Climate change(气候变化)has brought a serious warning to the living areas of the Siberian crane, increasing the need to better protect the birds and their migratory channels (迁徙路径), an expert said.

The Siberian crane breeds (繁殖) in northeast Siberia in Russia and flies to Poyang Lake for the winter in East China's Jiangxi Province. About 95 percent of the birds spend the season in Poyang.

Qian Fawen, a research professor from the National Bird Banding Center of China, said that Poyang's water levels decide whether it is suitable for the birds to live there. However, climate change has made the levels change often. "In some years, the lake experiences floods; in others, it experiences droughts. Both of these situations create food shortages in the cranes' living area," he said.

The Siberian crane is listed as seriously endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. "We need to protect their living area, which is mainly wetland, so that we can protect them," Qian said.

In the recently announced National Action Plan for the Protection of Bird Migration Channels (2021-35), 1, 140 places in China were considered as important breeding grounds, wintering grounds and staying stops, including Poyang and the Yellow River wetland in Ningxia. The plan said that the government should watch and count the number of migratory birds and pay farmers for losses caused by the birds.

Since China joined the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1992, it has designated (指定) 202,600 hectares of wetland as Wetlands of International Importance. They store and clean water, keep all kinds of living things, help store floods and prevent droughts. According to a plan announced by the central government in October, by 2025, China will have protected 55 percent of its wetlands.

After the Wetlands Protection Law, the nation's first law to protect wetlands, was introduced on June 1, 2022, complete protection was strengthened. The law clearly explained what the government should do and introduced strict punishment for people who destroy wetland areas. It limits building at important national wetlands and it doesn't allow harmful activities, including using them as farmlands, leaving wastewater everywhere, harvesting and fishing too much.

Key nature reserve management offices in China have reported more birds wintering in the nation's wetlands, including some new rare kinds.     ▲