The United Nations has designated May 12th of every year as the International Day of Plant Health, with the aim of raising global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, preserve biodiversity and the environment, and promote economic development. This day is an important legacy of the International Year of Plant Health in 2020. In order to promote plant health and advance the "One Health" concept, the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) is taking action. CBCGDF's efforts to promote "plant health" include, but are not limited to:
(1) CBCGDF has established a working group on invasive alien species, conducting research and scientific communication. This includes the 2022 investigation of invasive alien species in rural areas of Hunan, a science education project on invasive alien species in a middle school in Hangzhou, and the monitoring and evaluation of African desert locusts released by a joint expert team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Remote Sensing Institute.
(2) CBCGDF has established a "One Health Working Committee" to promote the concept of "One Health." Plant health is closely related to "One Health," which is an interdisciplinary and comprehensive health strategy aimed at promoting the health of humans, animals, and the environment. Plant health is an important component of this health strategy because the status of plant health has far-reaching implications for the health of humans, animals, and the environment. Taking comprehensive measures to protect plant health helps to achieve the goal of "One Health." This requires interdisciplinary cooperation, including cooperation between botanists, veterinarians, ecologists, and public health professionals. Since the establishment of the "One Health Working Committee" in 2021, CBCGDF has been conducting long-term scientific communication, advocacy for protection, and expert decision-making.
(3) CBCGDF serves citizen scientists. This includes 1) continuing to release citizen science species observation data on the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF); collaborating with local primary and secondary schools to support youth education; and conducting scientific communication on invasive alien species using species such as the channeled applesnail and Canada goldenrod. 2) CBCGDF is building science communication brands. For example, the popular science series "Following Prof. Mo Xinchun to Observe Nature: Understanding Biodiversity," produced by CBCGDF's media department, has updated to 88 episodes with a cumulative view count of over 40 million.
(4) CBCGDF provides decision-making advisories to the country and ecological environmental protection planning services to local governments. Firstly, CBCGDF has published multiple research reports related to plants, such as "Yanqing County Flora and Fauna Checklist," "Research on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Utilization in the Yunmeng Mountain Forest Area," "Biodiversity Survey Report in Ningxia Forest Area," and "Research on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Utilization in the Natural Reserve of Labagoumen, Beijing," which provide support for scientific decision-making by governments at all levels. Secondly, CBCGDF assisted in drafting the proposal for the 2020 National “Two Sessions” of China - "Strongly Supporting the Biological Control Industry and Incorporating it into China's Disaster Reduction and Emergency Response Work" (Proposal Draft for the 2020 National “Two Sessions”), which has been supported by Mr. Zhang Wei, a member of China's National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and has been submitted to the highest decision-making and consulting organization in China, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Thirdly, CBCGDF actively participates in the consultation and decision-making processes of almost all legislation related to biodiversity in China, including but not limited to the draft of the Biosafety Law, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law, the Wetland Protection Law, and the Regulations on the Protection of Wild Plants. In addition, since 2016, CBCGDF has proposed that China should formulate a national-level "Biodiversity Conservation Law" as soon as possible. In 2020, CBCGDF proposed that Beijing should introduce a local-level legislative "Regulations on the Protection of Wild Plants in Beijing."
(5) Conducting international South-South assistance. Plant pests and diseases cause significant reductions in production and have a major impact on global hunger every year. Since 2020, CBCGDF has worked with the Huang Wenjiang research team of the Aerospace Information Innovation Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to continuously release the latest data on "Monitoring and Evaluation of Desert Locust Disasters in Asia and Africa" and dynamic monitoring of grassland armyworms. As of May 2023, the series of reports on "Monitoring and Evaluation of Desert Locust Disasters in Asia and Africa" has been published for 43 issues, and through data sharing, it has assisted Asian and African countries in protecting food security, helping these South-South Countries to improve their pest control capabilities against desert locusts and other pests, and supporting the development of large-scale monitoring and early warning systems for biosecurity and food security in countries and regions along the Belt and Road in Asia and Africa with technology.
(6) Protecting biodiversity in arid areas. The CBCGDF Botanical Garden Working Committee launched the "Clean Internet for Conophytum" Initiative to combat illegal wildlife trade, particularly cross-border poaching and illegal succulent plant trade, by purifying illegal online trading platforms. The goal is to protect biodiversity and build a community of shared life on earth. The action was launched on March 9, 2023, and has received support and participation from the public, nature conservationists, horticultural professionals, and businesses. By promoting endangered plant conservation advocacy, raising awareness, and mainstreaming biodiversity, a total of 82 articles and videos have been published in just 2 months with a cumulative reading of over 28 million views as of May 8, 2023. Details see:
(7) Conduct research, public education, and policy recommendations on desertification prevention and control; support the seabuckthorn industry to promote rural revitalization; and publish the "Collection of Disciplines for Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control" to assist in the construction of first-level disciplines for soil and water conservation and desertification control.
(8) Actively participate in global biodiversity governance to protect against the risk of endangered plant extinction caused by international trade. 1) As an observer to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the CBCGDF actively participates in related governance and consultation processes. For example, during the CITES SC76 closed-door working session, the group's representative participates in the review of the provisions of the CITES convention on the trade of non-wild animal and plant specimens. 2) CBCGDF also called for "Green Lifestyle" by launching an Initiative called "Say No to Redwood Collections" and advocated for responsible furniture consumption.
(9) Advocate for the protection and sustainable use of agricultural genetic resources. As an observer to the United Nations FAO' International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) and with its Secretary-General as a member of the global DSI scientific network, the CBCGDF promotes cutting-edge observation and governance on issues related to genetic resource digital sequence information.
(10) Protect ancient trees. For example, the CBCGDF initiated an environmental public interest litigation to protect ancient jujube trees (a civil public interest litigation case where the jujube forest land in Huazhuang Village, Xuedian Town, Zhengzhou City, was illegally transplanted & all died).
(11) CBCGDF has long been committed to protecting endangered plants and their habitats. For example: 1) In order to protect the endangered Acer Pentaphyllum, CBCGDF initiated the famous environmental public interest lawsuit "Acer Pentaphyllum Protection Lawsuit", which stopped a hydropower project that would have destroyed the only habitat of this endangered species. This EPIL has been included by the Supreme People's Court as a "guiding case" and a "typical case"; 2) CBCGDF has supported the establishment of nearly 200 Community Conservation Areas (CCAfa) for the protection of various types of community-level protected areas in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across China. Among them, there are about 10 CCAfas for the protection of rare plant species.
(12) CBCGDF has organized various academic exchanges and research activities. For example: 1) As a national academic society, CBCGDF has participated in the co-hosting of the annual "China Botanic Gardens Annual Meetings", International Conference for Genomics", and "Vegetation Pest and Disease Remote Sensing Conference"; 2) CBCGDF has sponsored the publication of academic works such as the English version of "Phytohortology" and "Diverse Forests in China";
(13) CBCGDF advocates for sustainable diets and recommends that people prefer consuming more seasonal and local foods. CBCGDF has also developed Chinese national group standards such as "China Pure Plant-Based Food Standard" (T/CGDF 00030-2022), "Good Food Guidelines" (T/CGDF 00007-2020).
Reported: Littlejane
Editor: Samantha