Biodiv Sci ›› 2024, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (4): 23454.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2023454  cstr: 32101.14.biods.2023454

• Conservation and Governance • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The necessity and feasibility of establishing conservation compatible land in China

Rui Yang1,2,*()(), Shuyu Hou3(), Yin Zhang4(), Zhicong Zhao1,2()   

  1. 1 Institute for National Parks, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084
    2 Department of Landscape Architecture, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084
    3 College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642
    4 School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045
  • Received:2023-11-30 Accepted:2024-02-29 Online:2024-04-20 Published:2024-03-28
  • Contact: * E-mail: yrui@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn

Abstract:

Background & Aims: The 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) proposed the “30×30” target, calling for 30% of the world’s land and sea area to be effectively conserved by 2030. As one of the countries with the richest biodiversity in the world, however, China’s protected areas have problems such as insufficient protection coverage, lack of connectivity, insufficient expansion space, and limited compatibility with other land types, and it’s challenging to achieve the global goal of biodiversity conservation. Meanwhile, the globally advocated concept of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) still face difficulties in its adaptability to the actual situation in China. These issues highlight the fact that China needs to establish an indigenized in-situ conservation system that complements the protected areas and is in line with China’s national conditions. The purpose of this study is to explore the necessity and feasibility of nominating conservation compatible land (CCL) as an in-situ conservation approach outside the protected areas in China, contributing China’s wisdom and solutions to the global “30×30” conservation goals.

Perspective: The concept of “conservation compatible land” (CCL) is herein defined as an area of land or water where conservation and sustainable development goals coexist. It can be established by various entities, approved by different levels of government, and managed with long-term and effective conservation objectives. The preliminary contents, characteristics, necessity, and feasibility of CCL are further analyzed and discussed. We argue that the China’s terrestrial and aquatic areas can be categorized into three basic types, specialized nature conservation areas (protected areas and ecological conservation redline), CCL (integrated conservation goals with other development functions such as agriculture, forestry, fishery and animal husbandry, culture, and residence), and sustainable land use (other areas with limited conservation concerns), according to the extent to which being conserved. By proposing a nationwide land-use system governed at different levels, conserved to various degrees, and coexisted with diverse objectives, we hope that every inch of China’s land can be compatible with both conservation and development functions.

Key words: ecological civilization, territorial spatial planning, sustainable development, OECMs, adaptive management