BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) — When she noticed the primary flock of Beijing swifts hovering above the Beihai Park this yr, Zhang Liting was extraordinarily excited to see that her “old friends” had accomplished their thousand-mile journey.
The 39-year-old volunteer goes to the Beihai Park commentary web site no less than as soon as every week to report populations of Beijing swifts, offering monitoring knowledge and serving to the birds migrate safely.
The Beijing swift, or the Apus apus pekinensis, is a typical migratory fowl. These birds go away Beijing in mid-July to overwinter in South Africa, and return to Beijing in late April the next yr.
Bird migration flyways are the secure routes that birds journey alongside between breeding and wintering websites. Four of the 9 main fowl migration flyways on this planet move by China.
Harboring wealthy biodiversity, together with greater than 1,400 species of birds, China performs an irreplaceable function in international migratory fowl conservation. Thanks to the nation’s continued efforts to protect biodiversity and preserve inexperienced ecosystems, an ever-growing variety of individuals are becoming a member of in on migratory fowl safety work.
BUILDING BIRD-FRIENDLY CITIES
Beijing is a key level alongside the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF), one of many world’s nice flyways for migratory birds. It is a crucial stopover web site for birds reminiscent of gray cranes and black storks, in addition to Beijing swifts, on their northbound journeys within the spring.
The newest listing of Beijing’s terrestrial wildlife exhibits that the town boasts 515 varieties of untamed birds, rating second amongst all of the capital cities of G20 international locations.
Amid efforts to ramp up the development of an ecological civilization in Beijing, the pure setting and varied wildlife species are being more and more built-in into the fast-growing megacity with a inhabitants of over 20 million.
As of now, Beijing has established 79 protected nature areas, with the full areas reaching 368,000 hectares, bringing over 90 p.c of key state-protected wildlife species and their habitats recorded within the metropolis below efficient safety. In 2021, the capital’s forest protection price was 44.6 p.c, and the inexperienced protection price of its city areas was 49 p.c.
Beijing’s appreciation for and consciousness of birds has skyrocketed lately. Many actions are held in public areas and colleges to advertise the significance of defending birds. Bird-friendly buildings are a standard sight, and strategies to forestall birds from crashing home windows are enhancing.
“With the restoration of the ecological environment and rising public awareness, people and birds, hopefully, can become the best neighbors living under the same sky,” stated Jia Yifei, an affiliate professor at Beijing Forestry University.
REVITALIZING BIRD HABITATS
In late March, a flock of black-faced spoonbills was seen foraging on the shores of east China’s Fujian Province.
These birds have black and spoon-like beaks, and are one of many world’s most endangered birds. They usually breed between May and July in northern areas and migrate southward to their winter roosting wetlands in October.
“The black-faced spoonbills were once rare to see here, but now they can be spotted every year and the number has remained stable,” stated Zheng Zhiwu, a birdwatcher who has been recognizing birds at Luoyuan Bay in east China’s Fujian Province for greater than 20 years.
Decades in the past, the disorderly growth of aquaculture farms as soon as posed a terrific risk to the birds and broken the ecosystem. To restore their habitat, the native authorities of Fujian has carried out a number of tasks to revive key ecosystems, and remodeled many fish-breeding ponds into fowl habitats.
The profound change in Luoyuan Bay epitomizes China’s ecological restoration efforts.
China in 1992 turned a celebration to the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental settlement devoted to the conservation and rational use of wetland ecosystems, and the nation has since stepped up its conservation efforts whereas establishing a authorized framework to manipulate wetlands.
During the 2016-2020 interval, China undertook 53 wetland safety and restoration tasks, and greater than 2,000 wetland ecological compensation tasks. It additionally undertook tasks to return farmlands to wetlands, in addition to wetland safety and restoration subsidy tasks.
Over the previous decade, China has added or restored greater than 800,000 hectares of wetlands, in line with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.
The rising variety of migratory birds seen in China speaks to an enhancing native pure setting, Zheng stated. “Endangered birds have become frequent visitors thanks to the improved natural environment,” he added.
PROTECTION TRANSCENDING BORDERS
Flyways often stretch throughout 1000’s of kilometers, spanning international locations, oceans and continents. The EAAF, for instance, stretches from the Russian Far East and Alaska, southward by East Asia and Southeast Asia, and on to Australia and New Zealand, encompassing over 20 international locations and areas.
“Thriving migratory species need support from all countries along the entire flyway, so enhancing international cooperation is a must,” stated Guan Lei, a challenge supervisor on the Beijing Entrepreneur Environmental Protection Foundation.
However, specialists warn that the safety of migratory birds and their flyways continues to face threats such because the loss and fragmentation of habitats, inadequate funding, and regional imbalances. “Only by working together to conserve their habitats can we provide more effective protection for the birds,” Jia stated.
China has all the time been a powerful advocator for strengthened international cooperation. It has signed bilateral agreements on migratory fowl conservation with international locations reminiscent of Japan and Australia, and promotes migratory fowl safety by multilateral setting treaties. Last yr, China pledged to advertise worldwide exchanges and cooperation to guard the 4 flyways that move the nation.
Making huge headway in that path, China’s Migratory Bird Sanctuaries alongside the coast of the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf (Phase I) have been inscribed on the World Heritage List as a pure web site in 2019.
“This inscription not only helps promote global efforts to protect the EAAF, but also injects vitality into the construction of a community for all life on Earth,” Guan stated.
Zhang Liting stated she was gratified to see her 13-year-old daughter change into a loyal fowl guardian. “I believe Beijing swifts will make beautiful memories for future generations too,” she stated.