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SCIO press conference on 'Biodiversity Conservation in China' white paper

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China News Service:

While the government plays a leading role in biodiversity protection, the public have also been a big part in this endeavor. What measures have been taken to raise public awareness of biodiversity conservation and encourage their engagement? Thank you.

Zhao Yingmin:

Thank you for your question. Biodiversity is closely related to everyone, as it sustains human life and provides essential material foundation for us to survive and thrive. Statistics show that more than half of the global GDP is moderately or highly dependent on natural resources. Facing global biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, China values harmony between man and nature, prioritizes ecological protection and green development, and has built a government-led mechanism featuring public participation, multilateral governance, and win-win cooperation. To facilitate the broad participation of all sectors of society in biodiversity protection, we promulgated the code of conduct for Chinese citizens in ecological protection (trial) and the guidelines for promoting public participation in environmental protection, organized a series of events under the framework of "United Nations Decade on Biodiversity, China in Action," and vigorously publicized the ideas, laws, regulations, and measures related to biodiversity conservation. On important occasions such as the International Day for Biological Diversity, World Environment Day, and World Earth Day, we publicized the importance of biodiversity conservation, the outcomes, and ways of participation. We also provided guidance for local departments to hold a series of publicity, education, and science popularization activities. At the same time, we actively cooperated with news organizations to expand publicity platforms and innovate publicity models with the help of new media.

Enterprises and social organizations are also important forces for biodiversity conservation. More and more organizations are playing their part in promoting publicity and education on biodiversity conservation. Through entertaining and innovative products and activities, they are helping the public gain more knowledge about biodiversity conservation and facilitate broader participation.

Everyone can contribute to biodiversity conservation by taking specific and practical actions in our daily lives. These include living a green and low-carbon lifestyle, carrying out the "Clear Your Plate" campaign against wasting food, buying environmentally friendly clothing, refusing to purchase and eat wild animals and their products, and jointly preventing the invasion of alien species. The popularization and application of new media, AI, smart phones, and high-quality online databases has increasingly diversified the forms of public participation in biodiversity conservation. On the occasion of the upcoming COP15 meeting, we encourage public engagement in biodiversity conservation. You can make contributions in various forms, such as participating in relevant projects and sharing knowledge about biodiversity conservation with your family and friends. No matter how big or small, every contribution counts tremendously, and together they will make a huge difference. Thank you.

Chen Wenjun:

Today's press conference is hereby concluded. Thank you. Goodbye!

Translated and edited by Zhang Rui, Wang Wei, Zhou Jing, Huang Shan, Liu Jianing, Yuan Fang, Guo Yiming, Ma Yujia, Duan Yaying, Li Huiru, Zhang Tingting, Liu Qiang, Zhang Liying, Yang Xi, Lin Liyao, Chen Xia, David Ball, Jay Birbeck, and Tom Arnstein. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.