The Eighteen Polder Wetland Restoration Phase III Project, part of the Shan-Shui Initiative in Anhui Province's Chaohu Lake Basin, has been selected as a standout example for the United Nations (UN) Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, local authorities announced.
Under the guidance of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration strives to prevent, halt, and reverse the global loss and degradation of vital ecosystems.
Chaohu Lake, one of the five major freshwater lakes in the Chinese mainland, boasts the Eighteen Polder—a crucial wetland located in Feidong County, Hefei City, the capital of Anhui. The Chaohu Lake management bureau highlights its significance in maintaining regional ecological balance.
Since the 1960s, the area's population has surged due to continuous lake reclamation and population aggregation, putting immense pressure on the local wetland ecosystem. These long-term human activities have rendered the ecosystem increasingly fragile.
In response, Hefei developed an overarching plan in 2017 to implement the Eighteen Polder Wetland Restoration Project in phases. The third phase, focused on the core wetland area, spanned approximately 4.3 square kilometers and was successfully completed in July 2022.
This phase primarily involved transforming artificial wetlands, including several breeding ponds, into multi-functional wetland ecosystems. These new ecosystems now support water quality purification, biodiversity protection, flood storage, and green production systems.
Upon completion, the project restored 410 hectares to ideal habitats for birds and reestablished 263 hectares of forest and grass vegetation. The wetland's biodiversity saw a significant boost, with 15 species of aquatic plants discovered in the area for the first time.
The number of local bird species skyrocketed from 63 before the project to 117 in 2022, a testament to the project's success, according to the Chaohu Lake management bureau.
Reference(s):
Chaohu wetland selected as case of UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
cgtn.com
