Dongying promotes Yellow River Basin ecological protection

The Yellow River, China's second-longest waterway, is widely dubbed a "mother river" in the country. Now various species of wild birds are joining Chinese people in calling the mighty river their home as they choose to inhabit the river delta.

As the city where the Yellow River flows into the Bohai Sea, Dongying, East China's Shandong province is working on building a Yellow River estuary national park to advance ecological conservation and high-quality development of the river.

The national park which will cover 2,152 square kilometers of marine area and 1,371 square kilometers of land, will become the first in the country to boast land and marine areas. It will focus on the ecological conservation and restoration in the Yellow River Basin.

The Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in the city will be a key component of the national park's construction.

With the restoration of the region's environment in the past two decades, a growing number of wild birds have taken shelter in the reserve. The reserve stretches for about 153,000 hectares, with wetlands making up more than 70 percent of its total area. It is an important wintering and stopover site for migratory birds.

"Birds are very sensitive to the natural environment, and their well-being can reflect the environmental conditions. In recent years, the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve has witnessed a growing number of birds, which proves that the ecological environment at the reserve is becoming better and better," said Zhu Shuyu, a wetland researcher at the Yellow River Delta Natural Reserve Administrative Bureau.

The construction of the national park will bring great benefits to wetland conservation and restoration, and improve the habitats for birds, according to Zhu.

The national park will also play an important role in protecting and restoring the biodiversity of the Yellow River Delta, according to Liu Jing, director of the environmental monitoring center at the nature reserve.

Liu said that the increasing number of birds breeding at the nature reserve shows that the ecological systems are improving. She added that the good environment has enriched biodiversity, and according to the delta nature reserve, the wetlands are now home to 1,630 wild animal species and 685 plant species.