Wetland Resources in Yunnan Well ProtectedA recently released survey shows that the wetland resources in southwest China's Yunnan Province have been well protected in the past two decades.The province's wetland area totals 259,153 hectares, according to the survey. A record number of over 124 species of waterfowls, including bean gooses, swan gooses, Chinese mergansers and dark-beaked gulls, have been verified as inhabiting Yunnan. Also found to be living there are 432 species of fish, 118 species of amphibian and 236 species of reptile. Since the early 1980s, Yunnan province has built up 12 nature reserves to protect local wetland resources. By the end of 2000, the province had invested 71.5 million yuan in wetland protection and completed international projects worth more than 20 million U. S. dollars. Dubbed the "gene pool for species", wetlands are regarded as the natural ecosystem with the most biodiversity and the most precious biological and tourist resources. |
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