Recently, Dr. Zhou Jinfeng, Secretary-General of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF), and Barbara Lausche, Chair of IUCN-WCPA Marine Connectivity Working Group (MCWG) had a one-on-one conversation. They had in-depth exchanges on the work of CBCGDF, marine conservation, the work of the MCWG in 2021, and MCWG general work plan for 2022-2024.
The Marine Connectivity Working Group (MCWG) was officially approved by World Commission on Protected Areas of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN WCPA) to meet the demand for connectivity conservation solutions that maintain, enhance, and restore the ecological connectivity of marine and coastal protected areas, marine biodiversity, and critical marine and coastal ecosystem services. MCWG’s mission is to advance marine connectivity conservation policies, programs, and practice through collaboration in science, planning, management, governance, and policy with an emphasis on advancing practical guidance, principles, methods, and tools that maintain, restore, and enhance the long-term ecological integrity of marine protected areas, marine ecosystems, and other biodiversity-rich marine areas, including Key Biodiversity Areas and World Heritage Dr. Zhou, as the executive member of MCWG, introduced the ideas of Biodiversity Conservation in Our Neighborhoods(BCON) to chair Barbara Lausche.
Dr. Zhou first proposed the new idea of BCON in May 2021 which aims to discover the best practices for effectively protecting biodiversity in areas with intensive human activities, taking into account environmental protection and regional development, and synergizing sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity conservation.
Dr. Zhou said: Compared with existing protected areas, BCON Expands biodiversity conservation from remote mountains and reserves into neighborhoods and more densely populated areas. The opportunity to implement BCON and conserve biodiversity exists in communities around the world. By far, there have been a series of successful cases of BCON.
In the protection of neighborhood biodiversity related to fishery, Dr. Zhou cited the example of CBCGDF going to Baiyangdian in Renqiu to investigate the fishing situation of local fishermen. The local waters were littered with fishing gear, and fishermen engaged in uncontrolled fishing activities then. In response to this, CBCGDF proposed to let fishermen know when to fish and how to fish, to help them formulate fishing regulations, and to learn fish-related knowledge.
Dr. Zhou also emphasized that in the process of BCON, when starting an infrastructure construction, a comprehensive investigation and research on the neighborhood biodiversity should be carried out to reduce the loss of biodiversity and the waste of natural resources, in order to improve the coexistence relationship between man and nature.
Chair Barbara Rauscher hoped that CBCGDF could share success stories of BCON with MCWG.
Original Chinese Article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/fJiIOKZD62-TW4NhrUWXfw
Translator: Sara
Editor:Daisy
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