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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
Beijing, November 8 (Xinhua) — Environmental cooperation between China and Russia is expanding beyond the scientific community, gaining increasing public recognition. This is evidenced by two winners of the 3rd China-Russia Video Competition: "Land of Big Cats" and "From Tundra to Marshes: A Love Letter from Migratory Birds." These films vividly depict the real-life successes of China and Russia in creating a "green corridor" for migratory wildlife. Behind each frame lies years of painstaking work and coordinated efforts to preserve invaluable biodiversity, focusing on the fate of the Manchurian (Amur) tiger and the tiny spoon-billed sandpiper.
Manchurian Tiger: Cross-Border Cooperation to Save the Species
Thanks to the installation of real-time monitoring equipment at the Manchurian Tiger and Far Eastern Leopard National Park in China, it has become possible to observe a fascinating spectacle: day after day, wild animals – from wild boars and sika deer to Manchurian tigers – cross the border between China and Russia.
Manchurian tigers, also known as Amur tigers, are found primarily in the Russian Far East and northeastern China.
“The establishment of transboundary protected areas is a key task for the Manchurian Tiger and Far Eastern Leopard National Park,” said Feng Limin, director of the Manchurian Tiger and Far Eastern Leopard Monitoring and Research Center under the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China. “The construction of transboundary ecological corridors is one of the most significant initiatives of the two countries to jointly protect the Manchurian tiger.”
Since the signing of a cooperation agreement on the conservation of the Amur tiger and Far Eastern leopard in 2010, cooperation between China and Russia has steadily expanded. In 2019, the Tiger and Leopard National Park and Russia's Land of the Leopard National Park conducted mutual visits, formally establishing a strategic partnership for the transboundary conservation of tigers and leopards. In March 2024, a Chinese-Russian laboratory for the conservation of the Amur tiger was established. This year, the first meeting of the Joint Commission for the Implementation of the Agreement between the Governments of China and Russia on the Establishment of the Land of the Big Cats Transboundary Nature Reserve was held.
Zhao Yan, Deputy Director of the Research Monitoring Center of the Hunchun Branch of the Manchurian Tiger and Far Eastern Leopard National Park Administration, who has been working in the field of Amur tiger conservation for over ten years, noted: “As early as 2006, experts from China and Russia regularly exchanged experiences in the field of big cat conservation, conducted joint research, standardized methods for counting individuals in the Amur tiger and Far Eastern leopard populations, and also collaborated on research into the biological genetics of these wild animal populations.”
“My Russian colleagues have a wealth of experience, and I often learn from them,” he added.
According to data, there are about 70 Manchurian tigers and about 80 Far Eastern leopards living in the Manchurian Tiger and Far Eastern Leopard National Park.
According to Guo Fang, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment of China, China's Tiger and Leopard National Park and Russia's Land of the Leopard National Park together form a transboundary protected area covering nearly 17,000 square kilometers. Joint monitoring by China and Russia has contributed to synergies in cross-border conservation efforts for the big cats.
Spoon-billed Sandpiper: A Fragile Traveller Under Joint Protection
In late October, a ringed spoon-billed sandpiper, numbered "8V," was spotted on the beaches of Fangchenggang, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southwest China. According to the census, this was the seventh time this small bird had returned to the area for the winter.
The spoon-billed sandpiper is considered a small bird, weighing less than 40 grams. Each year, these birds travel several thousand kilometers—from Russia to southern China and other parts of Southeast Asia.
The spoon-billed sandpiper's range covers the Chukotka Peninsula and Kamchatka, where nesting occurs between May and July. The rest of its life cycle involves wintering in China, where the birds travel along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.
Located in the coastal areas of the Yellow Sea, the Yancheng Wetlands in East China's Jiangsu Province were inscribed on the World Heritage List in July 2019 as a migratory bird habitat, making it China's first coastal wetland natural World Heritage site.
The 4,550 square kilometer park is home to nearly 1,200 animal species, and annually welcomes millions of migratory birds, of which approximately 100,000 remain for the winter and nesting.
These areas are home to more than 30 species of rare and endangered birds, including the spoon-billed sandpiper, the red-breasted spoonbill, the glossy ibis and the Chinese gull.
Among these feathered travelers, the spoon-billed sandpiper is among the rarest and most endangered bird species on the planet. During their spring and autumn migrations, this species typically stops in the Tiaozi Wetlands (part of the Yancheng Wetlands) for nearly three months. More than 200 individuals of this migratory bird were once recorded there, making Tiaozi a legitimate "second home" for the spoon-billed sandpiper.
"Every year, we look forward to the spoon-billed sandpipers like our own children returning home for the holidays. It's a worry if they stay even a day late," shared Li Dongming, a researcher at the Tiaozi Nature Reserve.
Caring for these birds creates a special bond between the peoples of China and Russia.
Last year, a strategic agreement was signed between the Tiaoji Wetland Research Institute (Dongtai City, Jiangsu Province), the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Russian Society for the Conservation and Study of Birds to strengthen cooperation within the East Asian-Australasian Flyway migration corridor.
Chinese universities are also actively involved in the conservation of the vulnerable spoon-billed sandpiper. The Institute of Geography and Oceanography at Nanjing University and the Institute of Wetland Science at Yancheng Normal University were among the first collaborating partners.
"Conserving the spoon-billed sandpiper requires concerted efforts at all stages of its migratory route. Only through strengthened international cooperation in conservation can we hope to restore its population," concluded Jia Yifei, an expert from Beijing Forestry University.
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