A group of waterfowl at the Minjiang River Estuary Wetland in Fuzhou on Aug 21, 2023. [Photo by Wei Peiquan/For chinadaily.com.cn]

At the 64th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on Wetlands, 31 new cities were announced to have been added to the Wetland City Accreditation scheme, including Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province, for their outstanding efforts in conserving and sustainably managing urban wetlands.

Launched in 2015 and held every three years, the Wetland City Accreditation scheme aims to inspire regions worldwide to proactively protect wetland ecosystems for sustainable development. With a total of 74 international Wetland Cities designated so far, China leads with 22 cities recognized globally.

As the first international Wetland City in Fujian, Fuzhou boasts diverse wetland resources, covering 194,200 hectares, including mangrove forests, coastal mudflats, river surfaces, and more. The Minjiang River Estuary Wetland, spanning 2,100 hectares, was designated as a Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar Site) in 2022.

Wetlands are critical ecosystems that play key roles in water conservation, purification, biodiversity maintenance, and more. With an extensive wetland area of around 897,800 hectares, Fujian is rich in wetland resources.

In recent years, Fujian has established a comprehensive wetland protection system, featuring natural wetland reserves, wetland parks, and important wetland areas. The province currently boasts 10 provincial-level and higher natural wetland reserves (four national and six provincial), eight national wetland parks, two nationally important wetlands (including wetlands of international importance), and 50 provincial important wetlands.

Last year, Fujian released the Fujian Province Wetland Conservation Plan (2024-2030) to advance the high-quality development of wetland conservation.