China has been building a UN-backed zone to protect and showcase endangered Chinese white dolphins (Sousa Chinensis) and preserve marine bio-diversity in offshore waters near Shantou City, south China's Guangdong Province.

Sources from the Marine Affairs and Fishery Bureau of Nan'ao County, Guangdong, said the protection zone will be located between the sea waters of Dongshan Island of neighboring Fujian Province and Nan'ao Island of Guangdong, where more than 1,300 kinds of marine life propagate because of subtropical climate and seawaters rich in nutritious substances swept in by inland rivers.

Chinese white dolphins, also known as Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphins, or "giant pandas of the sea" on the Chinese mainland, are found in shallow, coastal waters of southern China. They feedon fish, shrimp, and cuttlefish.

The dolphins living around China's Pearl River Estuary have a unique color -- dark gray at birth but fading to pink in later life as the dolphin's blood gets nearer its body surface.

The dolphins are under top state protection in China as their population is estimated at between only several hundred and 1,000 and is gradually declining as fewer dolphins survive long enough to mate and reproduce.

The project, which has just won financial support of 517,000 US dollars from the UN Environment Program (UNEP), will be finished in four years, said the sources.

To ensure the construction's success, major officials in chargeof marine affairs and fishery from five cities of Guangdong and Fujian provinces gathered on Nan'ao Island recently and vowed to cooperate closely.

A range of activities will also be organized to help the project, including educating local fishermen on protecting the living habitat of Chinese white dolphins and stepping up publicity to improve awareness among youngsters of protecting the endangered dolphin species.

(People's Daily February 28, 2003)