Dongying marks milestone with first World Natural Heritage

The Yellow River estuary migratory bird sanctuary in Dongying, Shandong province, gained world-class status when it was named a Natural Heritage site during the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in New Delhi, India.

The Migratory Bird Sanctuary along the Yellow Sea Coast and Bohai Sea (Phase II), which consists of five separate sanctuaries, passed the World Heritage Committee's review process at the conference on July 26 to be included in the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

Among the five included sanctuaries is the Yellow River estuary migratory bird sanctuary in Dongying. It is the first World Natural Heritage site in Shandong.

According to its administration, the sanctuaries provide breeding, resting, and wintering grounds for tens of millions of waterbirds.

Dongying, which is situated where the Yellow River flows into the Bohai Sea, has made significant progress in preserving the wetland ecology and biodiversity of the Yellow River estuary.

"The increasing number of Oriental white storks shows that ecological systems are improving", said Zhao Yajie, deputy director of the monitoring center of the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve. She said that this was due to the species having extremely high requirements for their environment.

The Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve, which was founded in 1992, stretches about 153,000 hectares and has earned itself a reputation as an "international avian airport".

In recent years, it has seen a significant increase in both the variety and number of bird species through the local government's efforts. In fact, the number of bird species has risen from 187 in 1992 to 373 in 2023.

Currently, the city is working on establishing a Yellow River estuary national park to help preserve wetlands and biodiversity in the Yellow River Delta region. It is expected to become the first in the country to boast land and marine areas.