The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have recently launched a project to protect major wetlands in China, the UNDP said January 24.

The project, valued at 34.6 million US dollars, was launched with the goal of conserving globally significant wetlands and biodiversity, the UNDP said.

China has more than 25 million hectares of natural wetlands with large concentrations of biodiversity. The wetlands can offer sustainable livelihoods to local communities and perform important hydrological functions.

The project will promote sustainable development in and around wetland sites, increase community participation, improve environmental education and develop local and national capacities to integrate conservation into the development process.

The UNDP said four representative wetland areas have been selected as initial demonstration sites for the project: The Sanjing Plain, The Ruoergai Marshes, the Yangcheng Coastal Marshes and the Dongting Lakes.