Protecting ecosystems and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits of genetic resources may be key themes in cooperation between China and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries in biodiversity conservation.

The consensus was reached during a workshop on implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity, hosted by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and attended by experts from China, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Three themes proposed by Chinese officials sparked particular interest.

The first focused on cooperation in ecosystem conservation.

"Diversified trans-boundary ecosystems exist in the region, such as forests, grasslands, alpine ecosystems and inland wetlands. Countries in the region can work together to protect them," said Zhang Fengchun, chief technical expert in biodiversity and climate change for the ministry's Foreign Economic Cooperation Office.

Creating an environment of public opinion to protect the environment, often referred to as capacity building, was another popular theme. This includes training, workshops and general education on the environment.

Amanullah Hussaini, executive secretary of Afghanistan's National Environmental Protection Agency, said his country does not have any system to recycle goods.

Tshering Dorji, senior environment officer from Bhutan's National Environment Commission, said given the lack of capacity and technical know-how, Bhutan is also interested in training, workshops and expert and student exchange programs.

The third theme was equitable sharing of benefits of genetic resources, one of the three pillars of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

This focuses on how countries should share profits generated from genetic resources acquired from other countries. It is a relatively new area in the negotiations of the convention.

Yu Zhidi, also with the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, proposed that cooperation on this issue should first focus on basic research to gain a more thorough idea of the region's genetic resources and traditional knowledge systems.

Representatives at the workshop, which lasted from May 29 to June 3, agreed with Yu.

South Asia is endowed with an exceptional array of biodiversity. "The region's ecosystems occupy about 3.6 percent of the world's area and contain 16 percent of the floral species and 12 percent of the faunal species," said Mohammed Solaiman Haider, deputy director of Bangladesh's Environment Department.

But the region's natural resources face tremendous pressure from rapid population growth and economic expansion, which has led to unsustainable extraction of natural resources and accelerating levels of air and water pollution.

Song Xiaozhi, deputy director of the ministry's International Cooperation Department, said environmental protection has become a priority between China and association countries.

wuwencong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 06/19/2013 page5)