The People’s Republic of China is home to one-fifth of the world’s people, who live in a nation only slightly larger than the United States. China’s diverse ecosystems provide habitat for approximately 10 percent of the earth’s wildlife, some of which is found nowhere else, including the giant panda, golden monkey, and Yangtze River dolphin.

China’s rapidly developing economy, coupled with its large human population, puts increasing demands on its wildlife and natural resources. The P.R.C. Ministry of Forestry estimates that in the past 50 years, 10 wildlife species and 200 plant species have become extinct. Another 20 species of fauna are on the verge of extinction; some 400 more are threatened or endangered, as are 4,000 higher plant species.

Recognizing the need to conserve its biological resources, China’s Ministry of Forestry entered into an agreement entitled "The Protocol on Cooperation and Exchanges in the Field of Conservation of Nature," with the U.S. Department of the Interior. Originally signed by the two nations in 1986, and extended for five year periods in 1991 and 1996 respectively, the Protocol provides a framework for U.S. and Chinese counterparts to share expertise in science, technology, and education.

Working through the Protocol, the China Program has supported nearly one hundred exchanges. Scientists of both nations collaborate in the formulation and implementation of wildlife conservation, habitat management, and environmental education projects in China.

Fish and Wildlife Research and Management Accurate data on the abundance and distribution of such globally renown species as snow leopards are needed to ensure their protection. The China Program has sponsored scientific exchanges enabling American biologists to train Chinese wildlife specialists in survey and monitoring methods as well as in the development of computerized data bases.

China’s rivers provide habitat for sturgeon, shad, and other fish species. However, intense pressures on river and watershed systems from hydroelectric power projects has resulted in increased sedimentation and toxic pollution adversely affecting some fish populations. A lack of up-to-date technology complicates efforts to obtain baseline data on fish populations, movements, and spawning behavior.

Through use of radio tags and ultrasonic telemetry, American and Chinese biologists have followed sturgeon movements and monitored spawning habitats below dams. Data from these surveys have helped identify the effects on migratory fish populations of large-scale dams both in China and the United States. The China Program has also sponsored exchanges allowing U.S. biologists to share expertise in American shad culture, marking, stock evaluation, and interstate cooperation.

Habitat Conservation China maintains an extensive network of over 600 nature reserves, and additional lands are placed in protected status each year. Yet many of these areas suffer from lack of equipment, pressures of growing human populations, and development in adjacent areas.

The China Program has provided support for American biologists to visit and share expertise in biodiversity conservation with Chinese wildlife managers in such places as the Chebaling National Nature Reserve (Jilin Province) and Futian Mangrove-Bird Reserve (Guangdong Province); Fanjingshan Mountain Reserve (Guizhou Province) and the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve (Yunnan Province.) Biologists from both countries have exchanged information on reserve management, economic activities of local people living in and around the reserves, characteristics of endemic flora and fauna, and biodiversity conservation.

Training Illegal trade of wildlife and their parts is an increasing problem in China. The Fish and Wildlife Service has provided training to assist China to better implement provisions contained within the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Chinese law enforcement and Customs agents have visited U.S. Ports of Entry to observe operations and discuss control of endangered species trade in the P.R.C. This training has enhanced the ability of Chinese wildlife authorities to monitor and inspect imports, exports and to identify illegally trafficked species.

Sea turtle populations are increasingly threatened the world over. After visiting sea turtle management projects in the U.S. and Mexico geared to increasing hatchling survival rates, Chinese biologists returned home equipped with new techniques to incorporate into China's sea turtle management strategy.

Conservation Education In 1997, the China Program hosted Chinese educators for two weeks in the U.S. for familiarization with public outreach programs, design of visitor centers, and use of volunteers. American conservation specialists have also visited China to advise on visitor facilities in reserves there.

For more information, contact:
Chief, Division of International Affairs
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 730
Arlington, VA 22203-1622.
Ph: 703-358-1754; 703-358-2849.