On January 30th, at the invitation of the Department of Wildlife Conservation of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, CBCGDF once again discussed with the heads from relevant department from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, as well as the responsible people in charge of wildlife conservation from nice provinces in the south, on pangolins protection. During the meeting, all parties exchanged views and opinions very frankly, and discussed issues related to the government information disclosure, the level of species protection, the form of social organization participation protection, and the mechanism of cooperation and communication, and the research on pangolins. A consensus was reached.

Dr. Zhou Jinfeng, the Secretary-General of CBCGDF gave a brief introduction to CBCGDF's views on the current status of pangolin protection, and CBCGDF has made unremitting efforts in the field of pangolin protection in recent years. Dr. Zhou believes that the public's awareness of the protection of pangolins is still not enough, and the information disclosure of government authorities has yet to be further improved.

At the working meeting of the day, the responsible persons responsible for wildlife conservation from nine provinces including Guangxi, Yunnan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou and Zhejiang also discussed with CBCGDF on wildlife protection. In particular, it has conducted candid discussions and exchanges on the protection and rescue work of the pangolin species.

The Department of Wildlife Conservation of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration expressed its full affirmation and welcome to the positive attitude of CBCGDF to participate in the protection of wildlife in China, and said that on the basis of the principle of "mutual respect, understanding and inclusive, scientific and objective, cooperation and win-win", government departments must actively change their work style. CBCGDF should actively adjust methods, and the two sides should jointly promote the protection of wildlife resources in China. In response to the specific issues related to pangolin protection, the Department has also responded positively on the principle of “openness and cooperation”.

For example, government information disclosure work on pangolin protection. The Department of Wildlife Conservation of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said that publicity will become a normal state, and the case of non-disclosure is an exception. In the case of non-disclosure, the relevant wildlife protection authorities must clearly state the relevant reasons and basis; if the information to be disclosed involves third-party information, the relevant management counterparts must be consulted.

Secondly, on the upgrade of the pangolin protection level and adjusted the national key protection wild animal list issue repeatedly mentioned by CBCGDF, the Department of Wildlife Conservation of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration answered: It is promoting the related work, and the pangolin protection level upgrade is only a matter of time.

As for whether Malayan pangolins has a natural distribution in China and the wild resources of Chinese pangolins, the Department of Wildlife Conservation of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said that it will be promoted through expert argumentation and national wildlife resource survey.

At the same time, the Department of Wildlife Conservation of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration agrees with CBCGDF's specific research on pangolins, but it needs to be approved in accordance with formal procedures and work accordingly. At this working meeting, the heads of the nine provinces and the CBCGDF discussed on the form, content, advocacy and communication of social organizations’ participating in the wildlife conservation in the provinces. The heads of the two provinces of Jiangxi and Guangxi welcomed CBCGDF to participate in the activities of wild release of Chinese pangolins, which will be held in the first half of 2019.

Original Chinese article:

http://www.cbcgdf.org/NewsShow/4854/7523.html

By / Niu Jingmei