The "List of National Key Protected Wild Animals" is planned to be adjusted, and the range of key protected wild animals will be greatly increased
Zhimi Wildlife Protection Net (Green Home)
After more than 30 years of implementation, the "National Key Protected Wildlife List" finally ushered in the first major revision.
Recently, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs publicly solicited opinions on the "List of National Key Protected Wild Animals (Draft for Comment)" (hereinafter referred to as the "List"). This is the first time since the Wildlife Protection Law came into effect in 1989. Substantially revised the "List".
What are the highlights of the newly revised "List" and what significance does it have for better protection of precious and endangered wild animals?
The reporter interviewed relevant experts.
More than 50 species, including the Yangtze finless porpoise and blue whale, are planned to be upgraded to first-level protection
The naive Yangtze finless porpoise is a cetacean species unique to the Yangtze River. It is known as the "water giant panda", and currently there are only more than 1,000.
Not long ago, when a citizen of Wuhan, Hubei Province was fishing by the river, they saw more than 10 Yangtze finless porpoises playing and jumping on the river.
In the past few decades, due to the influence of human activities, the population of the Yangtze finless porpoise has been shrinking and is on the verge of extinction. Experts and conservation organizations have continuously called for the Yangtze finless porpoise to be upgraded to a first-class protected animal.
According to the Wildlife Protection Law, the state implements classification and grading protection of wild animals, and implements key protection of rare and endangered wild animals.
Wild animals under national key protection are divided into first-level protected wild animals and second-level protected wild animals.
These appeals were answered during the revision of the Directory.
The newly revised "List" has changed a lot, and the range of wild animals under national key protection has greatly increased. It is planned to add more than 300 species such as Baer Duck and Yellow-breasted Bunting, which is more than the original total number of protected species; Yangtze finless porpoise The protection level of more than 50 species such as blue whale and blue whale is planned to be upgraded to level 1, and species such as Tibetan antelope and Tibetan wild donkey are to be reduced to level 2.
Endangerment is the primary principle of adjusting the level of species protection.
Shi Kun, director of the Institute of Wildlife Research of Beijing Forestry University and a professor at the School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, said that the adjustment of the "List" highlights the principle of strict protection and is in line with the "Red List of Chinese Biodiversity-Vertebrate Volume" and the world The assessment results of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species promptly included the rare and endangered beasts newly discovered and distributed in my country in recent years.
Species such as white-cheeked macaques, Asian jackals, sloth bears, and red antelopes are included in the scope of key protection.
The person in charge of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration stated that these species are in small populations or marginal distribution in the southwest. They are an important part of the local fauna, have important ecological functions, and are also precious members of my country's biodiversity.
It is necessary to protect the wild populations of these animals in accordance with the law, and carry out key protection of their habitats.
The Army, the director of the National Bird Ring Logging Center, believes that a highlight of the adjustment of the "List" is the inclusion of species that have caused widespread concern in society due to the impact of human development and utilization.
"For example, the yellow-breasted bunting does not fully meet the scientific criteria for inclusion, but the wild population has dropped drastically due to over-hunting, which has attracted widespread attention from the international community. This adjustment is planned to be added as a first-level protected animal."
"Represented by passerines, those captured as songbirds, such as song larks, skylarks, thrushes, etc.; for viewing, such as various acacias, crowbirds, etc., these birds seem to be numerous, but they are facing serious poaching. Pressure. Included in the national key protection will greatly increase the intensity of combat against poaching, illegal trade and exploitation." The Army said.
According to the relevant person in charge of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, the "List" only lists wild animals that are naturally distributed or have natural distribution records and are native to my country, and does not include wild animals that are native to foreign countries.
Some species meet the scientific criteria for listing, but the degree of social attention is extremely low. Once listed, they may increase the risks of illegal hunting and trade, so they will not be considered for the time being.
Being included in the "List" means that conservation projects and conservation funds will increase, which will effectively promote the gradual restoration of populations and habitats
With so many new species added to the "List" at once, are the survival conditions of these species worrying?
"In fact, it is not necessarily." Zhang Wei, a professor at the College of Wildlife and Nature Reserve of Northeast Forestry University, believes that, on the one hand, in the context of my country's strengthening of ecological civilization, the ability to protect species is getting stronger and stronger, and more species Put it into the key protection area.
On the other hand, with the development of taxonomy, the Chinese and scientific names of many species have been different from the beginning of the list. The adjustment of the "List" takes into account this important change, which objectively leads to an increase in the number of species included in the protection scope, which also reflects our The understanding of animals is more scientific.
To be included in the scope of key protection means a lot for a species.
Shi Kun introduced that whether it is included in the "List" directly affects the research investment, protection policy, and judicial enforcement of species, including the establishment and investment of species protection projects, the establishment or upgrading of nature reserves, national park planning, and important habitat delineation , Combating poaching and illegal trade, identification and punishment of related cases, etc.
"Some animals that have been included in the "List", such as giant pandas, Tibetan antelopes, and crested ibis, have gradually recovered their populations and habitats with the development of conservation projects and increased investment in protection, and the threat of these species has been significantly reduced. "
It is worth noting that in the draft, people think that the long-term endangered Tibetan antelope, Tibetan wild ass and other species are planned to be reduced to the second level.
"The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has achieved remarkable results in ecological protection and combating poaching, and the Tibetan antelope population has recovered significantly. The Tibetan wild donkeys, pythons and other species have similar situations." Zhang Wei said that these species' withdrawal from the list of endangered "star" animals is based on scientific assessment The conclusion is a manifestation of the effectiveness of the protection work, and it also brings a sense of accomplishment and confidence in the protection work.
Will the downgrading of the species protection level lead to the loss of protection results?
Some experts have such concerns.
"Tibetan antelope, Tibetan wild ass and other species have been restored after hard work. Once the protection level is reduced to second, the illegal cost of destroying species will be reduced, which may lead to a rebound in poaching and threaten the survival of species." Shi Kun said.
Of course, not being included in the "List" does not mean that species are completely unprotected.
"Flagship species, such as carnivores at the top of the food chain, are representative species of regional ecological protection. Protecting its habitat is related to the protection of the entire ecosystem." Zhang Wei said that the flagship species is included in the key protection range, and it is not only this species that benefits. , But an entire ecosystem.
Zhang Wei said that habitat reduction and quality degradation are common survival threats faced by many wild animals.
Based on various protection goals, the state and local governments have established nature reserves throughout the country to benefit other species distributed in the same habitat in the same area.
"The establishment of protected areas can implement the protection of some animals and their habitats not included in the "List"."
In addition, the Wildlife Protection Law also stipulates a list of local key protections and a list of "Three Yous" (terrestrial wild animals with important ecological, scientific, and social values).
"For some species that are not seriously threatened, the implementation of hierarchical and land-based protection, combined with the delimitation of hunting areas and hunting periods, these measures will help protect the survival and reproduction of these animals." Zhang Wei said.
A reasonable entry and exit mechanism for the "Directory" should be established; social awareness should be improved to avoid illegal crimes due to ignorance of the "Directory" and unfamiliarity with the law
After the "List" was released for soliciting opinions, many experts and conservation organizations gave feedback.
Some experts said that the "China Biodiversity Red List-Vertebrate Volume" released in 2015 is the main reference for the adjustment of the "List", but the Red List has evaluated related species for 5 years, and the threatened status of species Great changes have taken place, which has affected the accuracy of the "List" adjustments.
There are no marine fishes in the assessment. The status of most marine fish resources in my country is unclear, and the area of marine protected areas is relatively small, which delays the entire marine protection process, which is not conducive to the protection of these endangered and critically endangered marine fishes.
With the continuous deepening of wildlife investigation and protection, more endangered species will emerge in the future.
Experts from the Environmental Protection Organization Shanshui Nature Conservation Center believe that the newly discovered and reported species are mostly narrowly distributed species with small populations, limited distribution areas, and fragility. The above levels are protected and adjusted according to the actual situation when the "List" is updated.
The Wildlife Protection Law is clear, and the "National Key Protected Wildlife List" is adjusted every five years based on the assessment.
Zhang Wei suggested increasing investment in scientific research, intensifying the investigation and monitoring of species resources, scientifically assessing population status, regularly updating or adjusting the "List" in accordance with the law, and establishing a reasonable entry and exit mechanism for the "List".
How to coordinate the relationship between the "List", the list of local key protections and the "Three Haves" list?
Yu Wenxuan, director of the Institute of Environmental Resources Law of China University of Political Science and Law, suggested that the principle of combining general protection and key protection should be implemented, and non-rare, non-"three-you" wild animals should be included in the scope of legal protection.
"The current national and local key protected lists should be integrated, to solve the problem of species overlap between lists, and form a national unified list of key protected wild animals, which should be updated and made public based on the dynamic adjustment mechanism of the list."
"It is necessary to strengthen reasonable regulations on commercial use. Strictly restrict the acquisition of wild populations, and only allow the use of wild sources when there is no artificial breeding source. For scientific research and other purposes, the use of wild animals should be established to eliminate wild Animal flow monitoring mechanism.” Yu Wenxuan said.
Shi Kun suggested that once a species is included in the national key protection scope, a rescue plan should be formulated as soon as possible to restore the population and habitat of threatened species.
It should also be combined with the construction of protected areas to increase efforts to protect the habitats of rare species.
"The inclusion of species in the scope of national key protection does not mean that only the state has the responsibility for protection. Localities should coordinate with the state to establish grass-roots protection institutions, and the responsibility should be implemented at the county and district level."
"After a species is included in the "List" or after the protection level is raised, the sentencing standards and legal responsibilities for destroying this species will be very different." The Army said that once they realize the legal responsibilities they may face, some people will Illegal behavior will converge.
After the "Directory" is officially announced, it is necessary to do a good job of publicity and raise social awareness to prevent someone from committing crimes because they do not understand the "Directory" or are not familiar with the law.
Our reporter Kou Jiangze