China has made remarkable achievements in avian conservation, with stable population growth observed in multiple endangered bird species, according to an international meeting on migratory bird protection.
The meeting was held from Monday to Friday in Dongying City, east China's Shandong Province, between a joint working group from China, Japan, Australia and the Republic of Korea (ROK).
The four countries participating in the meeting share the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and have a long history of cooperation on the protection of migratory birds.
Species exhibiting stable population growth include the Siberian crane, the Baer's Pochard, the Saunders's gull, the Chinese crested tern and the crested ibis.
Over the past five years, the Chinese government has been consistently intensifying its avian protection efforts. The number of protected bird species in the country has since increased by nearly 50 percent, with 394 species now designated as key, nationally protected species, and another 1,028 categorized as species with important ecological, scientific or social value, according to the meeting.
China has continued to strengthen its protection and restoration of migratory flyways, as well as its construction of a monitoring system. It has designated 1,140 migration-route avian habitats as "important," and begun comprehensive protection and restoration work on 821 key sites.
"The major ecological restoration project for representative ecosystems that China has been carrying out makes huge contribution to the improvement of the entire ecological environment, including the habitats of birds and other wild animals," said Jiang Hongxing, director of the National Bird Banding Center.
Experts and government representatives from Japan, Australia and the ROK spoke highly of China's achievement in protecting wetland and birds. They hope to enhance cooperation with China in this regard to further empower global biodiversity governance and promote strong action based on scientific knowledge.
"There are no national boundaries for bird migration, although there are distinctions along the route, such as wintering grounds, stopover sites, and breeding grounds. It is very important for countries to engage in data sharing and face-to-face discussions to protect migratory birds," said Kohei Sakai, an official from the Wildlife Department of the Nature Conservation Bureau under Japan's Ministry of the Environment.
Stable growth in endangered bird populations reported in China
Stable growth in endangered bird populations reported in China
