On 17 November, 2018 International Symposium on the Coast of Yellow (bohai) Sea closed successfully after completing all the agenda, and it declared the 2018 Yancheng Initiative for wetlands protection to the world. It called for deepening the international cooperation on wetlands protection and promoting the harmony of nature and mankind.
Yuan DAI (Secretary of the CPC of Yancheng municipal committee) made an welcoming speech, Xinsheng ZHANG (President of IUCN and Executive Chairman and Co-founder of Eco foundation Global) made an opening speech, and Lubao CAO (Acting Mayor of Yancheng Municity) made a closing speech. In the closing session, Secretary Yuan DAI and President Xinsheng ZHANG awarded the appoint letter for the 9 specially-invited experts of the Yancheng Coastal Wetlands Research Institute.
This two-day symposium impressed the participants with distinct themes, abundant contents, creative agenda and compact activity arrangement. Focus on cross-region cooperation along Yellow (Bohai) costal wetlands, the wetland protection systems and mechanisms,ecology and sustainable development and so on, the participants had deep discussion and reached broad consensus, a series of innovative and leading research achievements.
Yancheng Coastal Wetlands Research Institute sign the memorandum of understanding on deepening ecological conservation and coastal wetlands protection with Ramsar Regional Center - East Asia (RRC-EA). Meanwhile, the institute also signed the memorandum of understanding on Yangcheng wetlands ecological conservation and management pilot with Eco Foundation Global and World Wide Fund for Nature Beijing Office.
Lubao CAO said in his speech that Yancheng is the leading party in the applying for the World Natural Heritage of the Coast of Yellow (Bohai) Sea. They will carefully protect the wetland ecosystem and integrate unique resources such as wetlands, forests and tidal flats to build an ecological corridor and biodiversity conservation network. They will also actively apply for the World Natural Heritage, accelerate the construction of ecological protection special zones, and strive to build a strategic brand for the future development of the city.They are willing to cooperate and exchange with the international world to explore new paths for international wetlands protection and contribute to the maintenance of global ecological security.
Yancheng decided to expand the scope of protection at the municipal level, including the Tiaozi mud, high mud, Dongsha area into the scope of nominated sites of the World Natural Heritage, drawing on advanced experience and scientific protection, and implementing the commitments of the World Heritage and the Ramsar Convention with practical actions. It will truly turn Xi Jinping's ecological civilization thought and the practice of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" into the practice on the coast of Yellow (Bohai) Sea.
Nicola Crockford (Principal Policy Officer of Royal Society for the Protection of Birds), Jon Bruno (Executive Director of The International Ecotourism Society), Jens Enemark (Former (Secretary-General of Common Wadden Sea), Vance Martin (President of Wild Foundation), Kyung Min Kim (Professor of School of Applied BioSciences, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Kyungpook National University), Bihu WU (Professor of The College of Urban and Environmental Sciences at Peking University，Director of Center for Recreation and Tourism Research), Guangchun LEI (Deputy Secretary-General of Committee of World Heritage Experts, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Vice President of IUCN EAGL, President of College of Nature Conservation of Beijing Forestry University), Xianji WEN (Assistant Director of Mai Po Nature Reserve and Regional Wetlands), and Shuqing AN (Professor of School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University) were hired as the specially-ivited experts of the Yancheng Costal Wetlands Research Institute.
(source:ycnews.cn)
