Hefei: The mayor of Hefei, Anhui province, is emphasizing conservation of the city’s abundant wetland resources for more eco-friendly modernization.
Hefei has been a hot spot for enterprises and talent in recent years, with the city’s gross domestic product surpassing 1.2 trillion yuan ($172.3 billion) and its permanent resident population increasing last year by nearly 170,000 to more than 9.63 million.
“While pursuing high-quality development, we will keep striving to enable residents to enjoy their environment more,” Mayor Luo Yunfeng said.
Luo, who is also a deputy to the 14th National People’s Congress, said during this year’s two sessions that the city now has one wetland site of national stature, plus five national and three provincial wetland parks, with an area totaling 118,200 hectares. It also has the province’s highest wetland protection rate — 76 percent.
In January, three rare Dalmatian pelicans (Pelecanus crispus) were observed for the first time at the city’s Chaohu Lake, the country’s fifth- largest freshwater lake. “Chaohu Lake and the 10 major wetland habitats around it have 562 plant species and 381 bird species so far. More bird and plant species have been found in the region in recent years,” Luo said, adding that last year marked a milestone for Hefei’s wetland conservation efforts.
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
