Scientific discipline system, innovative technologies and basic research pave way for wetland conservation

To promote wetland protection in the new era, China needs to establish scientific discipline system, advance technological innovation and improve basic research, Zhu Hui, researcher of Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and other researchers note in their paper released by the Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (BCAS, in Chinese), a think tank journal supervised and sponsored by the CAS, which focuses on strategic and decision-making research.

As an important natural resource, wetlands support human life and play an irreplaceable role in water sources conservation, flood resistance, groundwater supply, biodiversity maintenance, climate regulation, carbon sequestration, and water purification. “In addition, the abundant animal and plant resources in wetlands not only are of research value, but also provide substantial material support for production and living,” the article indicates.

However, for a long time, China’s wetland resources are plagued by problems such as area reduction, biodiversity loss and functional degradation caused by cultivation, reclamation, transformation, pollution and excessive exploitation. According to the results of the second national wetland resource survey, wetlands in China have decreased by up to 8.82 percent from 2003 to 2013.

In recent years, China has published several wetland protection and restoration plans and policies. Guided by these policies and plans, China has taken measures such as returning farmland to wetlands, returning ponds to wetlands, and establishing wetland reserves and parks to reduce the rate of wetland loss and improve their ecological functions.

The achievements are significant, the article reveals, and the wetlands have recovered gradually. By 2021, more than 600 wetland nature reserves and 1,600 wetland parks, including 899 national ones, had been built. By 2023, 82 wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, had been established, ranking fourth in the world in total area. The percentage of wetlands under protection in China has already exceeded 52 percent. From 2015 to 2020, China reported a recovery trend of the total wetland area, with a net increase of 903 hm².

Besides, wetlands are important resources for China to ensure water security. On one hand, they supply clean and reliable water. A survey shows that marshlands maintain about 5.55×10¹⁰ tons of fresh water in China. On the other hand, wetlands serve as a natural sponge against flooding and drought, and play an important role in water purification and pollution reduction. According to statistics from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, wetlands show an annual nitrogen reduction capacity of up to 1 t/hm², and the annual phosphorus reduction capacity of over 0.13 t/hm².

Moreover, wetland restoration has greatly increased the diversity and quantity of aquatic animals and plants in the country. For example, the Yellow River Delta has reported the aquatic invertebrates increasing from 25 families in 2008 to 46 families in 2018. Furthermore, wetlands boast a huge carbon sink effect and potential for carbon sink enhancement. Wetlands in China records an annual carbon accumulation of 1.2 × 10⁸ t, and a total carbon storage of 168.7 × 10⁸ t.

The paper also points out that great progresses have been made in scientific development of wetlands and technological innovation of wetland restoration.

In the past decades, China has formed many models on scientific development of wetlands based on local conditions, such as the ecological model of wetland agriculture in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. “A technology system for rapid plant reproduction, growth optimization, and community maintenance has been formed in freshwater marshlands, inland saline-alkali wetlands and coastal wetlands.”

A 2020 survey shows that China boasts a wetland area of about 41.2 × 10⁴ km², the largest in Asia, so it is important for China to continue to promote technological innovation and theoretical research for wetland conservation.

Chinese scientists have put forward several key approaches to exploring the paths to high-quality development and protection for wetland resources in this paper.

It is important for the country to take wetland protection actions meeting major national demand. Scientists note that China should make different protection policies for different types of wetlands to achieve a balance in the total coverage and stability of wetlands, carry out wetland protection and restoration projects in major national strategic regions, and strengthen regional coordination of wetland resources.

For better scientific research, more efforts should be made to promote the integration between different disciplines, such as ecology, geography, hydrology, genetics, pedology, biology, environmental science, and geochemistry to solve the complex problems facing wetland ecosystems. Additionally, it is recommended to innovate and improve wetland protection and restoration technologies.

In terms of wetland research, it is advised to cultivate talents and build a wetland management consulting think tank. In the future, China should strengthen the building of national-level platforms and consolidate the role of think tanks such as the National Wetland Protection Standardization Technique Committee and the National Wetland Science and Technology Professional Committee.

These measures are expected to support wetland protection and restoration projects in China, promote major scientific and technological research and form scientific theories on wetland management.