National Key Protected Wildlife List Open for Public Comments, with Detailed List Attached

Due to this year's COVID-19 pandemic, wildlife protection has once again been placed on the agenda. Recently, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs solicited public comments on the National Key Protected Wildlife List! So what specific wildlife is included? Let's take a look at the detailed list below.

Notice from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Soliciting Public Comments on the National Key Protected Wildlife List

In accordance with the relevant provisions of Article 10 of the Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China regarding the adjustment of the National Key Protected Wildlife List, and following organized scientific assessment, the two departments of forestry and grassland and agriculture and rural affairs have jointly formed the National Key Protected Wildlife List (Draft for Comments), which is now open for public comment. The public may submit feedback through the following channels and methods:

1. Email: National Forestry and Grassland Administration [email protected]; Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs [email protected].

2. Mailing address: Division of Resource Planning, Department of Wildlife and Plant Affairs, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, No. 18 Hepingli East Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing (postal code: 100714); Division of Resource and Environmental Protection, Bureau of Fisheries and Fishery Administration, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, No. 11 Nongzhanguan Nanli, Chaoyang District, Beijing (postal code: 100125).

3. Contact telephone: 010-84238449; 010-59193273.

The deadline for submitting relevant feedback is July 19, 2020.

Attachments: 1. National Key Protected Wildlife List (Draft for Comments)

2. Explanation of the National Key Protected Wildlife List (Draft for Comments)

National Forestry and Grassland Administration

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

June 19, 2020

Attachment: Attachment 1—National Key Protected Wildlife List (Draft for Comments).xlsx

Partial list

Attachment 2

Explanation of the National Key Protected Wildlife List

(Draft for Comments)

In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (hereinafter referred to as the “two departments”) have organized and adjusted the National Key Protected Wildlife List (Draft for Comments) (hereinafter referred to as the “List”). The relevant information is explained as follows.

1. Basis for Adjustment

Articles 7 and 10 of the Wildlife Protection Law stipulate that the forestry and grassland and fisheries authorities under the State Council are respectively responsible for the protection of terrestrial and aquatic wildlife nationwide. The state implements classified and graded protection of wildlife. The state implements key protection of precious and endangered wildlife. National key protected wildlife is divided into Class I protected wildlife and Class II protected wildlife. The National Key Protected Wildlife List shall be formulated by the wildlife protection authorities under the State Council after organizing scientific assessment, and adjustments to the List shall be determined based on the assessment. The National Key Protected Wildlife List shall be submitted to the State Council for approval and promulgation.

Timely adjustment and revision of the List based on changes in wild resources and the latest research results is conducive to saving precious and endangered wildlife, maintaining biodiversity and ecological balance, and advancing ecological civilization construction.

2. Adjustment Process

Since the newly revised Wildlife Protection Law officially came into effect on January 1, 2017, the two departments have accelerated the adjustment of the List. After the reform of state administrative institutions in September 2018, the two departments, building on their previous work, studied the issue of overlapping management of species such as sika deer and red deer between the List and the Catalogue of National Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources. In January 2019, relevant experts and scholars from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other research institutes were organized to conduct scientific verification and research, forming the revised draft of the List. Subsequently, the two departments separately solicited opinions from the people's governments of 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and relevant departments of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and held special symposia to hear the opinions of experts and scholars from relevant research institutes, institutions of higher learning, and industry circles, continuously revising and improving it to form the Draft for Comments of the List.

3. Adjustment Principles

(1) Principle of endangerment. The assessment grades of China's vertebrates in the China Red List of Vertebrates and the categories and criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List are used as important references, including factors such as population structure, numbers, habitat area, range, quality and rate of change, with focus on “Critically Endangered” species at risk of extinction in the wild, “Endangered” species with narrow distribution ranges and scarce wild populations, and “Vulnerable” species whose wild populations have declined significantly or continue to decline and whose survival is severely threatened. For example, the Chinese crested tern, the spoon-billed sandpiper, and the Yangtze finless porpoise are listed as critically endangered species on the IUCN Red List, and this adjustment considers upgrading or adding them as national Class I protected species.

(2) Principle of preciousness. Focus is placed on species that play an important role in maintaining ecosystem structure and function while facing relatively great threats to survival due to habitat destruction, hunting, trade and other development and utilization activities. For example, birds of prey are at the top of the food chain and play a role in regulating populations of species at lower trophic levels, which is very important for maintaining ecosystem function. International trade in birds of prey is common, so all species of birds of prey (55 species of Accipitriformes, 12 species of Falconiformes and 32 species of Strigiformes) are included in the protection list, with important species listed as Class I protected. The northern copperfish of the Yellow River water system is an important aquatic biological resource in China and traditionally had high fishery economic value. Due to habitat destruction, its natural population has become extremely endangered, and it is listed as Class I protected in this List.

(3) Principle of similarity. For some species in taxonomic units such as the families Platysternidae, Testudinidae, and Alligatoridae, and the genus Sinocyclocheilus, although they do not fully meet the scientific criteria for inclusion in the List for protection, consideration is given to the fact that during law enforcement and supervision they cannot be effectively distinguished from species of the same family or genus that are included in the List, so they are also included in the protection scope in this adjustment of the List.

(4) Principle of precaution. For hotspot sensitive endangered species such as the Malayan pangolin and the Indian pangolin for which there is no definitive evidence of natural distribution in China, as well as species such as the Przewalski's horse, Père David's deer and saiga antelope that have historical records of natural wild distribution in China, consideration is given to the possibility that new scientific discoveries may confirm them as species naturally distributed in China and that their wild species may be re-established and restored through ecological restoration measures, so such species are also included in the protection scope.

(5) Principle of compatibility. For species such as the Mangshan pit viper, the Anji salamander, and the whale shark that are naturally distributed in China and have been listed in the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, overall consideration is given to the needs of domestic protection and the fulfillment of international convention management obligations, and in this adjustment of the List they are also given key consideration according to actual circumstances and protection needs.

(6) Principle of public attention. For species that do not yet fully meet the scientific criteria for inclusion but have attracted widespread social attention due to reasons such as continuously increasing development and utilization intensity or habitat reduction, inclusion is also actively considered in this adjustment; conversely, for species that meet the scientific criteria for inclusion but have extremely low social attention and whose inclusion might instead intensify the risk of illegal hunting and trade, inclusion is not considered. For example, the yellow-breasted bunting occupies a large share of the bird trade. Due to incorrect promotion of its medicinal efficacy, the yellow-breasted bunting in the wild was over-hunted, causing a significant decline in wild population numbers, which attracted widespread attention from the international community. This adjustment considers adding it as national Class I protected.

4. Other Circumstances Requiring Explanation

This List only lists wildlife naturally distributed in China or with records of natural distribution and native to China, and does not include wildlife native to outside China.