A STUDY ON WETLAND RESOURCES AND PROTECTION IN CHINA

Wetland in China,which has 38 types,including all listed in Ramsar Convention plus wetland of Qinghai Xizang (Tibet) Plateau,covers an area of 79 69 million hm 2;Among which natural wetlands,occupy 45 22 million hm 2 and artificial wetlands,34 47 million hm 2,ranking third place in the world.Wetland abounds in living things resources,peat resources and water resources and important land resources as well.It plays an essential role in adjusting environment,maintaining stable microclimate,regional ecological balance and sustainable economic development.However,with the development of economy,wetland resources have been seriously disturbed such as large scale reclamation,over hunting,industrial wastewater pollution,and species decrease of rare animals and plants.Wetland conservation has become a must.Based on status quo of wetland resources,this paper analyses the main threats to wetlands,problems of wetland protecrtion,and policies that should be formulated for future rational and sustainable utilization of the wetland resources.