China - Overview

Status and trends of biodiversity, including benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services

China is among the 12 mega-biodiverse countries in the world. Forest cover accounts for 20.36% of the total land area, while the stock volume of forest plantations may be the largest in the world, harboring abundant and diverse wildlife. China is also one of the eight centers of origin for crops, with nearly 10,000 species of crops, including their wild relatives... More »

Main pressures on and drivers of change to biodiversity (direct and indirect)

Accelerated urbanization and industrialization have brought threats to and increased pressure on the habitats of species and ecosystems. Overexploitation and disorderly development of biological resources have aggravated the negative impacts on biodiversity. Environmental pollution has greatly impacted aquatic and river coastal biodiversity and habitats... More »

Implementation of the NBSAP

A Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan, officially released by the State Council in June 1994, defines the overall target for China’s biodiversity conservation as “taking effective measures as soon as possible to avoid further losses of biodiversity by reversing or reducing the current rate of loss of biodiversity”. More recently, China updated its NBSAP for the next two decades (2011-2030)... More »

Actions taken to achieve the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets

First of all, notable achievements have been made in regard to in situ conservation. At the end of 2011, China had established 2,640 nature reserves at different levels (not including those in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao), covering 149.71 million ha, representing 14.93% of the total land area (the global average is 12%)... More »

Support mechanisms for national implementation (legislation, funding, capacity-building, coordination, mainstreaming, etc.)

To support national implementation of biodiversity policy, China has developed a wide range of economic instruments in financing, taxation, banking, credit, pricing and trade for environmental protection and reducing pollutant emissions. In policy and legal terms, the implementation of a number of international conventions, such as CITES, Ramsar, UNFCCC and UNCCD, is a means for China to translate biodiversity protection into national targets... More »

Mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing implementation

In recent years, China has completed a number of large-scale surveys on natural resources and biodiversity. These include the Sixth National Forest Resources Inventory, National Wetland Survey, National Wildlife Resources Survey and the National Survey on Livestock Genetic Resources, resulting in the publication of inventories such as the China Red Data Book on Endangered Animals... More »