Project Scope and Relationship to China's Agenda 21

This project seeks to establish a national network of natural reserves and the off-site conservation of rare and endangered species, conservation of special habitats and ecosystems, and coordinating conservation needs with the sustainable use of living resources. This project is developed in accordance with Chapter 15 of China's Agenda 21 and is also related to programme areas 6B, 6C, 6D, and 20E.

1. Background

China's flora and fauna ranks among the most diverse in the world. Its vast territory and its diverse geographical conditions have resulted in the formation and development of a multitude of ecosystems. There are about 30,000 species of higher plants in China, accounting for over 10 percent of the total higher plant species in the world. Among these, nearly 200 genera are endemic to China. Furthermore, China's reptiles, birds, mammals, and amphibians are estimated to be about 10 percent of the world's total. China also has reserves for a number of endemic rare species such as the giant panda, the snub-nosed monkey, and the Yangtze River dolphin.

However, China's high population and the increasing demand on resources brought about by economic development are placing an escalating stress on natural ecosystems and biodiversity. The strengthening of China's biodiversity conservation network is therefore an urgent task for the conservation of China's biodiversity.

To establish this network, effective information on biodiversity is crucial. Existing biodiversity and ecological monitoring networks belonging to different fields or sectors need to be coordinated and organized so that decision-makers can obtain integrated biodiversity information and relevant ecological data at the national level. Analysis of this information will provide sound advice for the Chinese government to make decisions on key issues on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. With the support of UNDP, based on a GEF project, China has prepared the Chinese Biodiversity Protection Action Plan. However, its implementation is short of financial and human resources.

2. Objectives

• Long-term Objectives
  • To establish an effective national network of protected areas for conservation of species and ecosystem biodiversity, to prepare an inventory of China's biological diversity, and to formulate strategies for the protection of biological resources and their sustainable utilization.

• Immediate Objectives
  • To formulate the relevant programs, principles, standards, and policies for biodiversity conservation.
  • To establish and improve the network of national protected areas, and to formulate management systems for these protected areas based upon international biodiversity conservation requirements and the needs of sustainable development.
  • To establish monitoring stations to obtain data on environment-economy interactions as the basis for protection and sustainable management of ecosystems and species.
  • To prepare an inventory of the rare and endangered plant species of China, to prioritize the need for the protection of species and ecosystems, and to continue the compilation of the Red Book of Plants and Animals in China.
  • To develop new ways of coordinating the conservation of biodiversity with the sustainable utilization of biological resources; to establish demonstration projects that consider both the protection of biological resources and their sustainable utilization on different levels such as species, protected reserves, and ecosystems.

The implementing agencies for the project will be National Environmental Protection Agency, the Ministry of Forestry, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and relevant agencies. The executing agencies will be the State Planning Commission and the State Science and Technology Commission.

3.1 Draft the programs, principles, standards, and policies, including:
• Division of Chinese biogeography
• Methods and standards of ranking units for division of Chinese biogeography
• Geographical distribution (species, populations, communities, ecosystems and landscapes) of Chinese biodiversity and its trait analysis
• The larger districts of Chinese biogeography and their division
• The division of Chinese protected reserves;
• Chinese natural reserves programme
• Types of natural protected reserves and their regional distribution
• Priority ranking of the protection of species and their habitats and a list of candidate natural reserves
• Prepare 10-year (2000-2009) and 20-year (2000-2019) development programmes of the Chinese natural reserves
• The financial requirements (investment, grants, etc.) for the establishment of natural reserves
• Standards and programmes for the conservation of biodiversity in China
• Programs for establishment of natural reserves
• Principles for natural protected reserves ranking and classification;
• Natural protected reserves management guide
• Standards for ecological monitoring of natural protected reserves
• Identification of effective structures and operational systems
• Establishment and management principles for the species breeding centre;
• Legislation for biodiversity conservation
• Regulations for natural reserves
• Rare and endangered species protection law
• Biodiversity conservation law.

  The duration of the activity will be three years.

• 3.2 Establish a monitoring network for biodiversity.

  Choose typical ecosystems as biodiversity investigation sites, and establish micro- or meso-scale biodiversity monitoring regions. Aerial and satellite photographs, ground investigation data, and the application of a Geographical Information System (GIS) will be the main tools for regional monitoring.

  The proposed network will include thirty bases in such regions as: cold temperate coniferous forest region, subtropical broad-leaved evergreen forest region, tropical seasonal rainforest, typical rain forest region, Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau, marine and coastal zones, etc.. The duration of the activity will be twelve years.

• 3.3 Establish the Chinese Biodiversity Information System.
  • Biodiversity database, including databases of species inventory, protected species, nature reserves, ecosystems, domesticated animals, cultivated plants and their wild relatives.

  • Biodiversity model database, including the spatial and temporal dynamic models of endangered species and populations; the dynamic models of the key ecosystems; and other models related to the protection, management and sustainable utilization of biodiversity.

  • Biodiversity Expert System Database, including biodiversity conservation knowledge database, and the expert system for the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity.

    The duration of the activity will be four years.

• 3.4 Establishment of demonstration projects and the corresponding technologies for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. These activities will attempt to implement the principles and programmes outlined in activities 3.1 to 3.3 above to serve as demonstration for extension and capacity building activities in project areas.

  • Investigation of the status of rare and endangered species and demonstration projects for the sustainable use of biodiversity.
  • Establishment of nature reserves demonstration models for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
  • Establishment of demonstration nature reserves, including wetland, forest, grassland, and marine ecosystems, emphasizing rational exploitation and utilization of biological resources.

    The duration of the activity will be six years.

4. Inputs

• 4.1 Chinese inputs

  The total investment from China is US$ 11.90 million, and includes:

  • The personnel and facilities of the ecosystem monitoring network, and the further improvement of monitoring facilities;

  • The information processing facilities such as computers, and the establishment of communication facilities for data and information networks;

  • The present personnel and facilities of the botanical gardens, cell banks, gene banks, germplasm banks and wildlife breeding centres;

  • National Laboratories, scientists and facilities of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Environmental Protection Agency, and other related institutions.

• 4.2 International Cooperation
  • Foreign experts which will be invited during the implementation of the project.

  • Workshops and/or project-related meetings which will be held every year.

  • Data and information processing facilities.

  • Monitoring and information network facilities.

  • Upgrading and improvement of equipment and other facilities of ecological and environmental monitoring stations.

  • Transportation and communications expenses for field surveys and investigations.

5. Benefits

This project will help to build capacity in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development and will contribute to local, national and global efforts. A high-level monitoring and information processing network of ecosystems and biodiversity will be established to:

• Use multi-disciplinary approaches to enhance China's ability to monitor and analyze major environmental issues, provide decision-makers with appropriate countermeasures to deal with the changes of biodiversity and ecosystems, and produce direct and long-term benefits that promote the harmonious development of the environment and the economy;

• Establish a natural reserve network will greatly improve China's biodiversity conservation. Implementation of this project will help train many senior experts and administrative personnel who will then have the capability of dealing with the conservation and management of biodiversity and ecosystems at the community, county, and national levels.