China’s biodiversity protection has achieved remarkable results. Let’s feel the beauty of biodiversity!
CCTV News:Today (May 22nd) is the 22nd International Biodiversity Day. The theme of this year is "Building a Shared Future for All Life", and the propaganda theme of China is "Building a Community of Life on Earth".
Biodiversity refers to the diversity of life on the earth and the interactions, cycles and natural processes that link it together. "Smiling Angel" finless porpoise, naive giant panda, and "exotic flowers and plants" in the deep valley & HELIP; … It is the biodiversity that makes our blue earth beautiful and rich.
China has a vast territory, both land and sea, complex landforms and climate, which breeds rich and unique ecosystem, species and genetic diversity. It is one of the countries with the richest biodiversity in the world, and biodiversity is an important basis for the harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
In Qinghai Lake, the number of Przewalski’s gazelle, a national first-class protected wild animal, has now increased to more than 2,800. At the same time, the local ecological balance system of water, fish and birds has been formed.
Located in the northeast of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Qinghai Lake is the largest saltwater lake in China, with a total area of about 4,625.6 square kilometers. It is also one of the 35 priority areas for biodiversity protection in China. Przewalski’s gazelle is a national first-class protected wild animal, which is distributed in the area around Qinghai Lake. In these two days, the staff of gangcha county Natural Resources and Forestry Grassland Bureau of Qinghai Province came to the observation point of Przewalski’s gazelle in Hallgeir area near Qinghai Lake to monitor and analyze the reproductive rate and survival rate of this piece of Przewalski’s gazelle in the lambing season this year.
In recent years, with the increasing protection, the ecological environment is getting better and better. The latest monitoring data shows that the number of Przewalski’s gazelle has increased from less than 300 in the 1990s to more than 2,800 in 2021.
In May, Qinghai Lake was full of blue waves and thousands of birds gathered. Tens of thousands of migratory birds migrated to Qinghai Lake to start nesting and breeding. Now the core areas such as Bird Island and Haixingshan have become big birthing rooms for birds, and they are full of vitality everywhere. At present, the total number of waterbirds in the lake area is about 571,000, with 97 species. There is movement on the surface of the water, and it is not "peaceful" underwater. There is also a precious fish species, Qinghai Lake naked carp, which migrates to the freshwater rivers around the lake to lay eggs from June to August every year, forming a spectacle of "yellow croaker migration". According to the latest data, in 2021, the naked carp resources in Qinghai Lake reached 108,500 tons, an increase of 0.81 million tons compared with 2020.
At present, the water area of Qinghai Lake has steadily increased, the self-purification ability of water body has been significantly improved, biodiversity and species richness have also been comprehensively strengthened, and an ecological balance system of water, fish and birds has gradually formed.
After seeing Qinghai Lake, the largest saltwater lake in China, now I’m going to see Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China. It’s like a giant gourd tied on the belt of the Yangtze River. As the ecological environment of the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake continues to improve, the familiar "smiling angel" finless porpoise is back.
Over the past few days, more than 20 Yangtze finless porpoises have been observed playing in the waters of Yangzizhou in Nanchang section of Ganjiang River. From time to time, they jump in groups and set off waves on the river. At present, it is the season for finless porpoises to give birth. Observers found that three finless porpoises have a round belly and jump out of the water from time to time, which is obviously in a state of pregnancy and labor.
The finless porpoise is the only cetacean in the Yangtze River basin, and it is a rare and endangered species. The latest monitoring found that the number of finless porpoises in Poyang Lake has exceeded 700, and Poyang Lake has become the largest paradise for finless porpoises. Because this area is located at the junction of Ganjiang River and Poyang Lake, aquatic plankton is also dense and fish resources are abundant, and finless porpoises also regard this area as their delivery room. In order to ensure the safety of childbirth, the local government has also set up a finless porpoise escort, which guards around the clock. In order to better protect the biodiversity of Poyang Lake wetland, there are thousands of biological towers similar to "small houses" scattered in Poyang Lake National Wetland Park, creating environmental conditions suitable for all kinds of creatures to survive.
The just released Bulletin of Jiangxi Forestry Biodiversity Protection shows that in recent years, the local authorities have further strengthened the biodiversity protection of Poyang Lake by improving laws and regulations, strengthening investigation and monitoring, and strengthening law enforcement supervision. More than 700,000 migratory birds come to Poyang Lake for the winter every year, and more than 98% of the world’s white cranes live here. At present, there are 463 species of birds and more than 140 species of wetland plants recorded in Poyang Lake area.
Ding Jixin, President of Ecological Restoration Promotion Association of China Forestry and Environment Promotion Association:Poyang Lake is the last reservoir before the Yangtze River enters the lower reaches, and the development concept of "jointly protecting and not developing" has also brought historic changes to Poyang Lake. Through protection and restoration, the ecological conditions in the lake area have been continuously improved, and the comprehensive strengthening of biodiversity in Poyang Lake has also played an important supporting role in the protection of biodiversity in the whole Yangtze River basin.
After seeing the ecology of Poyang Lake in the Yangtze River, we now turn our attention to the Yellow River basin and take a look at the biodiversity on both sides of the ecological corridor along the Yellow River. The reporter learned from the Henan Provincial Department of Natural Resources that it is expected that the entire ecological corridor in the south section of the Yellow River will be completed by the end of the year. This complex ecological corridor, which cooperates with nature reserves and wetland parks, also provides an important biological channel for the habitat of rare and endangered birds and the breeding of wild animals and plants.
In early summer, all 109 Taxodium distichum introduced for the first time along the Yellow River Ecological Corridor in Puyang County, Henan Province survived. Now, wetland managers are stepping up to replant 1,000 square meters of surface green plants to improve the water conservation capacity of coastal forests.
As a tributary of the lower Yellow River, Jindi River has also developed from an unremarkable flood channel into an inland ecological wetland system with both flood control and drainage functions. In the past two years, Jindihe Wetland Park has added more than 500 kinds of wild plants and planted 100,000 trees and shrubs, attracting a large number of endangered and rare birds to live and breed here.
Birds know best where the environment is good. Puyang County, which was not originally a stop for migratory birds, has now built a 120-kilometer ecological corridor along the banks of the Yellow River. The corridor focuses on supplementing the local ecological conditions, strengthening the reconstruction of ecosystems such as forests, grasses and water surfaces, and creating a wetland park with multiple water systems and connected roads.
Not only Puyang, but also Henan, in combination with different topographical features in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, has developed a composite ecological corridor along the Yellow River according to local conditions, covering more than 2 million mu of wetlands along the line, and also providing a "wintering ground" and a "gas station" for the migration of the whole organism.
Just now, we were all concerned about big rivers and lakes, and now we turn our attention to the southwest of China. Yunnan is the province with the richest biodiversity in China. Although its land area accounts for only 4.1% of the whole country, it includes all the ecosystem types on the earth except oceans and deserts. With the improvement of local ecological environment, the population of wild animals and plants continues to increase.
Since the beginning of this year, the staff of Lancang River County Nature Reserve in Changning, Yunnan Province have continuously photographed the activities of the black-necked pheasant, especially the male and female black-necked pheasants are rare in the same frame.
The black-necked pheasant is a national first-class protected animal, and its population is scarce. In recent years, Changning county has carried out protective monitoring of key species in 46 key areas of the county, and found that the population of national protected animals such as black-necked pheasant, macaque and black bear is increasing.
Not only the protection of animals has been comprehensively strengthened, but also the precious plant species. Rhododendron grandiflora is the tallest and largest tree species in Ericaceae. It grows slowly and is a representative star species in Yunnan and even the world. There are only more than 1,000 wild species. Since 2015, Yunnan Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve has begun to explore the artificial breeding of Rhododendron grandiflora. Professional technicians have successfully cultivated more than 80 seedlings, and then these seedlings have been transplanted to Linjiapu, Gaoligongshan, which is similar to the original forest vegetation and climate type, for regression planting experiments. Up to now, 48 rhododendrons have survived, and the survival rate is over 60%.
The reporter learned that in recent years, Yunnan has stepped up its ecological protection of nature reserves and wetlands at all levels. By the end of 2021, Yunnan Province had established more than 350 nature reserves at all levels, initially forming a species protection system with in-situ protection as the mainstay, ex-situ protection and in-vitro preservation as the supplement. More than 90% of the state-protected plants and 80% of the state-protected animals in the province have been effectively protected.
From south to north, from inland to seashore, more and more rare birds and animals are returning, showing the beauty of nature and ecology. Recently, the reporter learned from many places in the country that the latest infrared camera monitoring shows that many rare wild animals appear frequently. Let’s go and have a look.
Recently, the staff of Guanshan National Nature Reserve in Jiangxi Province collected and sorted out more than 20 sets of infrared cameras placed in the reserve a few months ago. In the monitoring screen, the cute posture of various rare wild animals made people laugh. The wild boar family played a selfie in front of the camera, and the baby muntjac pestered her mother for another sip of milk. The chubby crab-eating crab was full of cute and lovable. At night, leopard cats and weasels and badgers come and go in a hurry.
Coincidentally, recently, when the monitoring personnel of Gansu Annanba Wild Camel National Nature Reserve sorted out the recovered infrared cameras, they found that the national first-class protected animal jackals were frequently active. It can be clearly seen in the picture that jackals walk back and forth in small groups in the canyon, searching for prey.
Since long summer, in Qilian County, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, which is located in Qilian Mountain National Park, local herders, managers and photographers have recorded many kinds of wildlife activities with their lenses. In the picture, wild animals such as spotted geese, black-necked cranes, Tibetan gazelles, Tibetan foxes, and blue sheep feed, play, jump, and run. Scenes where wild animals live in harmony with nature show the unique charm of biodiversity.
Recently, the yellow-breasted plaice, a national first-class protected animal, was found in Mazhou Island, Jingjiang City, Taizhou City, Jiangsu Province.
According to the observation video of Mazhou Island, since May, yellow-breasted flounders have frequently appeared in the local area, either perching on branches or foraging in the grass. Yellow-breasted flounder is 14— 15 cm, the male’s chest is bright yellow, and the female’s chest is pale yellow. In 2021, the yellow-breasted plaice was listed in the first-class list of national key protected wild animals in China.
For a long time, Jingjiang city has banned any form of land development in Mazhou Island, keeping the original ecological features of beaches, reeds and other areas, and it has also become an animal paradise. According to statistics, since 2021, researchers from the Institute of Environmental Sciences have discovered 184 species of birds in Mazhou Island, including two species of wild birds under national first-class protection, namely Oriental White Stork and Yellow-breasted Sole, and 28 species of wild birds under national second-class protection.
Nowadays, more and more rare animals and plants appear around us, which also makes us feel that wildlife, nature reserves, forests, wetlands and other resources in China have been effectively protected in recent years, and the protection of biodiversity has achieved remarkable results.
In the past two days, good news came from Dongtai Tiaozi Mud Wetland in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. This spring, the migratory birds who came here to live have set a new record.
Tiaozi wetland is one of the most important coastal wetland ecosystems in the world, and it is also the 14th world natural heritage in China, which fills the blank of the national coastal wetland world natural heritage. With the increasing protection of biodiversity, more than 400 species of millions of migratory birds come here every year.
In the whole country, a large number of rare and endangered wildlife populations have achieved recovery growth. The wild population of giant pandas increased to 1,864, the total number of crested ibis wild population and artificial breeding population exceeded 6,000, the wild population of Asian elephants increased to about 300, and the wild population of Tibetan antelopes recovered to more than 300,000. There are 206 species of rare and endangered plants in the wild, of which 112 are endemic to China.
Zhou Zhihua, Deputy Director of Wildlife Protection Department of National Forestry and Grassland Administration:China is one of the countries with the richest biodiversity in the world, with 37,000 species of wild plants and more than 7,300 species of vertebrates. In recent years, China has been stepping up protection, and the populations of many important wildlife species are steadily rising.
UN Secretary-General Guterres said in a speech on the 22nd that in order to realize a sustainable future for all, the world needs to take urgent action to protect biodiversity. He warned that the current rate of species disappearance is tens to hundreds of times higher than the average rate in the past 10 million years, and it is still accelerating. People must end the destructive war that is meaningless to nature.
Guterres said that this year, countries will hold a meeting to reach an agreement on the global biodiversity framework after 2020, and strive to make biodiversity embark on the road of recovery before 2030. He said that fairness and human rights, especially the rights of indigenous people, must be respected when achieving relevant goals. Guterres called on everyone to act and build a community of life on earth.
Correctly examine the mutually beneficial coexistence between man and all kinds of living things in the natural world, and put an end to all acts that destroy the ecological environment, such as over-exploitation, indiscriminate logging and wanton killing. It is everyone’s responsibility to create ecological civilization and build a community of life on earth. Go on and on, the future can be expected, let’s work together to build a beautiful earth home.
