Guangzhou Haizhu National Wetland Park (Haizhu Wetland), with an area of about 869 hectares, is the largest downtown wetland park among China’s super metropolises. It is located at the south of Guangzhou’s new central axis and known as the green heart of Guangzhou. The essence of the orchard culture (Lingnan Culture) has accumulated for over thousand years in Haizhu Wetland, it is also an important site on the flyway for migratory birds. Through scientific zoning and management, ecological restoration with traditional water-culture features, the creation of the “Haizhu Model” on natural education, and the establishment of a scientific research monitoring platform, Haizhou Wetland constantly explores a way to conserve and construct downtown wetland park where human beings and nature could live in harmony.
Photo credit – Xinhua
Conservation
The Fanjingshan Nature Reserve is the only habitat for the gray snub nosed monkey and the Fanjingshan fir (Abeis fanjingshanensis) on Earth, both of which are endangered species. The main threats and challenges faced by the Fanjingshan Nature Reserve are natural disasters such as forest fires, invasive alien species, and forest blight and disease. A series of monitoring and research has been carried out targeting the core conservation value Gray snub nosed monkey and the Fanjingshan fir. Through continuous monitoring of water quality, meteorology, river ecology, forest plots, soil, etc., the habitats of these spices have been effectively protected, and the population of gray snub-nosed monkey and Fanjingshan fir have remained stable.
Good governance
The Fanjingshan Nature Reserve has been officially approved and recognized by the State Council, with a clearly defined governance structure and institutions that comply with relevant government and judicial norms. It has an acknowledged system and recording system to guide the decision-making process, and a three-level management mechanism of management bureau, management centre, and management station is implemented. The importance of community involvements are fully recognized, community involvement are included in the overall management objectives and into the responsibilities of the management. A co- management committee is established, members of the commit including governments of counties and townships, and administrative villages; expert advisory committee for Gray Snub-Nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus brelichi) and advisory committees for Fanjingshan world natural heritage Decision are established, an open, participatory, and adaptive management model is implemented, to fully respect and receive the opinions and suggestions of relevant rights holders and interested parties on the decision-making and management of Fanjingshan Nature Reserve. An information disclosure system and process is applied to ensure impartial and transparency in decision-making process.
Community benefits
With the establishment of the Fanjingshan Nature Reserve, ecological tourism has been carried out in an orderly manner, which has gradually improved the infrastructures of surrounding communities and effectively promoted the continuous improvement of local economic. In 2021, the per capita disposable income of urban residents inside and around the Fanjing Mountain Nature Reserve increased by 5.1%, and that of rural residents (Songtao County, Yinjiang County, Jiangkou County) increased by 8.2%, 7.7%, and 8.2%, respectively. Relying on the unique mountainous and germplasm resources of Fanjingshan Mountain, mountainous characteristic agriculture and non-timber forestry economy are developed, and a series of high-quality agricultural product brands are successfully cultivated centered about “Mount Fanjing Treasures, Health Preservation”, such as Mount Fanjingshan Tea, Fanjingshan Matcha, Fanjingshan Honey, Fanjingshan Mushroom, and Fanjingshan Chinese Medicine. Projects such as compensation for forest ecological benefits, protecting natural forests, and converting firewood to stoves, is implemented continuously. From 2022 to 2024, a funding of 31.29 million yuan is invested for redemption of key ecological location commodity forest redemption projects. Community residents are provided with job opportunities as forest rangers and with financial subsidies, so that the damage to forest vegetation caused by firewood collection and other activties of local communities are reduced, effectively promoting the restoration of forest resources and environmental protection, increasing the enthusiasm of community residents to participate in the protection of Fanjingshan.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) submitted a technical assessment report to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in July 2018, stating that Mount Fanjing meets the criteria and integrity requirements of Article 10 (Biodiversity) of the World Heritage Site, showcasing and preserving isolated mountain ecosystems and significant biodiversity in central and subtropical regions. Mount Fanjing is a habitat for rare flora and fauna, a refuge for ancient relic species, and an important site for the differentiation and development of unique flora and fauna. It is the only habitat for the Guizhou golden monkey and Mount Fanjing fir on Earth, with non-replicability and substitutability. It is one of the hotspots with the richest species in the Oriental deciduous forest biological region, and also the most important protected area of the Cyclobalanopsis glauca forest in Asia.
DECISION
The EAGL members approved by consensus to recommend the site for inclusion on the IUCN Green List.
