China's commitment to establishing Kunming Biodiversity Fund injects confidence into global biodiversity conservation, say experts

BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's commitment to taking the lead by investing 1.5 billion yuan (about 233 million U.S. dollars) to establish a Kunming Biodiversity Fund is a critical step to continue promoting global ecological civilization, experts and media professionals have said.

According to them, the move, which aims at supporting biodiversity protection in developing countries, will also inject confidence into the cause of global biodiversity conservation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping made the remarks while addressing the leaders' summit of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity via video link in Beijing.

"The measures President Xi announced will make an important contribution to addressing the twin global crises of biodiversity loss and climate change," said Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

"In establishing the Kunming Biodiversity Fund, and inviting other countries to contribute, China is taking a significant step toward strengthening protections for biodiversity across the developing world," Bapna said.

According to World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-Russia Director Dmitry Gorshkov, by announcing the creation of a special fund to support the conservation of biodiversity in developing countries, "China has set an example for the world."

"China is demonstrating its readiness to move towards ecological civilization, and I hope many countries will join this initiative," he said.

Noting that developing countries have particularly been hard hit by climate change, Cavince Adhere, a Kenya-based international relations scholar, said the situation has further been compounded by the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic that now risks exacerbating the climate challenge for the most affected countries.

"It is on this background (that) the call by President Xi Jinping for targeted support for developing countries to cope with the dual tasks of economic reconstruction and environmental protection is welcome," said the scholar.

"Many developing countries are troubled by a severe biodiversity loss ... (and) finding a sustainable solution has become all the more urgent," said Moustafa Fouda, biodiversity advisor to the Egyptian environment minister.

"It is exciting news that China has proposed the establishment of Kunming Biodiversity Fund to support the protection of biodiversity in developing countries," said Fouda.