Yeyahu Wetland added to IUCN Green List

The Yeyahu Wetland Nature Reserve in Beijing's Yanqing District has been added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas, widely recognized as a benchmark for the world's best protected areas.

It marks the first site in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the first in Beijing to receive this accreditation, adding a new international conservation credential to the capital's ecological buffer zone.

To date, more than 120 protected sites globally have been listed on the IUCN Green List, with 34 sites from China featured on the roster.

Located in the northwest of Yanqing, Yeyahu is Beijing's largest and most diverse near-natural inland wetland.

It forms a complex wetland ecosystem made up of tidal flats and ponds around the Guanting Reservoir.

When the reserve was established in 1997, the wetland faced severe degradation, including drying and frequent human disturbance, with scattered horse farms and breeding sheds along its shoreline.

After more than two decades of sustained restoration work, local authorities carried out coordinated measures including wetland reclamation from farmland, waterway connectivity, habitat island construction and vegetation rehabilitation.

Officials say over 13 square kilometers of degraded wetland has been restored, reviving the once-stressed ecosystem.

The wetland sits on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, serving as a critical stopover for migratory birds.

Each year, more than 100,000 migratory birds rest and refuel here. The number of recorded bird species has risen from 189 at the reserve's founding to 374, accounting for 72 percent of all bird species documented in Beijing.

Rare and endangered species such as the Baer's pochard and the great bustard are regularly spotted.

The site was designated a Wetland of International Importance in 2023, and this new IUCN Green List title is another major international recognition for its conservation progress.

"Taking this IUCN Green List accreditation as a new starting point, Yeyahu will leverage this global platform covering protected areas across more than 60 countries to share stories of biodiversity conservation in Beijing," said Zhang Bing, Party secretary and director of the Yanqing District Protected Areas Administration.

"We will continue to build up our nature education and public outreach programs, deepen community co-management, and translate this international certification into momentum for ecological protection and green development. The wetland will keep supporting the development of Yanqing as an ecological demonstration zone and Beijing's ecological conservation area, keeping its waters clear and its skies filled with birdsong," Zhang added.