Dai Yongwu: What is China's Recipe for Guarding the "Kidneys of the Earth"?

The year 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of China's accession to the Ramsar Convention. 30 years on, China has vigorously promoted wetland conservation and restoration, and the ecological condition of wetlands has continued to improve. With 4 per cent of the world's wetlands, China meets the needs of one-fifth of the world's population for wetland production, living, ecology, and culture, making an important contribution to the conservation and rational use of wetlands worldwide.

What is China's recipe for guarding the "kidneys of the earth"? On the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May, Dai Yongwu, Professor at the School of Economics and Management of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University and Deputy Director of the Ecological Civilisation Research Centre of Fujian Provincial Social Science Research Base, gave an in-depth explanation in an exclusive interview with the China News Service's East Meets West.

The summary of the interview is as follows:

CNS: Why are wetlands called the "kidneys of the earth", the "cradle of life", and the "biological supermarket"? Why is it important to protect wetlands?

Dai Yongwu: Wetlands are ecosystems where water is the main factor controlling the environment and related flora and fauna, and are ecosystems with high biodiversity and a large endowment of ecological functions in nature, which are closely related to the development of human society and are known as the three major ecosystems of the earth, together with forests and oceans.

Wetlands are the "kidneys of the earth". They absorb carbon dioxide, helping to slow global warming and reduce pollution. Peatlands alone hold twice as much carbon as all the world's forests combined.

Wetlands are the 'cradle of life'. Life on the earth began in the oceans, where ancient protozoa such as blue-green algae proliferated 3.5 billion years ago, and wetlands are the carriers of the earth's water resources, nurturing life on the earth.

Wetlands are a "biological supermarket". Although wetlands cover only around 6% of the earth's land surface, 40% of all plant and animal species live or breed in them.

An aerial shot of the Koktokay National Wetland Park in Fuyun County, Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang.

Photo by Ardak Baiskhan, China News Service

As an ecosystem formed by the interaction of land and water, wetlands are closely related to humans, providing essential ecosystem services and playing a vital role for humans, climate, and other ecosystems. In total, more than one billion people worldwide depend on wetlands for their livelihoods, equivalent to roughly one in eight people on the planet.

CNS: What process has China's wetland conservation gone through since it joined the Ramsar Convention in 1992? What is the current status of wetland conservation in China?

Dai Yongwu: Since joining the Ramsar Convention, China's wetland conservation has gone through four stages: 1992-2003 to build up a clear picture of our resources and consolidate the foundation; 2004-2015 to give salvage protection; 2016-2021 to give complete protection; since 1 June 2022, with the implementation of the Wetlands Conservation Law of the People's Republic of China, China's wetland conservation has entered a new era of high-level development.

At present, China has designated 64 wetlands of international importance, with a total area of 7.32 million hectares; 29 wetlands of national importance have been identified, 602 wetland nature reserves and more than 1,600 wetland parks have been established, and the wetland conservation rate has reached 52.65%.

According to the Third National Wetland Resources Survey, the total area of wetlands in China is 23,469,300 hectares, ranking first in Asia and fourth in the world.

At the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention held in 2018, eighteen cities from seven countries around the world were awarded the first International Wetland Cities, six of which are from China. China is the only country in the world that has completed the national wetland resources survey three times and is conducting a peatland survey.

White pelicans swam and fed in a pond at the Yangshan Wetland in Haikou. 2018, Haikou was awarded the title of the world's first international wetland city.

Photo by Luo Yunfei, China News Service

CNS: What experience has China accumulated in wetland conservation, and what can be learned for the world's sustainable promotion of wetland governance and ecological restoration?

Dai Yongwu: As the world's second-largest economy and one of the world's most populous countries, China's vigorous promotion of wetland conservation and restoration is exemplary and helpful for the world's sustainable promotion of wetland governance and restoration.

China is actively involved in global wetland governance. As a member of the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention and Chair of the Committee on Science and Technology, China has been deeply involved in the Convention's affairs and rule-making, and has carried out extensive international cooperation and exchanges, contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions to global ecological governance. China has also strengthened dialogues, exchanges, and cooperation in the field of wetlands in response to climate change, actively participated in international negotiations on climate change, conducted various types of foreign aid training, and joined hands with the international community to promote global climate governance.　　

China has improved the system of regulations and rules and strengthened the foundation of regulatory protection. Twenty-eight provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China have introduced wetland conservation regulations, and Wetland Conservation and Restoration System Programmes and implementation programmes have been formulated at the national and provincial levels. At the strategic level, the Chinese government has made increasing wetland carbon sinks and promoting green and low-carbon development an important part of ecological civilisation construction, and has incorporated wetland conservation into the national strategy to address climate change.

China has given full play to its institutional advantages and increased government financial investment. Since 2003, the central government has invested a total of 19.8 billion yuan and implemented more than 4,100 projects, driving local communities to work together to protect and restore wetland ecology.

China has paid much attention to wetlands' systematic and holistic conservation and strengthened coordinated sectoral management. China's wetland conservation is led by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, with other relevant departments responsible for management according to the division of responsibilities. China has established national and local level wetland parks, which have spread across 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), reaching a total of 899, effectively protecting 2.4 million hectares of wetlands, and driving the regional economic growth of more than 50 billion yuan.

China has formed a survey and monitoring system and strengthened the application of high technology. China was the first country in the world to complete three national wetland resources surveys, and the third national land survey officially listed wetlands as Class 1 in the land category. In addition, Wetland survey and monitoring field stations and real-time monitoring and information management platforms have been established in various regions and gradually integrated into the national forestry and grass sensing system, realising the integration of monitoring and supervision through high technology.

In recent years, the wetland parks on both sides of the Min River in Fuzhou have become good places for the public to relax.

Photo by Wang Dongming, China News Service

CNS: What results have wetland conservation and construction achieved in western countries? What is the inspiration for China?

Dai Yongwu: Western countries have made many achievements in restoring and expanding wetland areas mainly through restoration, reconstruction, and relocation.

First, they have formulated and improved wetland conservation policies and laws and regulations. For example, the European Union has formulated the Habitats Directive, the Protection of Birds Act, and the Water Framework Directive; Australia has promulgated the Australian Federal Government Wetland Policy.

Secondly, the conservation of wetlands is strengthened by establishing nature reserves, wetland parks (national parks), and other wetland nature conservation systems. For example, Japan has established wetland parks in urban centres for multifunctional development, including tourism and scientific research work.

Thirdly, natural restoration or artificial measures are used to restore wetland ecosystems and their service functions. For example, the United States uses integrated development of education and service to slow down the degradation of wetlands by using the multiple functions of natural wetlands.

Western countries have chosen appropriate policy tools and market-based instruments to rationalise the use of local wetland ecological resources and bring into play the multiple functions of wetland ecosystems, and many wetland conservation and utilisation models are worth learning for China.

For example, the United States has established wetland mitigation banks and diversified wetland compensation mechanisms through market-based means to attract social enterprises and private industrial and commercial capital to invest in wetland conservation; it also promotes environmental education for all people to raise the overall ecological and environmental awareness of society. Japan fully respects the autonomy of the people when formulating local wetland conservation policies, and the government, local residents, enterprises, social organisations, and other parties collaborate to participate in the governance of wetland conservation jointly.

Due to the different stages of development, resource endowment conditions, and cultural backgrounds in the East and West, wetland conservation models and mechanisms have different strengths. Western countries, especially developed countries, have a higher level of social participation in wetland conservation models; China, on the other hand, has a stronger institutional advantage in wetland conservation and utilisation, and a stronger application of digitalisation and other high technology. Therefore, it is worthwhile for China and the West to learn from each other in wetland conservation, and to tailor their strategies to local conditions and situations.

Migratory birds were flying around the wetlands of Bayanbulak Swan Lake, Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture and Jing County, Xinjiang. In recent years, the county has strengthened the conservation and restoration of grassland wetlands, and the grassland ecological environment has improved significantly.

Photo by Que Hure, China News Service

CNS: What are the current challenges to global wetland conservation? How should we respond to the challenges and work together to promote wetland conservation, ecological restoration, and biodiversity protection?

Dai Yongwu: Currently, global wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests, and 35% of the world's wetlands have been lost since 1970.

The challenges to global wetland conservation are mainly natural challenges and human activity challenges. The natural challenges include global climate change and ecosystem destruction due to increased extreme weather; the human challenges are population growth, globalisation, and over-exploitation of groundwater, which tend to alter the hydrological connectivity, ecology, water table and soil water saturation, pollution levels and ultimately biodiversity of countries, thus altering wetland ecosystems.

In order to meet the challenges of global wetland conservation, a global community of a shared future for wetland conservation should be built first. Global collaboration and win-win solutions are needed to build a global community of a shared future for wetland conservation, and it is vital to improve the network of internationally important wetlands, enhance international cooperation, and promote the trans-boundary flow of ecosystem services.

In order to protect transnational migratory birds, the Chinese government has signed agreements with the Japanese and Australian governments on the protection of migratory birds in China, Japan, and Australia, respectively, an agreement with the Russian government on the joint protection of the Xingkai Lake wetlands in China and Russia, and a memorandum of understanding with the New Zealand government on the protection of 26 species of water birds and their habitats, including the red knot shorebird and the bar-tailed godwit.

Secondly, public social participation should be increased. Through media promotion, the public can understand the functions of wetlands and actively participate in wetland conservation; through public education, more people can join the group of wetland conservation beneficiaries, so that the public can understand that wetlands can provide ecosystem services to humans. Everyone is a protector, builder, and beneficiary of the ecological environment; no one is a spectator, outsider, or critic; no one can just talk without doing anything and stay out of it.

The Heilongjiang Zalong Nature Reserve is the first waterfowl nature reserve built in China, mainly to protect wetlands and wildlife such as the national protected animal, the red-crowned crane.

Photo by Chen Haohao, China News Service

Thirdly, economic and financial incentives should be introduced. Funding for wetland conservation should be provided through a variety of mechanisms, including climate change response strategies and compensation to achieve ecosystem services plans, and through taxation, certification, and corporate social responsibility programmes.

Fourthly, the multiple values of wetlands should be considered. We should attach importance to wetland ecosystem services and their significance to human livelihoods and well-being. Wetland benefits include energy, mining, urban development, tourism, and other areas. One indicator in the Ramsar Convention Strategic Plan calls for assessing the ecosystem services of internationally important wetlands.

The Profile of the Interviewee:

Dai Yongwu is the director of Anxi College of Tea Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, professor and doctoral supervisor, and a non-practising member of the Chinese CPA. He has long been engaged in research on forestry economic management and ecological civilisation construction. He is also the deputy director of the Modern Rural Forestry Professional Committee of the China Forestry Economics Association, the director of the Research Centre of Collective Forestry Reform and Development of the New Characteristic Think Tank of Fujian Province Universities, the deputy director of the Ecological Civilisation Research Centre of Fujian Province Social Science Research Base, a member of the editorial board of academic journals such as Forestry Economy, Forestry Economic Issues, China Forestry Economy, etc., and an expert of the National Social Science Foundation project correspondence review. He has presided over and participated in 8 national scientific research projects and published more than 100 academic papers; he has been awarded the Leading Talents in Forestry and Grassland Science and Technology Innovation (the third batch) and the New Century Excellent Talents Support Programme of Fujian University.

Editor: Liu Huan