Wildlife Photography of the Year 2008 Exhibition in Beijing

Countdown 2010 China member Wild China Films and the Beijing Zoo are bringing into China nearly 100 stunning photos captured by some of the world’s top wildlife photographers. The exhibition “Wildlife Photography of the Year” (2008) at the Beijing Zoo displays the work of more than 100 professional and amateur photographers from over 20 countries, selected by a panel of judges from more than 30,000 entries from over 80 countries.

These photographs capture the value and beauty of nature, and remind us of why we must continue to work together to protect the world’s biodiversity.

This is the first time that photographs from this prestigious competition will be displayed in China. The competition is co-sponsored by BBC Wildlife Magazine and the Natural History Museum of the United Kingdom.

The exhibition will be at the Beijing Zoo until 31 October.

© Stefano Unterthiner (Italy)

Wetlands Education Centre Open!

The Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), together with partners Bayer China and the Jane Goodall Institute China, Roots & Shoots Beijing Office (a Countdown 2010 partner), has finally realized the vision for cleaning up the neighboring lake and establishing an environmental education center, a vision inspired by Dr. Jane Goodall. The human-made engineered wetlands, built on the edges of the Duck Lake that separates WAB’s Elementary and Middle School campuses from the High School, uses advanced technology to imitate the natural filtering and purification functions of wetlands. The system pumps a portion of the Duck Lake water through the engineered wetlands, and channels it back into the Lake. In this way, some of the water is made cleaner and then added back to mix with the lake water. It is expected that over a period of just a few years, the water quality will be improved.

Wetlands provide important habitat for a huge variety of animals, birds, insects and plants. Improving the water quality of Duck Lake will help protect local biodiversity. WAB students and visiting Roots & Shoots groups from around Beijing have begun to monitor the water quality, testing various points around the Lake and sharing their results; meanwhile they have also been learning the importance of conserving natural wetlands and monitoring water quality.

Roots & Shoots joined the ceremony held on April 10th to mark the completion of the Green Generation Environmental Education Center and Bridge between the Middle and High school campuses. The Center is open to visiting groups to come and learn with us about water and wetlands – every Tuesday afternoon or by appointment. For more information or scheduling of trips, please contact group@jgichina.org.

Jane Goodall Institute Roots & Shoots members monitoring water quality

WWF restoring panda habitat in Sichuan

Since the earthquake in Sichuan one year ago, WWF has been working to restore panda habitat and help neighboring communities recover.

You can read about this important work in WWF’s Earthquake Newsletter and Green Reconstruction Factsheet.

Also visit WWF’s website to learn more about their activities to conserve biodiversity in China and help us reach for the 2010 target.

Biodiversity Week 2009 – Showcasing Nature Conservation in China

This year IUCN Countdown 2010, in partnership with the EU-China Biodiversity Program (ECBP), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Global Village Beijing (GVB), organised a week long event (May 16-22) to showcase biodiversity conservation in China. Biodiversity Week 2009 featured biodiversity films, speaker nights, exhibitions and a children’s day. The final day of events coincided with the International Day for Biological Diversity, May 22nd.

Biodiversity Week helped raise awareness about the issues facing biodiversity both within China and throughout the world. Films, images, drama and expert speakers examined topics such as invasive species and the effects of human activity on the environment, as well as the efforts individuals and organisations to help conserve the world’s remaining biodiversity.

The week was launched at Beijing Zoo with prominent guest speakers including: Nicholas Costello, the First Counsellor of the EU program in China; Professor Xue Dayuan, a biodiversity expert from the Ministry of Environmental Protection; Dr. Xie Yan, the Director of WCS’ China program; and Zhuang Hao, IUCN China’s Program Coordinator.

GVB also launched a new campaign: Green Handkerchiefs “Save Paper, Save Trees”. This campaign highlights the choices individuals can make to save forests and forest biodiversity, for example, by using traditional handkerchiefs rather than paper based products such as tissues and paper napkins. The handkerchiefs were made by the victims of the recent Sichuan earthquakes, with sales of the handkerchiefs directly supporting villages affected by the disaster.

Films and art were on display in exhibitions titled “Bio Habitats and Me” at the Australian Hall at the Beijing Zoo and at the Sony ExploraScience Museum. The exhibitions included biodiversity documentaries, the GVB green handkerchief collection, and a 71 metre long traditional painting of China’s bird species by a famous young Chinese artist, Li Li. The exhibition also featured the first showing of new posters depicting Chinese provincial animals and plants

A the Beijing Zoo, over 80 students learned about wildlife preservation by participating in WCS’ animal drama. Students from Beijing Fendou Primary School and the Primary School under Peking University took to the stage with WCS, visited the “ Bio, Habitiats and Me” exhibition and went on a tour of the zoo.

Two biodiversity film and speaker nights were also held around Beijing during the week. Some of China’s leading biodiversity and conservation experts, including Li Bo from Friends of Nature and Dr Xie Yan from WCS, gave talks. University Students from Beijing Normal University, members of China’s environment movement and the general public discussed biodiversity conservation in China at these evening events.

The week concluded on the International Day for Biological Diversity with a university student debate co-organised by WCS, ECBP, and Beijing Municipal Research Institute of Environmental Protection. Beijing Foresry University was host to an impressive display of intellect and talent as the four finalists debated for the top prize.

Thank you for your participation!

Countdown 2010 China partners making progress

China Countdown 2010 partners are using the power of science, stories, images and people to help reduce the rate of China’s biodiversity loss.

On 28 April 2009, China Countdown 2010 partners met in Beijing to share their achievements and activities, seek opportunities to collaborate and to build extra momentum in the lead up to the 2010 milestone year.

The workshop was honored to hear Dr Ma Keping, IUCN Councilor and Director General of the Institute of Botany, describe the priority areas for action in China to achieve the 2010 goals.

Partners then shared their experiences and achievements in biodiversity conservation over the past 18 months.

Partners described an impressive array of projects including: government efforts to develop indicators and track progress towards the 2010 goal; projects for protection of endangered species; the work of NGOs to engage young people in biodiversity conservation; and research being undertaken to improve our knowledge base about China’s biodiversity.

The China hub partners will work together more closely in coming months. In particular, partners can use their collective expertise to actively support government efforts towards the 2010 target of reducing the rate of biodiversity loss in China.