Almost 30% of reptiles and 176 species of amphibians are threatened with extinction due to urbanization and human activity
Animals are most at risk of extinction in China than any other country, with their habitats threatened by urbanization and human activity, according to Chinese government exhibition published this week.
In an effort to reverse the damage to environment from rapid development, Beijing is creating national parks and forests and implementing an ecological “red line” plan that aims to exclude vulnerable animal habitats from human activity, with 30% of China’s land now protected.
But a significant number of animal species are still at risk from the rapid spread of urban centres, infrastructure development and animal exploitation, according to research in more than 4,300 domestic animal species carried out by 213 experts under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
“The conclusions show that the risk of extinction of vertebrates in China is much higher than the global average,” the ministry said in the report released late Monday.
“Human economic activity has changed the features of the land (…) causing the loss and fragmentation of wildlife habitats and the reduction or even extinction of flora species,” he added.
The ministry noted that almost 30% of reptiles of China is threatened, a rate higher than the 21.2% global average. A total of 137 reptile species are threatened, up from the 110 listed in a 2004 report.
Meanwhile 176 species of amphibians animals are also threatened, an increase from 128 in 2004, a figure that corresponds to 40% of the total and is also higher than the global average.
Progress has been made, especially with “charismatic” species such as the panda, whose population hovers around 1,800 animals. The panda was downgraded from “endangered” to “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2021.
At the same time, the total number of endangered mammals fell to 178 from 223 in 2004, the ministry said, with five “critically endangered” species downgraded to “threatened”. A total of 26.4% of mammal species in China are threatened, higher than the global average of 21.8% in 2014, according to the IUCN.
Source: Skai
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