- Current status of species and
ecosystems in China and Taiwan
Accelerated economic development in the last 50 years has had the greatest
impact on threatened species and ecosystems in China and Taiwan,
notwithstanding the accumulation of pressures over millennia. The
measurement of biodiversity loss is an even more recent phenomenon. Only
since the mid-1980s have scientists begun to form frameworks and baselines
that can be used to compare threats to species and ecosystems in China with
those of other nations.
In this chapter we examine the status of China and Taiwan’s threatened and
endangered species and ecosystems in the early twenty-first century (2005).
We begin with a review of the process used in both jurisdictions to identify
endangered species. Then we present information on actual species, with a
special focus on those recognized internationally as endangered. Next we
discuss the critical habitat of species in the context of the three main
ecosystem types: forests, wetlands and oceans. The chapter concludes with a
focus on scientists and scientific institutions, and the important role they play
in the identification and preservation of species.
THE IDENTIFICATION PROCESS
Special Conditions of Data Collection in China
Three factors or conditions influence the ability of scientists to develop
accurate information about species and ecosystems: the size and diversity
of China, the small number of highly trained specialists in the biological
sciences and ecology, and a bureaucratic culture that discourages information
sharing.
Mackinnon et al.’s A Biodiversity Review of China^1 divides the Chinese
landmass into seven biogeographical regions. A review of these regions
informs us of the great variety of land forms in China:
- Northeast China: forested hills and the Changbai and Da Xiangan
Mountains.
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