Wetland Regeneration.docVIP

Wetland Regeneration 　　Early morning mist hangs over the water with ghost-like eeriness. It has 50 shades of grey and is very still. Even breathing disturbs the silence. A small cluster of trees break the water’s surface， spindly branches forlorn in their empty surroundings. The tranquil setting is the scene of 1，000 Chinese ink paintings. 　　Welcome to the wetlands of Baicheng City in northeast China’s Jilin Province， an area that is taking major steps to promote its environmental protection efforts and restore one of the seven major wetland areas in the country. 　　According to the Jilin Government， Baicheng， bordering Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， heeded the call from Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this year to accelerate the efforts for safeguarding the environment and fragile eco-systems. Jilin has launched a project to restore farmlands to wetlands. This followed after many wetlands， most notably around Baicheng， had dried up because of severe drought. 　　These were then reclaimed by farmers to cultivate crops. However in 2013， the process was reversed and farmlands were returned to wetlands by the city channeling massive volumes of water back to the affected areas. The project involved an impressive water management effort that saw the government linking up rivers， lakes and all the major water conservancy operations in a network of channels. According to Jilin Government figures， Baicheng’s surrounding wetlands take up a total area of 785，000 hectares. 　　The latest environmental efforts in Baicheng have seen wetlands in the Momoge National Nature Reserve and the Xianghai National Nature Reserve restored to their former glory. While the reserves attract visitors， environmental concerns rather than tourism were behind the efforts. 　　Both reserves are important for breeding birdlife and returning the large numbers of swans， wild geese， ducks and other waterfowl that live and breed there. Most notably， the city’s unofficial mascot， the majestic