China is home to some of the most captivating wetlands in the world, but its 65.94 million hectares of wetlands are also some of the world's most vulnerable.

Over the years, as China has undergone rapid economic development and population growth, its wetlands have been subject to dam construction, pollution by industrial enterprises and drainage for farming. Wetlands are home to, or play a vital role for many unique plant and animal species, such as migratory birds, and the disappearance and degradation of wetlands has threatened the survival of some these species.

China's coastal wetland area has been reduced by 50 per cent over the past 40 years and over the past 50 years, China's biggest freshwater wetland, Sanjiang Plain, has lost 3.37 million hectares.

Lake Baiyangdian, made up of 143 small lakes, is an example of one of North China's wetland ecosystems that has been greatly affected by pollution. Further damage to the ecosystem would dramatically affect the lives of those from the 70 fishing villages that rely on the lake.

The Chinese Government, however, has realized that it must vamp up its efforts to save its precious, dwindling wetlands and has promised to inject 9 billion yuan (US1.1 billion) into wetland conservation by 2010.

The government has also promised to spend US$1 billion on a 10-year clean-up project for Lake Baiyangdian.

The government also announced at the beginning of the year that it would remain committed to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, which is an international treaty for the sustainable use and conservation of wetlands, which it joined 14 years ago.

China has also sought further international co-operation and has worked on wetland conservation projects with organizations such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF), various arms of the United Nations (UN) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Apart from international co-operation, China has launched various wetland protection action plans of its own, such as the National Programme for Wetland Protection Engineering. The programme aims to achieve goals that include restoring 1.4 million hectares of wetlands and having 713 wetland reserves by 2030.

But despite these efforts, China's wetlands aren't being properly protected because too many departments with opposing agendas governing them.

For better management and protection, wetlands should be under the jurisdiction of an independent body that liaises between different departments to formulate the best possible outcomes for all concerned, with the goal of wetland protection and sustainability at the top of its agenda.

Heightened public education on the importance of protecting China's wetlands is needed, as pollution of wetlands hasn't been stamped out as many people are unaware of their importance to China's environment and are also unaware of the laws concerning wetland protection.

It seems that in many cases the issue of economic development appears to have more significance to people than issues of environmental protection.

This is a worrying mindset that can only be reversed through extensive educational campaigns aimed at people of all ages and from all walks of life. Schools should be encouraged to implement units that focus on what wetlands are, why they are important and what individuals and groups can do to protect them.

Recently, Chinese scientists have called on the government to instigate a wetland protection law that would address areas that the existing laws fail to address. Current laws fail to cover areas that include the jurisdiction of wetlands, management ideas and the important issue of ecological protection.

Not until current legal and management problems associated with wetland protection are addressed, will China's wetlands receive comprehensive protection.

The author is a copy editor of China Daily