The protection of coral ecosystem has been listed as one of the priorities for China’s action plan of wetlands made by the State

Forestry Administration with the help of the World Wild Fund (WWF), a forestry official said.

The official said that China will conduct a survey concerning the country’s coral resources and carry out a series of scientific research on them.

Also some natural reserves will be set up to better protect corals, which, together with tropical rain forest, is one of the most important ecosystem in the world featured by the most primitive form of life, the official added.

According to a WWF staff, China has one of the world’s richest coral ecosystem and about 200 species of corals. The corals along the coastlines in southeast China has played an important role in fishery promotion and seashore corroding prevention.

However, the expert said, because of the abuse of coral resources in recent years, the coral ecosystem has worsened, and the bio-diversity has been seriously destroyed.

(People’s Daily 12/18/2000)