WUHAN: The fact that China has the most “international wetland cities” drives home a crystal-clear message: China firmly upholds that respecting, adapting to, and protecting nature is essential for building itself into a modern socialist country in all respects.
Of all the 43 international wetland cities worldwide, China has 13, including seven newly accredited during the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP14) to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, which is held in China’s Wuhan and Switzerland’s Geneva.
China’s impressive green efforts come at a time when the world’s natural wetlands have declined by 35 percent since the convention’s adoption in 1971, despite numerous conservation efforts.
China’s ceaseless endeavors to conserve the wetlands have reflected its distinct path to modernization, where harmony between humanity and nature is much valued.
Over the past decades, China’s great green transformation has demonstrated to the world a pragmatic approach that balances environmental protection with economic and social development.
The world’s largest developing country rejects modernization paths that consume excessive non-renewable natural resources in the process of its modernization.
China, the world’s second-largest economy and most populous country, pursues greener modernization and promotes high-quality development in the wetlands conservation cause.
Wetlands, dubbed “kidneys of the Earth,” are among the top stores of carbon, which means their existence contributes to global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. –Agencies
