Zhong Zhantie, director of the Quzhou ecological environment bureau, delivered a speech on Quzhou's conservation of its biodiversity during a parallel session at the China Pavilion on the sidelines of the ongoing 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP15, in Montreal, Canada, on Dec 10.

A hundred years ago, people in Quzhou put up monuments reminding people to do their part in biodiversity protection.

The city's Kaihua county has three monuments, namely, the Yinmu monument in Xinghe village, Changhong township for banning logging, the Fangsheng monument in Yantan village, Majin town for releasing fish, and the Caikuang monument in Fuchuan village, Majin town for banning mining, indicating the importance placed on the protection of fish, forests and mountains.

The city has been working to strengthen biodiversity protection, and a total of more than 78 million yuan ($11.17 million) has been invested.

The city is currently home to 89 species of terrestrial animals and 33 species of wild plants under national key protection.

The city's forest coverage rate has reached 69.66 percent, and 27 protected natural areas have been established with a total area of 1,166 square kilometers, accounting for more than 10 percent of the country's total.

Wuxijiang National Wetland Park, the largest national gorge reservoir wetland park in China, has been built in the city.

A view of Quzhou in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/qz123.com]