China's tech-driven ecological restoration gains global recognition

(ECNS) - China is increasingly using advanced monitoring systems and data-driven conservation tools to support biodiversity recovery, officials and researchers said Saturday at a forum in Shanghai's Chongming district, highlighting ecological restoration efforts along the Yangtze River.

Experts described how satellite tracking, ecological monitoring networks, and digital management systems are helping restore habitats for migratory birds and endangered aquatic species.

Global flyway expert David Melville shared the case of a migratory bird that flew about 10,000 km (6,200 miles) nonstop from New Zealand to Chongming before continuing to Alaska, underscoring the importance of protected wetlands as feeding and resting sites.

Officials said bird populations in Chongming's Dongtan Nature Reserve have risen from less than 40,000 in 2009 to nearly half a million currently after years of habitat restoration.

A report released at the forum noted that the number of waterbird species whose global populations are significantly represented in Chongming increased from seven to more than 12 as forest coverage soars from below 10% in the early 2000s to 30.7%.

A November 2025 survey recorded more than 52,000 waterbirds across 43 species in the Dongtan Nature Reserve, including Class I protected species such as 70 Saunders's gulls, 25 black-faced spoonbills, 28 hooded cranes, and nine oriental storks. The increase in documented bird species — rising from just over 200 to more than 300 — underscores the reserve’s remarkable ecological recovery, according to the report.

Researchers also pointed to signs of recovery in the Yangtze River after China's fishing ban and ecological protection measures. Zhuang Ping, a researcher at the East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, said populations of key fish species had rebounded, while the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise population had risen to 1,426 from 1,012.

Experts said monitoring technologies, including infrared cameras, tracking systems, and large-scale ecological data analysis, are becoming increasingly important in biodiversity protection and wildlife recovery.

Melville also praised China's large-scale campaign against invasive species and its ban on commercial coastal land reclamation, calling the measures important for biodiversity conservation.

(By Zhang Jiahao)