Reclamation and occupation of lake wetlands? The State Forestry Administration explicitly prohibits it

The State Forestry Administration recently issued a notice requiring that reclamation and occupation of lake wetlands be strictly prohibited.

The notice states that reclamation and occupation are important factors causing the rapid shrinkage of China's lake wetland area. At present, the phenomenon of reclamation and occupation of lake wetlands in some places is still repeated despite repeated prohibitions, seriously threatening the ecological security of China's wetlands.

The State Forestry Administration requires that forestry authorities at all levels, together with relevant departments, take effective measures to strictly prohibit unauthorized reclamation and occupation of lake wetlands and maintain the integrity of lake wetland ecosystems. Forces should be organized to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the reclamation and occupation of lake wetlands, and establish information archives on the time, purpose, location, area, and ownership relationships of reclamation and occupation of lake wetlands, so as to lay a solid foundation for further strengthening the protection and restoration of lake wetlands.

At the same time, the protection system should be improved. Local forestry authorities at all levels should strive to create conditions to effectively protect lake wetlands with important ecological functions by establishing nature reserves, wetland parks, small nature protection areas, and multi-purpose wetland management areas, and further expand the protected area of lake wetlands. While carrying out protection, it is necessary to explore and establish models for the rational use of lake wetlands.

The notice makes clear that acts of reclamation and occupation of lake wetlands must be resolutely combated. From May 2015 to December 2015, provincial forestry authorities should deploy and carry out special actions to combat acts of reclamation and occupation of lake wetlands.