A view of the wetland at the estuary of the Yellow River in Dongying, East China's Shandong province. [Photo/Guangming Daily]

A firefighter checks a white-naped crane, a species under the first class state protection, found during routine patrol at the Dazhan River wetland in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, May 3, 2022. [Photo/Guangming Daily]

Experts have hailed the importance of the Wetland Protection Law, which came into force on June 1, in improving biodiversity and environmental governance.

Professor Lei Guangchun with the Beijing Forestry University said the law has clearly defined wetland on the basis of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat, thus laying a solid foundation for effective wetland governance in China.

The law has made clear the main body responsible for wetland protection and management and also required the coordination and information sharing among relevant departments, which is a significant progress in advancing ecological civilization, Lei said.

The specialized law has also turned useful practices into legal provisions, such as the wetland resource survey and evaluation system and dynamic monitoring system, and clarified the authority of departments at various levels to publish wetland list.

In Lei's view, one of the biggest highlights of the law is the intensified punishment for damaging wetland, for instance, a fine ranging from 1,000 yuan ($149.6) to 10,000 yuan per square meter will be imposed for unauthorized occupation of key wetlands and other offenses.

The legislation reflects the trade-offs between wetland conservation and utilization on the principle of scientific, transparent and rational thinking, accommodates the existing laws and regulations, and avoids the one-size-fits-all approach, said Lei. He said he believes such efforts will generate ecological, social and economic benefits in coordinated ways and make wetlands a green space shared by all.  

Xu Mingde, secretary of the Party working committee at the administration of the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve, said the new law spells out provisions on wetland protection, utilization, restoration and management, and raises the public awareness of wetland conservation.

In addition to a problem-oriented approach to address diverse situations, the law also proposes to establish a number of mechanisms concerning compilation and approval of wetland restoration plans, acceptance of wetland restoration, post-restoration management and performance evaluation, according to Xu. These mechanisms will help strengthen supervision throughout the whole process and ensure the quality of such restoration initiatives, Xu said. 

As of December 2021, China was home to 64 wetlands of international importance and 29 national key wetlands. The country has established over 600 wetland reserves, 1,600 wetland parks, and numerous wetland protection areas.

During the review of the draft law, some members of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress expressed concerns over turning wetland restoration into tourism development projects, which may actually lead to loss and degradation of wetlands. Experts have called for scientific decision-making and making biodiversity conservation a top priority in wetland restoration.