{"id":107737,"date":"2023-07-24T16:53:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-24T16:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinadialogue.net\/?p=107737"},"modified":"2023-07-25T13:59:23","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T13:59:23","slug":"how-china-protects-its-unofficial-wetlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/nature\/how-china-protects-its-unofficial-wetlands\/","title":{"rendered":"How China protects its \u2018unofficial\u2019 wetlands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The coastal wetlands on the Linhong estuary, by the Yellow Sea in Lianyungang municipality, provide an important feeding ground and stopover for waterbirds migrating between East Asia and Australia. But in 2021, an \u201cenvironmental restoration\u201d project put the mudflats at risk of erosion and destruction. They were to be turned into an artificial beach, in order to create a \u201cBlue Bay\u201d. In response, the environmental group Friends of Nature filed a public interest lawsuit at Nanjing Intermediate People\u2019s Court, against both the project developer and the outfit responsible for the environmental impact assessment report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to the pandemic, it was not until two years later, in May this year, that significant developments occurred in the case. The defendant, Lianyungang Gold Coast Development and Construction Ltd, said it would revise the scheme and cancel the artificial beach plan. Some of the infrastructure works had already been completed by that point, with the construction of an encircling dyke. But the revised scheme will retain the natural ebb and flow of the tide and ensure a sufficient area of mudflats on the inner side of the dyke for a waterbird habitat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case illustrates the misconception that environmental restoration amounts to landscaping and revegetation, and highlights the issue of conserving wetlands that lack \u201cofficial status\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coastal wetlands are environmentally important thresholds between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Globally, there has been a sharp drop in their area during the past half century, due to pressure from human activity and climate change. They are disappearing three times faster<\/a> than forest ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In China, coastal wetlands are the weak link in the wetland conservation system. With only 24%<\/a> of them protected, they need more attention and defence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, China has introduced a series of legal measures for protecting and managing coastal wetlands, including a system of classification and listing. Tighter control has been instituted for important wetlands by bringing them within the \u201cecological redlines<\/a>\u201d and nature reserve systems. Resources for conservation, however, have been largely directed at protecting \u201cwetlands of importance\u201d and those that fall within redline areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question of how to protect other environmentally valuable wetlands remains crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environment-wrecking \u2018environmental restoration\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A long shoreline stretches into the distance. The clear blue sky and azure sea blend and converge. On the golden sand, clusters of visitors are beguiled by the view as they rest or play, enjoying themselves to the full \u2013 living the \u201ccoastal dream\u201d of Lianyungang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps it is the \u201cfilthy, slimy\u201d look of the mudflats, or even their \u201cfishy stench\u201d, that is considered ruinous to the image of a \u201cpicturesque natural harbour\u201d. For several years now, Lianyungang has dedicated resources to developing \u201cLianyun New Town\u201d and planning for the \u201cBlue Bay\u201d redevelopment project. This project includes building a dyke enclosing about 14 square kilometres of mudflats on the Linhong estuary, and converting tidal flats into manmade beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aerial<\/div>
Mudflats on the banks of the Linhong estuary. The recent plan to develop them into an artificial beach reflects the perception in many parts of the world that a healthy environment should be what most humans deem \u2018beautiful\u2019. (Image: Alamy)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Under the banner of \u201cenvironmental restoration\u201d, the project has ended up raising part of the mudflats along the western dyke and in the inner construction area, cutting them off from tidal flushing. This has altered the character of the mudflats and undermined their ecological function as a feeding ground for waterbirds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mudflats, which are exposed when the tide recedes, are where land and sea interact. Flushing by the sea brings an abundance of bottom-dwelling organisms \u2013 an important source of food for migratory birds. The mudflats also provide a stopover and moulting ground for the birds, enabling them to recover their energy and build up strength for the next leg of their long flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coastal wetlands of the Linhong estuary in Lianyungang provide an important habitat for a number of key national wildlife species, according to data<\/a> from Spoon-billed Sandpiper in China and other organisations. This includes over 90%<\/a> of the world population of the Asian dowitcher \u2013 a Class II protected waterbird. The loss of mudflats in Lianyungang will directly impact the survival prospects for that population of the species. Without this important feeding and resting stop, it will be hard for migrating birds to make it all the way across the ocean to their precious \u201chome\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ma Rongzhen, an environmental public interest lawyer with Friends of Nature, says: \u201cThe \u2018Blue Bay\u2019 project is classed as an \u2018Environmental Restoration Project\u2019, but in fact it strays far from that objective. Instead, it wrecks the original intertidal ecosystem, which has an abundance of ecological functions, and it causes massive, irremediable harm to the environmental public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Official status\u2019 and level of conservation <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s wetland classification and listing system separates wetlands into three levels of importance: national, provincial, and general. Article 14 of the Wetlands Protection Law<\/a> stipulates that wetlands of importance \u201cshall be delimited within ecological protection redlines\u201d. Thus, it provides strict protections within the framework of national spatial planning. Article 24, meanwhile, requires that, \u201cin keeping with wetland conservation planning and wetland conservation needs, people\u2019s governments and relevant authorities at provincial level and above, shall, in accordance with law, incorporate wetlands into national parks, nature protected areas or nature parks.\u201d This shows the linkage<\/a> between wetland conservation and development of the nature reserve system. The \u201clevel\u201d assigned to a wetland is now closely tied to its \u201cofficial protected status\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Lianyungang, only the Linhong Estuary Wetland Park is a provincial-level key wetland at present, while other areas connected with the litigation case are not on the list of national- or provincial-level wetlands of importance,\u201d explains Ma Rongzhen. This makes it difficult to obtain the protections merited by the environmental value of Lianyungang\u2019s coastal wetlands. As general wetlands, they lack \u201cofficial status\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/div>
Asian dowitchers at Hong Kong\u2019s Mai Po wetlands. The wetlands of the Linhong estuary provide an important habitat to over 90% of the world\u2019s Asian dowitchers. (Image: Alamy)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Having \u201cofficial status\u201d can mean a very different fate for a wetland. Take the Tiaozini mudflats<\/a> in Jiangsu province. In 2011, Tiaozini, which is part of the Yancheng wetlands, was included in Jiangsu\u2019s foreshore reclamation programme. This aimed to add to the area of agricultural land in the province to make up for arable land lost to development. As a result, 0.8 hectares of wetland was nearly turned into farmland. But a succession of policy objectives have been introduced since 2012, including protection for 30% of the natural shoreline along the Bohai Sea, provision for redlining over 53 million hectares of wetlands, and strict controls on new reclamation projects. In particular, institutional safeguards have come in since 2017 with the introduction of the Central Environmental Protection Inspectorate system, and active implementation of national environmental policy. Under the pressure of targets to be met and accountability to be provided, planned reclamation work at Tiaozini was shelved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, the Chinese government began work on getting the migratory bird sanctuaries along the coast of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Gulf recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The following year, the World Heritage Committee added Tiaozini to the list of Natural World Heritage sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all coastal wetlands have experienced as fortunate a change of circumstances as Tiaozini, however. The Lianyungang coastal wetland was originally due to be considered at this September\u2019s session of the World Heritage Committee. But, at the end of last year, it was removed from the tentative Phase II list of sanctuaries along the Yellow Sea and Bohai coasts. This means that, in the short term, the Lianyungang coastal wetlands lose the chance of gaining protection, as a World Heritage site, under China\u2019s system of nature reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is likely that quite a number of other environmentally valuable wetlands, similar to Lianyungang, lack official status on account of not being part of the nature reserve system or the \u201cKey Wetlands List\u201d. What can be done to protect wetlands such as these? How can they be spared reclamation so that their ecosystems may survive?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A \u2018lifeline\u2019 outside the nature reserve system<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Last year, the \u201c30 by 30\u201d goal of conserving at least 30% of the world\u2019s lands, oceans, inland waters and coastal areas by 2030, was agreed as part of the Kunming\u2013Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted by the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. In support of that goal, the framework endorses \u201cother effective area-based conservation measures\u201d (OECMs) as a form of conservation and sustainable management. OECM has come to be seen as a new \u201clifeline\u201d for conservation in recent years, outside the system of nature reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OECMs refer to conservation, governance and management measures, in areas not covered by nature reserves, used to generate long-term, positive results for ecosystems and biodiversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

Because OECMs can encompass a broader area than traditional conservation reserves, they provide better protection for the vital ecological functions of coastal wetlands, including the ecological transition zones and migratory bird corridors that surround them. In addition, the OECM emphasis on integrated protection allows for approaches that better meet the complexity and diversity of wetland ecosystems. OECMs still have a way to go, however, before they can be fully effective in conserving coastal wetlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, incorporating coastal wetlands into China\u2019s system for identifying and recognising OECMs necessitates the establishment of clear norms and standards, along with mechanisms for monitoring and assessment, to provide guidance and support for the conservation and management of coastal wetlands. Bird habitats are usually an important component<\/a> of coastal wetlands, so the protection of these and the birds that use them should also be considered when coastal wetlands are brought into<\/a> an OECM identification and recognition system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, establishing an OECM system for wetland conservation requires enhanced data collection and monitoring efforts, along with comprehensive survey and assessment of ecosystems, biodiversity and human activities in wetland areas. For example, the collection, testing and evaluation of data on the populations and migration routes of birds in coastal wetlands will provide powerful scientific support for the subsequent adoption of targeted conservation measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, establishing a data-sharing platform for cross-departmental collaboration will facilitate information-sharing and interoperability, and enable OECMs to be more efficiently managed. At the same time, wider participation by influential elements in society, and more mobilisation and transparency of societal resources, will help raise public awareness of coastal wetland conservation, bringing sustainable development for coastal wetlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s OECM efforts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some OECM efforts are already under way in China, mainly in the form of \u201cnature protection areas\u201d or conservation-by-agreement arrangements. Nature protection areas cover places with a high degree of biodiversity, relatively intact natural ecosystems, or wildlife resources of significant value. They are generally designated by county or sub-county authorities, but in some cases are set up by village communities on their own initiative, or arise unprompted due to local historical and cultural factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nature protection areas are not backed by force of law, unlike nature reserves. But by piloting new models for local conservation and development, they contribute to the protection of ecologically important areas. A number of provinces, including Guangxi and Jiangsu, have issued instructions for comprehensive establishment of wetland protection areas. They require municipal governments to include among their local district performance indicators the percentage of natural wetlands that are protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

The OECM framework also includes various management tools that may be of additional assistance in conserving coastal wetlands. One example is \u201cconservation easements\u201d, which protect the natural value and ecological functions of the land by limiting the exercise of land use rights. The application of an easement to a titled parcel of wetland can avoid damage resulting from over-development. Another example is \u201cmitigation banking\u201d, under which unavoidable environmental damage due to a development project is offset by the creation, restoration or conservation of environmentally valuable natural resources. In addition, conservation easements can require mitigation bankers to collaborate and co-manage with local communities and stakeholders in order to ensure that a mitigation project is sustainable and socially accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe use of OECM in coastal wetland conservation is probably closer to the models of \u2018nature protection areas\u2019 or conservation-by-agreement, but regardless of what measures are applied, the essential point is to preserve and maintain a coastal wetland\u2019s natural attributes as far as possible,\u201d says Songlin Wang, chairman of the Qingdao Marine Conservation Society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use of OECMs, conservation easements and mitigation banking to stem the loss of wetlands, opens up a whole new range of possibilities for conservation outside the system of recognised \u201creserves\u201d. The road to wetland protection and restoration is long and difficult, however. These new modes of conservation will require participation from many quarters of society if coastal municipalities, supported by joint development and governance, are to realise a wholly new coastal and ecological dream for themselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Damage done to a wetland in the name of \u201cenvironmental restoration\u201d raises questions about how China\u2019s lesser-known wetlands are protected <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4007,"featured_media":107850,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[764],"tags":[511,523,608],"hashtags":[],"country":[20000110],"class_list":["post-107737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature","tag-biodiversity","tag-conservation","tag-wetlands","country-china"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow China protects its \u2018unofficial\u2019 wetlands | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Damage done to a wetland in the name of \u201cenvironmental restoration\u201d raises questions about how China\u2019s lesser-known wetlands are protected\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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