Beijing, China – A forum to promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River was held in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province from December 28 to 29. Sponsored by the Environment Protection Academic Committee of Changjiang (Yangtze) Society of Technological Economics (CSTE) and WWF, more than 40 representatives attended the workshop.

The Yangtze lakes and rivers ecoregion is China's most important freshwater ecosystem. In the last century, the Yangtze River has suffered from deforestation, wetland reclamation, and pollution due to human activity and economic development. This has led to increasingly tragic floods over the past several decades such as the devastating floods of 1998, which led to over 2500 deaths. The environmental problems of the Yangtze River have raised concern both nationally and internationally, leading to both environmental projects and national policies aimed at tackling these issues.

During the two-day forum, experts and scholars discussed both the present and future situation of the four biggest freshwater lakes in the area - Dongting Lake, Boyang Lake, Tai Lake, and Chao Lake - from the perspectives of economy, ecosystem, protection, and utilization. Experts discussed issues including the conservation and restoration of the wetlands of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the classification of eco-functions of wetlands and related policies and laws on the management of wetlands.

Theories and approaches to the conservation of the Yangtze lakes and rivers eco-region were a major part of the discussions. Participants also discussed and formulated the framework for a project on protecting biodiversity of the Yangtze lakes and rivers eco-region. After the forum, participants took part in an on-site inspection of Boyang lake, China’s largest freshwater lake.

Participants at the forum included representatives of the State Forest Administration, the Forestry Department of Jiangxi Province, the government of Jiujiang, Shanghai Water Affairs Bureau, Wuhan Water Affairs Bureau, the Marine Affairs Bureau of Yangtze River; Environmental Protection Bureau of Nanjing Municipal Government and Panzhihua City, the Three Gorges Development Company, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan Botanical Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing University, Wuhan University, Tongji University, the Water Resource Protection Bureau of the Yangtze Water Resources Commission and other related enterprises and scientific research institutions.

Wetlands are very special ecosystems that not only provide human beings with agricultural products, raw materials and water and energy resources, but also play an important role in keeping the balance of nature. Wetlands maintain biodiversity, conserve water resources, store floodwaters, prevent drought, and degrade pollution. This is why wetlands are often called "the kidneys of the earth".

However, around the world, wetlands are being destroyed. Statistics show that in the last century, half of the world’s wetlands have disappeared and that the balance of the ecosystems of many remaining wetlands has been diminished.

Background Information:

The Environment Protection Academic Committee of Changjiang (Yangtze) Society of Technological Economics (CSTE) was set up in1999. It is a mass academic body with responsibility for academic research and the technical development of environmental protection of the Yangtze River Basin. It now has 40 committee groups that cover all provinces, with responsibility for the management of departments relating to water conservation, environmental protection, colleges and research institutes, and large factories and mines of in the basin. There are 58 committee members who are in charge of the committee units. Since its founding, the committee it has held many discussions on the relationship of the Three Gorges project, sustainable development and the environmental protection of the Yangtze River Basin. The committee has also launched many consulting projects, and has played an active role in the environmental protection of the Yangtze River.

WWF would like to thank Amelie Han for translating this article.

For more information:

Zhang Yifei, Communications Manager for Freshwater and Marine Programme, WWF China Programme. Tel: 0731-5110087. Email: yfzhang@wwfchina.org


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