China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Declining wildlife
Pollution, habitat loss cited in report on biodiversity
Much of China’s wild animals are living in worsening conditions due to environmental pollution and deteriorating habitat, the country’s first report on biodiversity found.
The population of half of the country’s bird species decreased between 2011 and 2017, with a significant decrease in the number of birds living in wetlands and along waterways, according to a report — the Green Book of Biodiversity — which was released on Monday.
The report, by the Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, is based on data collected at more than 10,000 sampling points and 648 observation stations across the country.
More than 50 percent of amphibian species have seen drops in population due to excessive use of pesticides — especially common amphibians that live on farmland, such as toads and frogs — the report said.
Leopards, once widely distributed in eastern, central and southern areas of the country, were only spotted at four observation stations in Sichuan and Gansu provinces. There were no signs of leopards at stations in eastern China, said Xu Haigen, deputy director of the institute.
The number and diversity of mammals in a reserve in Guizhou province was significantly lower than areas with similar conditions outside the reserve. Infrared cameras at several stations in Yunnan province have recorded locals setting traps and poaching, he said.
The loss and degradation of habitat is the largest threat facing endangered wildlife. Reduced forest area and the low coverage rate of reserves have also led to worsened living conditions for wildlife, he added.
The report also found that the diversity of butterflies was threatened by local tourism, development and mining operations.
At one national reserve in Henan province where illegal gold mining occurred, researchers only observed six kinds of butterflies, while the station outside the reserve recorded 71 types of butterflies.
Xu said more money should be given to biodiversity research, and that the biological richness of a region should be listed as a key factor in evaluating the local government.
Ren Xiaodong, of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, a Chinese NGO devoted to environmental protection, said monitoring biodiversity is highly significant, since for most endangered species, researchers don’t know where they are, how they are living or how many exist.
Rapid urbanization is a major factor for China’s decreasing biodiversity, Ren said.
“Economic growth in China beyond its environmental and ecological capacity is unsustainable,” Ren said.
A report released by the Shan Shui Conservation Center, a natural conservation organization, and five other NGOs in 2016 found the habitats of 738 of the 1,085 species monitored worsened from 2000 to 2015.
The living conditions of 102 species have improved, including for the giant panda and golden snub-nosed monkey, thanks to conservation efforts.