Saving Life on This Planet

China will incorporate the preservation of biodiversity into its national and regional economic development plans, in a bid to curb the trend of species loss by 2020, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said on Wednesday.

"By 2015, we will stop the biodiversity degradation in key areas, namely our natural protection zones. The goal for 2030 is to ensure biodiversity is well protected around the country," Zhuang Guotai, director of the nature and ecological protection department of MEP, said at an international forum held in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan, on Wednesday.

The targets - part of the national strategy and action plan on biodiversity protection - are still waiting approval from the State Council, China's cabinet.

Species worldwide continue to disappear at a tremendous rate - up to 1,000 times the natural rate of extinction, according to Ahmed Djoghlaf, the executive secretary of the United Nation's Convention on Biological Diversity.

"Faced with this crisis, it is time for the international community to rethink its relationship with life on this planet," he said.

Listed as one of the 12 most bio-diverse countries in the world, China is witnessing some severe problems of eco-degradation, said Zhuang.

For instance, some of the important wetlands and grassland in China are facing degradation, while about 15 to 20 percent of wild higher plants (or vascular plants) varieties are endangered.

Oceanic ecosystems are also threatened as a result of intensive development projects in coastal areas, according to Zhuang.

"Excessive grazing, mining, logging and fishing are among the major reasons for the biodiversity losses in China," Zhuang said.

To reverse that trend, China has designated 35 priority areas for biodiversity conservation, which cover about 20 percent of the country's total territory.