08/06/2005 – WWF commends
the Chinese government for establishing 24
new protected areas in Heilongjiang province
in north-east China.
Totaling 1.8 million hectares – an area equivalent
to more than one-third the size of Switzerland
– these protected areas were created between
2002 and 2005. The government will add another
1 million hectares by 2010, bringing Heilongijang's
total protected area cover to 6.4 million
hectares, or 14 per cent of the province's
territory.
"As our province is one of China’s –
and the world’s – richest areas in terms of
biodiversity, the Heilongjiang government
is making it a priority to save our natural
resources by establishing protected areas
and managing them effectively," said
Han Lian Sheng, Director of the Heilongjiang
Forestry Department.
Heilongjiang province takes its name from
the Heilong River, which forms a natural border
between China and Russia. The province is
home to one of the world's most distinctive
temperate forests, and has one of the last
stands of mixed temperate deciduous and conifer
forests in east Asia.
It is also a critical area for conserving
endangered animal and plant species, including
yew trees (Taxus), Siberian tigers (Panthera
tigris altaica), and leopards (Panthera pardus
orientalis), as well as musk deer (Moschus
moschiferus), brown bears (Ursos arctos),
Asiatic black bears (U. tibethanus), and rare
bird species such as the Siberian (Grus leucogeranus),
and red-crowned cranes (G. japonensis).
These key species and their habitats are
threatened by commercial logging, forest firests,
poaching, wetland conversion, over-fishing,
pollution, and dam construction.
"Because of the global significance
of this exciting initiative, and its potential
to help ensure the survival of a variety of
endangered species in the wild, WWF has recognized
it as a Gift to the Earth," said Prof
Lars Kristoferson, Secretary General of WWF-Sweden.
"We applaud the Chinese government and
remain committed to working together with
our partners for the future of this vital
area."
A Gift to the Earth is WWF's highest accolade
for applauding good conservation work. Each
of these Gifts represents an important success
within one or more of the global conservation
priorities recognized by WWF including: protection
of forest, freshwater, and marine ecosystems;
endangered species; prevention of climate
change; and elimination of toxic chemicals.
"The establishment of these new protected
areas is a big step forward for both forest
conservation and species protection in China,"
said Dr Zhu Chunquan, Director of WWF China's
Forest programme.
"This Gift to the Earth is a great example
for other conservation initiatives in China.
We hope it will encourage our neighbours to
create a cross-border 'Green Belt' in the
Amur/Heilong ecoregion."
In addition to bringing 6.4 million hectares
of protected areas in the Amur/Heilong Basin
under protection by 2010, WWF offices in Mongolia,
the Russian Far East, and China are also working
to create a larger unified region of networked
protected areas – a ‘green belt’ – set aside
for conservation purposes.
Local communities in Heilongjiang province
have participated in the establishment and
monitoring of the newly protected areas, and
will be involved in co-managing them. WWF
and its partners will also work with local
communities to develop sustainable livelihoods.
The Gift to the Earth celebration, held in
the province's capital, Harbin, will help
strengthen conservation awareness amongst
the local communities.
NOTES:
• WWF's Integrated Forest Conservation project
in the Amur/Heilong ecoregion, initiated in
July 2002, seeks to conserve those state-owned
forests in north-east China and inner Mongolia
that have high conservation value. It has
already supported the creation of three protected
areas – Dajiahe, Taipinggou, and Dongning
Erduan – in Heilongjiang Province, and is
helping to ensure that existing protected
areas are effectively managed and maintained.
It also supports one of China’s six national
conservation programmes – the Wildlife Conservation
and Nature Reserve Development Programme.
• WWF has worked with the Heilongjiang provincial
government to foster responsible forestry
through promoting forest certification. Besides
capacity building and field research, WWF
has provided technical and financial support
to the Youhao Forestry Bureau in the province.
In January 2005, the Bureau, with a total
forest area of 24,000ha, became China’s first
state-owned forest to be certified under the
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) scheme.
• WWF defines an ecoregion as a large unit
of land or water containing a geographically
distinct assemblage of species, natural communities,
and environmental conditions. WWF’s Global
200 Ecoregions are a science-based ranking
of the world’s most biologically outstanding
and globally representative areas of biodiversity.
