China BON has received wide support from the Central Government, Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), Ministry of Finance (MF) and the scientific community from China, with an annual financial allocation of approximately US$ 5.8 million from MEP and MF. Under the planning and coordination of Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, China BON has attracted approximately 3500 trained biologists, protected area managers and volunteer citizen scientists from over 400 universities, research institutes, protected areas and civil societies to get involved in field monitoring of biodiversity, currently consisting of mammals, birds, amphibians and butterflies. China BON adopted national standards and field protocols for biodiversity monitoring promulgated by MEP. 441 target regions (counties) were selected and applied for monitoring with >9000 line transects and point transects.
In China BON, raw data were systematically collected, including the name of species, location and number of individuals, type and vegetation of habitats, weather conditions, and categories of anthropogenic disturbance (e.g. infra-structure development, resources exploitation, pollution, hunting, tourism, agriculture, husbandry and fishery) and extent (strong, moderate, low or none). The corresponding EBVs that can be generated by China BON encompass abundance and distribution, taxonomic diversity, habitat structure and quality, and phenology.
To enhance the sustainability of China BON, trained biologists were coupled with volunteer citizen scientists. At least one professional biologist was included in each monitoring team while well trained volunteers are also involved to extend limited staff and budgets for the long-term monitoring goal. At present, China BON’s Work Plan (Table 18) has been approved by the State Council of China. In particular, the operationalization of biodiversity monitoring networks based on this study has been listed as one of the key action plans by China National Economy and Social Development Planning in the 13th Five-Year Plan and approved by the National People’s Congress in 2016.
About China BONCo-Lead
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Haigen Xu Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences (NIES) affiliated to Ministry of Environmental Protection of China (MEP) |
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Key objectives
- Detect changes in species composition, distribution and population dynamics.
- Assess major threats to target species.
- Evaluate the efficiency of conservation policy.
Currently, China has experienced a very rapid growth in population and economy. Biodiversity monitoring can provide timely and accurate data for regional or national management needs and policy making. Lack of monitoring data can reduce the capacity for informed decision-making and timely reporting on progress towards conservation targets. Hence, the activities of the China BON for the 2017-2020-time period will focus on the monitoring of mammals, birds, amphibians, and butterflies.
1. Mammal monitoring (China BON-Mammals)
| Leads | Haigen Xu, Jiaqi Li | |||
| Team/Partners | Over 30 partners from relevant universities, research institutes and protected areas | |||
| EBV Class | ||||
| Development approach | Capacity Building, Monitoring Protocol Design, Data Collection, Modelling, Assessments and Policy Support | |||
| Description | Mammal monitoring network, one of the key components of China BON, was initiated in 2016 based on stratified random sampling, covering representative ecosystems such as forests, grasslands, deserts, wetlands and farmlands. The main raw data were systematically collected, including the name of species, location and number of individuals, type and vegetation of habitats, weather condition, and categories (infra-structure development, resources exploitation, pollution, hunting, tourism, agriculture, husbandry and fishery, etc.) and extent (strong, moderate, low or null) of anthropogenic disturbance. The recorded EBVs encompass abundance and distribution, taxonomic diversity, habitat structure and quality, and phenology. Under the coordination of the Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences affiliated to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, China BON-Mammals is now covering 70 target regions (counties) with 4200 camera traps, has attracted approximately 150 trained biologists, protected area managers and volunteer citizen scientists from over 30 universities, research institutes, protected areas and civil societies to get involved in field monitoring of biodiversity. |
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| Timeline | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Milestones and/or Deliverables | Monitoring protocols; training courses; annual monitoring report. | Training courses; annual monitoring report | Training courses; annual monitoring report | Training courses; annual monitoring report |
| Resources | USD 1.4 million | USD 1.4 million | ||
| Link with other activities | All relevant EBV Working Groups, BON Development Working Group, EBV Data Task Force. | |||
2. Bird monitoring (China BON-Birds)
| Leads | Haigen Xu, Peng Cui, Fang Yong, Wenwen Zhang | |||
| Team/Partners | Over 150 partners from relevant universities, research institutes, protected areas and civil societies | |||
| EBV Class | ||||
| Development approach | Capacity Building, Monitoring Protocol design, Data Collection, Modelling, Assessments and Policy Support | |||
| Description | Bird monitoring network, one of the key components of China BON, was initiated in 2011 based on stratified random sampling, covering representative ecosystems such as forests, grasslands, deserts, wetlands, farmlands and human settlement. Main raw data were systematically collected, including the name of species, location and number of individuals, type and vegetation of habitats, weather condition, and categories (infra-structure development, resources exploitation, pollution, hunting, tourism, agriculture, husbandry and fishery, etc.) and extent (strong, moderate, low or null) of anthropogenic disturbance. The recorded EBVs encompass abundance and distribution, taxonomic diversity, habitat structure and quality, and phenology. Under the coordination of the Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences affiliated to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, China BON-Birds covering 338 target regions (counties) with 3500 line transects/point transects and 850 recorded bird species, has attracted approximately 850 trained biologists, protected area managers and volunteer citizen scientists from over 150 universities, research institutes, protected areas and civil societies to get involved in field monitoring of biodiversity. | |||
| Timeline | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Milestones and/or Deliverables | Monitoring protocols; training courses; annual monitoring report | Training courses; annual monitoring report | Training courses; annual monitoring report | Training courses; annual monitoring report |
| Resources | USD 1.3 million | USD 1.3 million | ||
| Link with other activities | All relevant EBV Working Groups, BON Development Working Group, EBV Data Task Force. | |||
3. Amphibian monitoring (China BON-Amphibians)
| Leads | Haigen Xu, Jianping Jiang, Jiangnan Li | |||
| Team/Partners | Over 65 partners from relevant universities, research institutes and protected areas | |||
| EBV Class | ||||
| Development approach | Capacity Building, Monitoring Protocol Design, Data Collection, Modelling, Assessments and Policy Support | |||
| Description | Amphibian monitoring network, one of the key components of China BON, was initiated in 2011 based on stratified random sampling, covering representative ecosystems such as forests, grasslands, wetlands and farmlands. Main raw data were systematically collected, including the name of species, location and number of individuals, type and vegetation of habitats, weather condition, and categories (infrastructure development, resources exploitation, pollution, hunting, tourism, agriculture, husbandry and fishery, etc.) and extent (strong, moderate, low or null) of anthropogenic disturbance. The recorded EBVs encompass abundance and distribution, taxonomic diversity, habitat structure and quality, and phenology. Under the coordination of the Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences affiliated to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, China BON-Amphibians covering 114 target regions (counties) with 1385 line transects, 166 pitfall traps and 37 artificial refuges, and 240 recorded amphibian species, has attracted approximately 500 trained biologists, protected area managers and volunteer citizen scientists from over 65 universities, research institutes and protected areas to get involved in field monitoring of biodiversity. | |||
| Timeline | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Milestones and/or Deliverables | Monitoring protocols; training courses; annual monitoring report | Training courses; annual monitoring report | Training courses; annual monitoring report | Training courses; annual monitoring report |
| Resources | USD 1 million | USD 1 million | ||
| Link with other activities | All relevant EBV Working Groups, BON Development Working Group, EBV Data Task Force. | |||
4. Butterfly monitoring (China BON-Butterflies)
| Leads | Haigen Xu, Fangzhou Ma, Yaping Hu | |||
| Team/Partners | Over 53 partners from relevant universities, research institutes and protected areas | |||
| EBV Class | ||||
| Development approach | Capacity Building, Monitoring Protocol Design, Data Collection, Modelling, Assessments and Policy Support | |||
| Description | Butterfly monitoring network, one of the key components of China BON, was initiated in 2016 based on stratified random sampling, covering representative ecosystems such as forests, grasslands, wetlands and farmlands. Main raw data were systematically collected, including the name of species, location and number of individuals, type and vegetation of habitats, weather condition, and categories (infra-structure development, resources exploitation, pollution, hunting, tourism, agriculture, husbandry and fishery, etc.) and extent (strong, moderate, low or null) of anthropogenic disturbance. The recorded EBVs encompass abundance and distribution, taxonomic diversity, habitat structure and quality, and phenology. Under the coordination of Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences affiliated to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, China BON-Butterflies covering 111 target regions (counties) with 582 line transects and 1093 recorded butterfly species, has attracted approximately 500 trained biologists, protected area managers and volunteer citizen scientists from over 53 universities, research institutes and protected areas to get involved in field monitoring of biodiversity. | |||
| Timeline | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Milestones and/or Deliverables | Monitoring protocols; training courses; annual monitoring report | Training courses; annual monitoring report | Training courses; annual monitoring report | Training courses; annual monitoring report |
| Resources | USD 0.8 million | USD 0.9 million | ||
| Link with other activities | All relevant EBV Working Groups, BON Development Working Group, EBV Data Task Force. | |||
1. Xu, H., Cao, M., Wu, Y. et al. 2017. “Optimized monitoring sites for detection of biodiversity trends in China”. Biodiversity and Conservation. 26: 1959
Download as PDF | doi:10.1007/s10531-017-1339-3