A program in Jiangsu Province which aims to restore bird habitats has been listed as one of the “100+ Biodiversity Positive Practices and Actions Around the World,” released during an NGO forum as part of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) in Kunming. 

The 100+ campaign aims to showcase noteworthy biodiversity-related actions, practices and models and to demonstrate the strong commitment of non-governmental actors worldwide to protect, conserve and sustainably use biodiversity. It attracted entries from 26 countries. 

Jiangsu’s program in South Yellow Sea Mudflats aims to address threats by aquaculture sector to wintering grounds for red-crowned crane. In the pilot program, two aquaculture ponds in Guandong Salt Farm in Xiangshui County were selected to cede aquafarming and reused as a wetland.  

Efforts were then made to renovate the sites to improve the ecosystem and better meet needs of wading birds. The early results are encouraging as a family group of red-crowned cranes was found to spend the winter at the first renovated site. Observation in three years also showed the program has not only restored a wintering habitat for the cranes but also benefited other wading birds. 

The site became home to nearly 4,000 pairs of terns and other species of shorebird during the breeding season. The shallow water areas become the key stopovers during the migration. So far, the renovated sites in this program spotted 68 bird species including two species under the national first-class protection, eight species at the second-class protection, and 11 species in the IUCN Red List’s Near Threatened category or higher. 

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