STORY: Critically endangered Baer's pochards find ideal habitats in E China's Anhui
DATELINE: July 8, 2023
LENGTH: 0:01:29
LOCATION: HEFEI, China
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Baer's pochards in Anhui
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHOU LIZHI, Professor at School of Resources and Environmental Engineering at Anhui University

STORYLINE:

The Baer's pochard, a critically endangered diving duck, has been frequently spotted and documented across Anhui Province this year.

The observation by a team from China's Anhui University suggests that the wetland eco-environment in the region has constantly improved.

Hefei, the provincial capital of Anhui and an internationally recognized wetland city, has made significant efforts in ecological restoration in recent years, drawing more and more birds to live and breed.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHOU LIZHI, Professor at School of Resources and Environmental Engineering at Anhui University
"The Baer's pochard is a critically endangered waterbird on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, and a national first-class protected wild animal in China. We sighted Baer's pochards in 2004. There were about a dozen of them at the time. But in 2015, we didn't spot any of them. Since then, a series of strict wetland protection measures have been implemented in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, especially in Anhui Province. As a result, degradation of the lakes got curbed. The birds' habitats have been steadily restored and the conditions in their habitats have kept improving. The population of various waterbirds is on the rise. By January 2022, the number of Baer's pochards we observed reached nearly 600 in Anhui Province."

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