NATIONAL WETLAND CONSERVATIONACTION PLAN


(Project CN0039)



hina has more than 250,000km2 of wetlands. This includes marshes, bogs, lakes (both natural and artificial), coastal salt marshes, and mudflats. Several of these wetlands are internationally recognized as important bird breeding grounds and rest stops for migratory birds, as well as for their ecological functions such as flood control. They also provide resources to local people.

The work by WWF has shown that, despite their importance, China's wetlands are rapidly disappearing. Major reclamation projects for both coastal and inland marshes, dam projects (notably the Three Gorges), and other development projects, together with pressure from the increasing human population, all threaten the country's wetlands. The seriousness of the problem was highlighted in a 1992 report by the World Bank. It estimated that in ten years' time, most of China's coastal wetlands will be destroyed if there is no significant change in policy and approach.

The Ministry of Forestry, the National Environmental Protection Agency, and other agencies keen on wetland conservation have realized that the lack of a comprehensive national action plan is a major impediment to wetland conservation in China. WWF and the Asian Wetland Bureau are helping the Chinese government to formulate such an action plan, in consultation with the various agencies involved in wetland conservation and those whose activities affect wetlands, to ensure support at all levels.




Back to the previous page

Copyright 1996, The World Wide Fund For Nature