Red line system successfully adopted across nation
A Chinese mechanism－the ecological conservation red line－could provide an effective solution to tackling global biodiversity losses.
Experts said the strategy, which has been successfully adopted in biodiversity programs in China, could cover more species not protected by nature reserves and also coordinate ecosystem protection and socioeconomic development.
The experts spoke as the first phase of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP 15, opened on Monday in Kunming, Yunnan province, with the theme "Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth".
Ecological civilization is a concept promoted by President Xi Jinping for balanced and sustainable development that features the harmonious coexistence of humankind and nature.
The first phase of the largest UN biodiversity gathering in a decade was due to end on Friday. With the task of elaborating on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and identifying new protection goals through 2030, the meeting will resume in the first half of next year.
According to the fifth Global Biodiversity Outlook report published last year, however, the world failed to achieve all 20 Aichi Targets adopted at COP 10 in Nagoya, Japan, in 2010. These targets, established by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, consist of 20 specific goals to address and mitigate biodiversity loss worldwide.
Red lines are used frequently in China to denote geographic boundaries that should not be crossed. In a move to further enhance environmental protection, the central authorities issued a guideline on an ecological conservation red line in 2017, vowing to impose mandatory and rigorous protection in certain areas where the mechanism was implemented.
According to the guideline, the strategy will cover regions playing important roles in ecosystem operation－including water and soil conservation, and biodiversity maintenance－as well as ecologically fragile areas prone to soil erosion and desertification.
Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province, as well as areas along the Yangtze River Economic Belt were asked to spearhead the national program and draw red lines by the end of 2017.
With efforts continuing to optimize the mechanism, China is aiming for national ecological safety to be guaranteed by 2030, the guideline states.
According to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, red lines now encircle 25 percent of the nation's territory.
Gao Jixi, head of the Center for Satellite Application on Ecology and Environment, which is affiliated with the ministry, said the red line system offers a solution to enhance ecosystem integrity and will also help species adapt to climate change.
"Nature reserves are usually designated for specific species, which means that they don't cover very large areas," he said.
Different-sized reserves are often isolated, with some showing up as mere dots on the map. The red line system can better connect these isolated areas and encircle some that are not suitable for inclusion as nature reserves, offering species more integrated habitats, Gao added.
Coordination role
After global warming renders their current living areas uninhabitable, some species may fail to find new habitats within a reserve allocated especially for them, Gao said. "The red line system will make it easier for species to migrate, greatly increasing their capability to adapt to climate change," he added.
According to the ministry, 85 percent of key wild animal populations in China have been brought under effective protection. Gao said the red line system could address the remaining 15 percent.
He added that the system has international significance, as it provides a new mode for global environmental governance.
While protecting areas rich in biodiversity and which play key roles in ecosystem operation, the mechanism will also coordinate ecosystem protection and socioeconomic development, Gao said. The size of encircled areas will change, but it will be adjusted in accordance with socioeconomic development, he added.
Gao said measures will also be taken to ensure residents in encircled areas lead normal or even better lives.
Large-scale urbanization and industrialization will be prohibited in encircled areas, but certain economic activities will be allowed, he said. Residents will also be compensated for short-term losses resulting from development restrictions.
For example, in Jiangsu province, where red lines were introduced in 2013, ecological remediation measures and development projects have been introduced in some areas encircled by red lines.
Desheng Lake in Xinghua city, Jiangsu, used to experience heavy pollution and ecosystem degradation due to fish farming. About 60 percent of the 1,667-hectare lake was occupied by fish farms in the 1980s, according to the Jiangsu Department of Ecology and Environment.
The lake was largely restored following ecological remediation measures taken by the local government in 2014 after the area was encircled by red lines. All fishing farms have since been returned to the lake, the department said.
The 744 households that depended on fishing to make a living were not only compensated for their losses, but many residents were given the opportunity to join training programs to acquire skills for other work.
Meanwhile, the local government has introduced a tourism project with total investment of 11 billion yuan ($1.70 billion) to promote economic development in the area.
The central authorities said in a guideline released last month that China aims to increase economic compensation for areas encircled by red lines.
A graded compensation system will be introduced to reform the reward policy for key ecological conservation areas. Red lines will be taken into consideration when deciding how to distribute centrally allocated transfer payments designated for such areas.
Transfer payments
According to the Ministry of Finance, the central government plans to allocate 88.2 billion yuan－a year-on-year rise of 11 percent－in transfer payments this year for areas performing key ecological functions such as biodiversity conservation, desertification control and wind mitigation.
Each region in China also contributes such transfer payments, with Jiangsu, for example, allocating nearly 11 billion yuan since 2013.
The Jiangsu Department of Ecology and Environment said the payments were distributed to township-level governments or specific projects to enhance environmental protection and ecological restoration in areas within red lines, as well as to compensate residents.
Ma Keping, secretary-general of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Biodiversity Committee, said the red line system addresses the rising populations of some of the nation's species.
"The populations of many species are growing in China, with some increasing rapidly," he said, citing examples such as the crested ibis－an endangered bird known as "the oriental gem"－the giant panda, the Asian elephant and Tibetan antelope.
The crested ibis, which once flourished in Northeast Asia, has existed for more than 60 million years. However, the species was believed extinct due to the use of pesticides and fertilizers in the 1960s, which jeopardized the birds' habitats.
In 1981, researchers found seven of the birds in Yangxian county, Shaanxi province, which were thought to be the last of the species remaining worldwide.
Ma said there are now at least 5,000 crested ibises in China.
The population growth of such species proves that measures introduced by the Chinese government for biodiversity conservation have been effective, he added.
China started to pilot logging bans in State-owned natural forests in 1998, Ma said. The ban was fully implemented in all State-owned natural forests in 2017, bringing the main habitats of wild animals under conservation.
However, Ma said rising animal populations have brought a new challenge, as the creatures roam far beyond the nature reserves allocated for them.
When the crested ibis was rediscovered, its habitat was near Yaojiagou village, Yangxian. Currently, the birds' range covers tens of thousands of square kilometers, he said.
The red line system can help China cope with "the new situation", Ma said, adding that nature reserves usually occupy relatively small areas, so instead of expanding reserves, the system can encircle some species' dispersed habitats and bring them under protection.
Instead of making all red line areas subject to rigid management that bans human activities, Ma suggests that to manage the system, tailor-made measures should be adopted based on the needs of species.
For some species with small populations, key locations should be set up within the red lines to increase protection. Measures should also be taken to prevent habitats being damaged, he said.
Remediation work should be carried out in areas that have experienced ecosystem damage, according to Ma.
He added that management of the red line system will not be successful if sustainable production and consumption are not promoted simultaneously with protection and remediation measures.
More action will be taken to further promote the red line system in China.
At a forum last month, Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu said that as part of efforts to increase biodiversity conservation, China will promote the system as a key task in the new five-year plans for government bodies and regions.
A new guideline will be made public to specify general targets, key tasks and measures, he said.
