May 22 is the International Biodiversity Day. This year's theme is "Biodiversity, you and I participate together". In recent years, Jiangsu has comprehensively promoted the work of natural ecological protection. Many places have become natural treasure houses of animal and plant genes through artificial intervention and natural restoration.

[Increase ecological restoration and achieve remarkable results in biodiversity protection in Taihu Lake Basin]

Zheng Wei, a reporter from Jiangsu TV: Longchi Mountain in Yixing has the only evergreen broad-leaved forest in the province, which is one of the areas with the richest terrestrial animal and plant resources in Jiangsu. Last year, it was also rated as the first priority protection area among the first eight "ecological island" pilot areas in the province. At present, the staff are conducting biodiversity survey and monitoring to see what new findings are.

Lu Kai, the biodiversity observation engineer of Jiangsu Environmental Protection Industry Technology Research Institute, told the reporter that nine infrared cameras had been set up, one of which captured a variety of mammals, such as ferret badger, pig badger, blue haired giant rat, and masked beaver, and we can see that they are very active in the nature reserve. Among them, masked civet, also known as civet, has been recorded more than ten times in a week by this infrared camera.

The "ecological island" pilot area is an important innovation in ecological environment protection in our province, providing a good place and ecological channel for biological habitat, reproduction and migration. Yixing is an important water conservation area in the upper reaches of Taihu Lake. The construction of an "ecological island" pilot area can effectively strengthen the protection of species in the Taihu Lake basin.

Xu Lihui, deputy director of Wuxi Yixing Ecological Environment Bureau, said that 13 key projects in four categories, namely, biodiversity survey and monitoring, species protection, animal and plant habitat improvement, and institutional innovation, were supported in combination with the distribution of biodiversity hotspots. The next step will be to further strengthen biodiversity protection and contribute to the protection of aquatic biodiversity in Taihu Lake wetland.

In addition to adding to the environmental capacity, Jiangsu also "left a blank" for ecology, making the biological "circle of friends" more and more large. The Dongtai Tiaozini Wetland, located in the core area of the World Natural Heritage, has set aside 720 mu in 2019, creating the first fixed high tide migratory bird habitat in China. Over the past five years, the number of migratory birds has been rising, and now it has reached 413 species. Recently, through the latest non-interference remote shooting equipment, investigators recorded for the first time the high-definition images of hatching and feeding of black headed gulls in sliver mud, a national first-class protected animal.

Jia Yifei, associate professor of the East Asia Australasia Migratory Bird Migration Research Center at the School of Ecology and Nature Conservation of Beijing Forestry University, said that a larger area of black headed gull habitat was repaired last year, and it was also found that black headed gulls have started breeding in the repaired habitat.

Jiang Wei, director of the project service center of Yancheng Dongtai Coastal Economic Zone, said that as planned, 37000 mu of Spartina alterniflora could be harnessed in the first half of this year, and the restored beach wetlands would provide sufficient food sources for migratory birds from south to north.

[About 2000 new species were found in Jiangsu in two years]

With careful care, more and more biological elves vote with their feet and come to Jiangsu. On the morning of 22nd, Nanjing released the latest data of the background survey of biodiversity. At present, there are 3672 species recorded in Nanjing, and rare species such as red crowned cranes, black headed gulls and so on have "appeared" for the first time. In 2023, a total of 44 species of fish were monitored in the Luoma Lake waters, and 5 species of fish were newly monitored compared with those before the prohibition and withdrawal of catches in 2021. The number of species found in the survey across the province increased by about 2000 on the basis of 6903 species announced in 2022, and the biodiversity base continued to "grow".