The entire coastline is situated in areas that are both densely populated and economically advanced, and has historically faced significant human-induced alterations and impacts. Currently, the heritage site predominantly lie within protected zones, wetland parks, and conservation communities, all of which are designated as protected areas. These areas are stringently safeguarded by national laws, with official ecological red lines further bolstering their protection. Such management and protective measures ensure that the region's ecosystems and ecological processes remain untouched and preserved.
Post-application era
Since the successful application for the world heritage, Yancheng Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have swiftly planned and deployed the protection and management of the Yellow Sea Natural Heritage Site for the “post-application era”, and unveiled the Three-year Action Plan for Yancheng Yellow Sea Natural Heritage Conservation, Management and Sustainable Development (2019-2021), which is the “road map” for the protection, management and utilization of the natural heritage site in Yancheng..
The Three-year Action Plan firmly establishes and implements the development concept of “Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains Are Invaluable Assets”, takes the initiative to integrate into the global ecosystem governance, protects and builds the brand of world heritage with high quality by adopting international standards, world vision and scientific spirit, and promotes the advantages of the World Heritage Site to be transformed into ecological and competitive advantages, so as to make Yancheng a model for harmonious coexistence of human beings and nature.
We have set up the Yancheng Heritage Protection Management Committee to coordinate the city’s heritage protection work, built a “government-industry-education-research” organizational guarantee system, with the Yancheng City Wetland and Heritage Management Office as the leading office, the International Conference on Yellow (Bohai) Sea Wetland as the platform, the Yellow (Bohai) Sea Wetland Research Institute as the support, and the sustainable development of the heritage site as the goal, so that the city could effectively take on the historical mission of protecting the World Heritage and guarding the valuable natural relics.
Build consensus on conservation. In accordance with the United Nations 2030 agenda for sustainable development and relevant international conventions, we adhere to strict protection and intergenerational inheritance, protect biodiversity and maintain the health and stability of natural ecosystems.
Strengthen inspections of law enforcement. We have strengthened the supervision and management of environmental law enforcement, launched “Green Shield”, special actions for the protection of natural reserves, and resolutely investigated and punished illegal acts that damaged the ecological environment of heritage sites. We have given full play to the role of the court of environmental resources of the Yellow Sea wetlands and established a law enforcement cooperation mechanism for Yellow Sea wetlands protection, to deal with illegal acts such as encroachment and destruction.
Strengthen red line control. We strictly control the approval of projects related to the heritage site, and control and prevent environmental pollution from the source. All relevant areas should scientifically set up ecological red lines of wetlands to keep the function, area and the nature of wetland ecosystem in Yellow Sea in a good status.
Strengthen planning guidance. A protection planning of the Yellow Sea wetlands has been worked out, which contains the Yellow Sea wetlands protected area, objectives and tasks, overall layout, protection focus, protection measures, protection input and utilization mode, etc
We have established a monitoring and management system for the Yellow Sea wetlands supported by big data, the Internet and other modern information technologies, formed a specialized management team for the heritage site, established clear boundaries for heritage site protection, and enhanced real-time monitoring capabilities. We have promoted the establishment of the national-level Yellow (Bohai) Sea Wetland Research Institute, deepened the cooperation with domestic and foreign universities and research institutes such as Beijing Forestry University, Fudan University, and Kyungpook National University, and conducted in-depth scientific research on wetland protection. Drawing upon relevant experiences of Hong Kong Mai Po Nature Reserve, we have promoted ecological restoration work in a refined manner by taking the restoration and enhancement of the ecological functions of wetlands as the guide and the two-year action plan for the protection and restoration of the Yellow Sea wetlands as the main line. Moreover, we have vigorously implemented greening and afforestation projects and build ecological isolation forest barriers on seawalls.
We have unified the external image identification of the heritage site, set up an Yancheng World Heritage site portal website and created heritage site WeChat public account. Yancheng Wetland Heritage Museum and urban wetland parks have been constructed to facilitate protection exhibitions, public education, and eco-tourism. All relevant regions have developed unique thematic exhibition halls centered around rare birds like spoon-billed sandpipers, milu deers, and the Yellow Sea radial sand ridge complexes. Yancheng wetland heritage has been embodied in literature and art works, popular science books, local school-based curriculum materials for primary and secondary schools, tourist guides and professional reference books, so as to further expand the brand awareness and reputation of Yancheng World Natural Heritage.
Strengthening international cooperation and exchange
We have organized the annual Yellow (Bohai) Sea Wetland International Conference, enhanced cooperation and exchanges with international organizations such as the United Nations Convention on Wetlands and Wetlands International, and established an alliance of cities along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) to promote the protection of wetlands and migratory birds along the routes. The municipal government holds Birdwatching Equipment Exhibition and International Birdwatching Festival annually, making them international festivals for organizations and individuals engaged in bird love, bird watching, and bird conservation to exchange and share experiences. Yancheng is now actively organizing the World Wetland Ecotourism Conference to present Yancheng’s story through international communication.
Standing at the height of integrated development of Yangtze River Delta and centering on the new economy of heritage +, we have formulated ecotourism plans, with the key focus on leading, representative, functional tourism projects, to promote Yellow Sea wetlands ecological tourism development in high standard. We focus on the renovation and enhancement of the Red-crowned Crane Wetland Ecotourism Area and the Chinese Milu Park, establish new attractions such as the Yancheng Wildlife Park and Yuanjiajian Holiday Island, accelerate the transformation and upgrading of Xinyanggang Port Old Street and Huangshagang Fishing Port Town, plan and construct the Jianggang World Heritage Town, improve and enhance the unique ecotourism offerings of Yeludang, and scientifically implement the ecological restoration of Cunmen Rearing and Release Area. Yancheng is exerting great efforts to actively promote the construction of the Pan-Yellow Sea Eco-economic Circle, striving to become an internationally renowned wetland city.
By encouraging various social groups such as the Communist Youth League, Women’s Federation, academic union, and young pioneers, as well as schoolchildren and university students, NGOs, and relevant people at home and abroad, we fully mobilize social forces to participate in heritage conservation management, migratory bird protection, international conference services, etc. We have established and improved the volunteer system, implemented a management system based on service hours, and enhanced the social influence of volunteer services and the sense of honor for volunteers by awarding certificates to outstanding volunteers. By opening a hotline for reporting on heritage conservation and management supervision, we established a reporting and exposure system for reporting and publicizing illegal and irregular activities, continued to encourage the public, media, and social organizations to participate in the supervision of heritage sites, so as to ensure the public’s right to information, participation, and oversight.