STORY: China's Hunan steps up efforts to protect migratory birds 
SHOOTING TIME: Nov. 27, 2023
DATELINE: Nov. 28, 2023
LENGTH: 00:04:36
LOCATION: CHANGSHA, China
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of migratory birds in Swan Lake
2. various of restoration efforts 
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): LI JIANZHI, Volunteer
4. various of flocks of birds

STORYLINE:

Thanks to the restoration and protection efforts, migratory bird species have been observed on the Swan Lake, a natural water area on the south of Dongting Lake, China's second-largest freshwater lake in central China's Hunan Province.

Once an important wintering habitat for migratory birds, the population of birds on the Swan Lake's had dropped sharply due to habitat loss, over-hunting, human interference and other factors.

The local government started to restore the environment in 2022 by planting trees and increasing vegetation coverage in the wetland along the lake. A patrolling team was also set up to protect birds from hunting.

Efforts have been paid off as migratory birds, such as white crane, tundra swan and white spoonbill, have returned to the lake this winter.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): LI JIANZHI, Volunteer
"The migratory birds could be hardly seen before the environmental restoration was launched. But now, as the restoration work is carried out, more rare birds have been spotted, especially this year."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Changsha, China.
(XHTV)