China Ecological Protection: Tianjin launches emergency measures to preserve habitat of endangered birds

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In northern China's Tianjin, local authorities introduced a series of emergency measures earlier this month to preserve the habitat of an endangered species of bird. Here's Lu Wei with more.

Beautiful, but fragile.

Relict gulls are listed as first-class protected birds in China. The gulls are very picky about their hatching sites, as they breed in colonies on islands in saltwater lakes.

Clams, shrimp and aquatic insects are their favorite food. Factors threatening the population of the birds include birds of prey, hailstorms, flooding and humans.

Experts say that in recent years, between every October and the next April, over 90 percent of the country's relict gulls have stopped over in the Bohai Bay area.

As videos on beach combing went viral on social media, many people were attracted to the scene for closer contact with nature.

LU WEI TIANJIN "Beach combing is becoming an increasingly popular pastime in the summer, but excavation on this beach could pose a threat to the food resources of relict gulls."

Not far away, local volunteers are on a mission to clean the beach. The garbage collected will be classified and analyzed, before being submitted to a trash management website for source-tracking and control.

QIN ZHAOMING VOLUNTEER "I want the locals here to better understand the surroundings that we live in, what specialties we have. That's also why we care about the environment, the birds, the waters and the beach."

The 2019 UN report on biodiversity says more than half a million species on land have quote "insufficient habitat for long-term survival". But, it's not too late to fix the problem.

Tianjin's local authorities have taken a series of emergency measures, according to wildlife conservation laws and regulations, including strengthened patrols along the coastline, the prohibition of illegal fishing, and a ban on the excessive excavation of the beach.

WANG JIANMIN, DIRECTOR NORTH YANGTZE RIVER WETLAND PROTECTION CENTER "We have a traditional Chinese saying that to attract the golden Phoenix, just plant a Phoenix Tree to accommodate it. We can work to preserve the natural environment, and provide a habitat that is suitable for the gulls to stop over. A scientific approach is our best solution."

Achieving a balance between people's needs to enjoy nature and preserving the environment might not be easy, but it's worthy.

WANG JIANMIN, DIRECTOR NORTH YANGTZE RIVER WETLAND PROTECTION CENTER "When relict gulls are stopping over, people can appreciate the beauty of birds at a distance, without disturbing them. Later, when the gulls have left, the weather would be warmer, of course we can enjoy beach-combing, but sparingly, so as to preserve the birds' habitat."

Wang says the population of birds is a key indicator of the well-being of the ecological system. And, he has witnessed an expanding population of relict gulls in the past decade, which suggests the ecological environment is gradually improving. Lu Wei, CGTN, TIANJIN.