Conservation must 'awaken' the value of landscape and biodiversity resources

On May 10, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting of the Council for Appraisal of the National Biodiversity Conservation Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050 (Planning).

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired the meeting.

By 2030, the area of ​​terrestrial protected areas will reach nearly 3 million hectares.

At the meeting, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment reported on the implementation results of the National Master Plan for Biodiversity Conservation to 2020, with a vision to 2030 (Decision 45/QD-TTg dated January 8, 2014).

Accordingly, by 2020, the country will have 178 conservation areas (national parks, nature reserves, species-habitat conservation areas, landscape protection areas) with an area of ​​2.66 million hectares; in the South Central region, 3 provincial biodiversity corridors have been established and managed with a total area of ​​298,146 hectares; 43,500 species of terrestrial and aquatic animals have been discovered and recorded; 17,000 species of terrestrial and aquatic plants (excluding 2,200 species of large fungi); the number of newly discovered species is constantly increasing rapidly; 14,000 genetic resources of crops and livestock have been preserved...

Biodiversity conservation is currently under pressure from population changes that increase the demand for resources; conversion of forest land and coastal land (lagoons, tidal flats) to serve economic development; impacts of environmental pollution and climate change...

Most natural ecosystems are degraded or reduced in area. Wild species, especially endangered species, are severely reduced. Some livestock genetic resources have too few individuals. Human, financial and material resources for biodiversity implementation are limited.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the Planning must ensure consistency, unity, and no conflict or overlap with other planning.

The National Biodiversity Conservation Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, applies an ecosystem approach, integrating climate change content, forecasting change trends and future biodiversity conservation needs... The plan also adds 3 more biodiversity conservation objects including: High biodiversity areas, important ecological landscapes and important wetlands.

The plan aims to reach nearly 3 million hectares of terrestrial protected areas (equivalent to 9% of the mainland area) by 2030, increasing the area of ​​marine and coastal protected areas to 3% - 5% of the natural area of ​​the national sea. The number of protected areas will increase from 178 to 256, including promoting wetland and marine protected areas. At the same time, establish facilities for breeding endangered and rare species in need of protection, enhance wildlife rescue capacity; preserve endemic, endangered and rare plant varieties, livestock, microorganisms and fungi of special value in science, medicine, economy, ecology, landscape, environment or culture - history, etc.

Conservation simply means enclosing and keeping it as it is, which does not develop the economy.

Taking note of the comments, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the Planning must ensure synchronization, unity, no conflict, no overlap with other plans; requesting the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the consulting unit to innovate the approach, viewpoint, and thinking in developing the Planning, in which the role and position of biodiversity resources, methods of exploitation, sustainable use for socio-economic development, environmental protection, ecosystem balance, ensuring sustainable living environment must be accurately determined. In particular, the Planning must assess the impact on socio-economic development, and vice versa.

Reviewers, members of the appraisal council, scientists, local representatives... continued to discuss frankly the contents of the draft Planning.

Emphasizing the viewpoint of "conservation for development, development based on conservation", the Deputy Prime Minister said that the Planning needs to be "both static and dynamic" or "both closed and open". Specifically, the first is a group of specific goals, tasks, and solutions with a solid legal basis, which have been implemented in practice. The second is a set of open and flexible tools and criteria to determine the values ​​of biodiversity resources in areas and ecosystems that need to be conserved, while serving economic development and linking with people's livelihoods.

The Deputy Prime Minister analyzed: If conservation is simply a matter of enclosing and keeping the same, it will not develop the economy. On the contrary, focusing only on economic development will not be able to preserve effectively. Therefore, the Planning must harmonize these two goals, in which conservation must change one step ahead, "awakening" the value of landscapes and biodiversity resources to manage, exploit, and use thoroughly and sustainably with ecological services that bring high economic efficiency.

"For ecosystems such as plain forests and coastal wetlands that are being degraded and diminished, there must be tools and criteria to determine and prove that their economic, ecological, and climate change response values ​​are much higher than converting to agriculture, aquaculture, and industrial zones, etc., in order to preserve them," the Deputy Prime Minister gave an example.

The Deputy Prime Minister also suggested major orientations, new perspectives and thinking on the management, exploitation and sustainable use of biodiversity resources such as: In urban areas, there can also be conservation areas such as forests, lakes, wetlands, in conservation areas, urban areas can also be formed, even in a building, a complete ecosystem can be preserved...

"Only then can we link biodiversity conservation with development, exploitation of green services, green economy, tourism, etc., conservation for human life, aiming to meet new standards of biodiversity conservation in the world," said the Deputy Prime Minister.

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/bao-ton-phai-danh-thuc-gia-tri-canh-quan-tai-nguyen-da-dang-sinh-hoc-post247141.html