Globally, the rate of species extinction has been accelerating due to multiple factors, such as alien species invasion, climate change, pollution and habitat loss.

Wild populations of monitored animal species have plummeted over 70 percent in the last half century, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

As one of the world's most biodiverse countries, China is moving towards the symbiosis of economic development and environmental protection, supporting global efforts on biodiversity conservation.

Chaired by China and hosted by Canada, a historic framework, namely the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), was adopted two years ago at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

As COP16 kicked off in Cali, Colombia, on Sunday, key issues will be discussed during the meeting from October 21 to November 11, such as the state of the implementation of the KMGBF and mobilizing financial resources.

China's actions

In October 2021, China announced an initiative to establish the Kunming Biodiversity Fund, taking the lead by investing 1.5 billion yuan (over $210 million). In May 2024, the fund was launched, which would be used to support biodiversity protection in developing countries.

The fund will provide free assistance in the form of financial, technical and capacity support for developing countries to implement the KMGBF under the principles of multilateralism and international operations, said Zhang Yujun, an official of China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Domestically, China has promoted a series of actions in biodiversity conservation.

China has innovatively applied an ecological protection red-line system, which protects certain areas from industrial and urban development to ensure that ecosystems can continue to function effectively. The country aims to keep the national ecological protection red-line area above 3.15 million square kilometers.

The country has created more than 11,000 natural protected areas, covering 18 percent of the country's total land areas and with dedicated funding and management in place to conserve biodiversity.

Also, China is striving to establish the world's largest national park system by 2035.

Its first batch of national parks has been established, consisting of the Sanjiangyuan National Park, the Giant Panda National Park, Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park and Wuyishan National Park. Together, they span a protected land area of 230,000 square kilometers and are home to nearly 30 percent of the country's key terrestrial wildlife species.

As the chair of COP15, China submitted its updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan in January ahead of COP16. The plan covered policy outlines including protection, restoration, pollution management and combating the illegal wildlife trade.