protection Law to protect and restore important wetland ecosystems.

An early winter scene of pond cypress trees in the Zhangdu Lake Wetland Park in Xinzhou District of Wuhan, Hubei Province, December 6, 2023. /CFP
An early winter scene of pond cypress trees in the Zhangdu Lake Wetland Park in Xinzhou District of Wuhan, Hubei Province, December 6, 2023. /CFP

An early winter scene of pond cypress trees in the Zhangdu Lake Wetland Park in Xinzhou District of Wuhan, Hubei Province, December 6, 2023. /CFP

A late autumn scene of a wetland in Enshi, Hubei Province, November 26, 2023. /CFP
A late autumn scene of a wetland in Enshi, Hubei Province, November 26, 2023. /CFP

A late autumn scene of a wetland in Enshi, Hubei Province, November 26, 2023. /CFP

Large numbers of migratory birds inhabit the wetland in Dangyang, Hubei Province, January 20, 2024. /CFP
Large numbers of migratory birds inhabit the wetland in Dangyang, Hubei Province, January 20, 2024. /CFP

Large numbers of migratory birds inhabit the wetland in Dangyang, Hubei Province, January 20, 2024. /CFP

Take central China's Hubei Province as an example. The province had recorded 86 species of waterbirds with a total population of 1.05 million by last year. Compared to 2016, the number of species has increased by 19.4 percent and the population has grown nearly fivefold, according to a winter waterbird survey released in 2023.

In addition, Xi Jinping called on more countries to explore ways to further conserve and develop their wetlands to make the world a better place to live.

Remarks by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands /Poster by CGTN
Remarks by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands /Poster by CGTN

Remarks by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands /Poster by CGTN

Remarks by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands /Poster by CGTN
Remarks by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands /Poster by CGTN

Remarks by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands /Poster by CGTN

Remarks by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands /Poster by CGTN
Remarks by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands /Poster by CGTN

Remarks by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands /Poster by CGTN

Data from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration shows that by November 2023, China's internationally significant wetlands numbered 82 and its international wetland cities numbered 13. The authority also released a wetland protection plan, which aims to increase China's wetland protection rate to 55 percent by 2025.

By 2030, China is expected to have significantly improved ecosystems and biodiversity of its wetlands, and established itself as major participant, contributor and leader in global wetland protection and restoration.

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