Governance of Biodiversity Conservation in China And Taiwan

‘(Criteria used in listing?) There are some criteria, such as economic significance of

the species and the like, but the definitions do not resemble those of the US

Endangered Species Act (ESA).

(Role of experts in making decisions?) SFA is in charge of terrestrial species and the

Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) in charge of aquatic species; both call in experts to

help. Based on my experience in SFA, I’d say the experts are simply those known

best by division directors and not the “best available scientific expertise” (language

used in the ESA), but I am not sure that this is any different from the practices in

other countries. Moreover, the problems in classification and listing reflect the

lagging development of biological science in China. The “experts” know only one

or two species well, and there lacks general knowledge of the comparative status of

all mammal species or other kingdoms with respect to survivability. ... As a result,

the basis for species and habitat identification is quite uneven. Calling in a different

group of “experts” probably would produce a different set of priorities.’^7

Finally, an economist made general comments about decision-making in the
area of biodiversity conservation, which applies to the particular case of listing
species as ‘key’: ‘The decision-making system here is not pluralistic, yet it is
not a single entity. The mechanics are not inviting of groups, but the state does
compromise’.^8 For the national list of threatened species, the listing process is
indeed relatively closed, notwithstanding the invitation to scientific experts to
participate in meetings and task forces. Moreover, individual citizens
(including scientific experts) do not have the authority to petition the
government to place a species on the national list. As we shall see, the process
used to develop China’s most recent list of threatened and endangered species
is considerably more inclusive.

The ‘Red’ List

In 2000–03, under the aegis of the Biodiversity Working Group of the China
Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development
(CCICED),^9 China adopted the most recent (2001) Red List of Endangered
Species based on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) Red List criteria.^10
A large group including more than 100 scientists and conservation experts,
representing all of the biological sciences and some non-Chinese authorities,
worked for three and a half years on this project. They applied the Red List
criteria, the categories for threatened and endangered species, to over 10000
species in the animal and plant kingdoms. The listings present the most recent
findings concerning virtually all species of mammals, birds, amphibians,
reptiles, fish, and a select group of insects, mollusks and vascular plants.^11 This
investigation considered the impact on species if their critical habitat were
reduced by certain percentages.^12
The China Species Red List, which, when complete, will extend to six

42 Governance of biodiversity conservation in China and Taiwan