Protecting Biodiversity

The first part of the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity （CBD）， also known as the COP15， took place in Kunming， capital of Yunnan Province， on October 11-15. While drawing on the know-how the international community has thus far gained in biodiversity conservation， the meeting also mapped out wideranging plans for global eco-diversity governance over the next decade.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attended and addressed the COP15 Leaders Summit via video link from Beijing， presenting Chinas practices， offering Chinas proposals and substantiating Chinas overall commitment to take up more responsibility in the field of biodiversity conservation.

Prioritizing ecological progress， China has elevated biodiversity to a national strategy， continuously strengthened and innovated protection measures on a distinctively Chinese path of conservation， offering Chinese contributions to addressing challenges in global biodiversity.

According to the Biodiversity Conservation in China， a white paper issued by the State Council Information Office in October， 90 percent of terrestrial ecosystem types and 71 percent of key state-protected wildlife species have been under effective protection. For example， the population of giant pandas in the wild has grown from 1，114 to 1，864 over the past four decades.

China has assumed an active role in international cooperation targeting biodiversity conservation， and taken seriously its obligations under environment-related treaties including the CBD， the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. In his keynote speech， President Xi further announced the countrys initiative to establish a Kunming Biodiversity Fund and take the lead by investing 1.5 billion yuan（$233 million） in support of biodiversity protection across developing countries. Additionally， China calls for and welcomes contributions from other parties to the fund.

However， enhancing biodiversity conservation and ecological progress is a long-term effort that cannot be accomplished overnight. It requires sustained and concerted efforts on the part of the overarching international community. China hopes to see the completion of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework during the second part of COP15， set to take place next year. BR