Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

The compilation of Biodiversity Red Lists has led to enrichment of information on biological species in China and improvement of the IUCN Red List categories and criteria [ ] 79 Contributing to global understanding In 2014, the Chinese government decided to participate in the interna- tional initiative of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), led by the United Nations Environ- ment Programme. Since then, the Ministry of Ecology and Environ- ment (MEE) has developed TEEB methodologies and indicator systems for biodiversity valuation; established a number of TEEB demonstration areas; organized publicity and training activities for governmental ministers, academics, enterprise, local residents and other stakehold- ers; and established an international cooperation mechanism to carry out joint research on the economics of ecosystem services. The study of these services took place in two areas: Xianju National Park in Zhejiang Province, Eastern China, which represents an impor- tant species gene pool and ecological barrier; and Jingdong Yi Autonomous County in central Yunnan Province, south-western China. The latter was chosen for its two national nature reserves which house one third of China’s national species, including extremely endangered species. Pilot programmes for the National Park System are another area of focus, with 10 pilot areas set up for estab- lishing national parks, covering 2.27 per cent of total land area. The pilot mission will complete by the end of 2020. This initiative has made positive progress in protected areas integra- tion, national park legislation, collec- tive land use regulation, management system construction and community development mechanisms. In 2011, the Chinese Government proposed its Ecological Redline Policy. A priority of this mission is to reform the administrative system for ecological protection. The Yangtze River Economic Belt is an important strategic zone for this work, which saw the delimitation of the ecological conservation redline in 15 prov- inces and municipalities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region by the end of 2017. Great Wall of China China T he Chinese Government gives high priority to biodiversity conservation and the Biodiversity Red List of China is at the heart of the country’s National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (2011–2030). To understand the threat to biodiversity in China and improve the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation work, the government began the preparation of its Biodiversity Red List in 2008. The resulting Red Lists for higher plants, vertebrates and macrofungi incorporate data from more than 600 experts in relevant fields. Work so far has included an assessment to classify species according to their extinction risk, as well as examination of the reasons for threats to biodiversity of plants, vertebrates and other species. The compilation of the lists has led to enrichment of information on biological species in China and improvement of the IUCN Red List categories and criteria. Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash