With over 30,000 vascular plant and 6,347 vertebrate animal species, China has the richest biodiversity of almost any country in the world. Its huge area is home to some 10 percent of all plant species and 14 percent of animal species. China is listed as one of the world’s seventeen megadiverse countries – a group of tropical and subtropical countries with the planet’s greatest species diversity. In terms of vascular plants, China ranks third with some 32,000 species behind Brazil (56,000) and Colombia (51,000).

China is therefore one of the most important gene pools supporting world biological diversity. China’s biodiversity is also of global importance with regard to the climate and ecosystem services. To countries such as Germany, this exceptional biodiversity makes China a key partner in international nature conservation.

Germany and China already cooperate closely on environmental matters including renewable energy, energy efficiency, wastewater management, chemicals management and air pollution control. However, little attention has so far been paid to biodiversity and nature conservation issues. This does not do justice to China’s importance as a megadiversity country and as a key party to international negotiations.

China is a key international player in efforts to fight climate change and conserve biodiversity. The Chinese government has signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). It has begun developing and implementing sustainable policies on climate change and biodiversity conservation. There are frequently obstacles to effective policy implementation, however. These include deficits in gathering and analysing science-based information and in making such implementation available at all levels and on an ongoing basis for policymakers, business and the general public.

Cooperation with China is one area where BfN’s nature conservation advisory services can deliver major lasting benefits, with China currently in the process of cataloguing its protected areas, assessing them with special regard to climate change aspects and moving over to sustainable land use methods. This creates an opening for intensive bilateral exchange. China can profit greatly from Germany’s wide-ranging experience in fields such as biodiversity monitoring, protected area management and sustainable land use.

BfN’s existing close cooperation with Chinese organisations such as CRAES presents a great opportunity to influence developments in China affecting regions of conservation importance.

The Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) is a research institution under the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) created in 2008. Activities include applied research, policy advice, and technical support for the implementation of national policy guidelines on pollution, climate change and biodiversity conservation. CRAES works closely with BfN on a number of projects, primarily focused on biodiversity (protected area management, indicators for biodiversity monitoring and evaluation, and conservation of species-rich carbon-storing ecosystems).