Seven new biodiversity zones have been established by PetroChina, China’s largest oil and gas producer, Xinhua reports.
The areas are located in the Changqing Oilfield in northern China‘s Ordos Basin, the Tarim Oilfield in Xinjiang, and Kunlun Energy’s LNG storage facility in Hainan, explained PetroChina. They fall into the category of Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures. OECMs, as defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), are areas that effectively conserve biodiversity in situ, and outside of officially protected areas.
PetroChina established its first three OECMs last year. The new additions bring the total it manages to 10, covering more than 4,000 hectares.
The new zones are situated near key oilfields, including along the Tarim Basin desert highway. Originally built to facilitate oil transport from remote desert locations, the highway is now lined with over 20 million sand-fixing trees. PetroChina claims this “green corridor” supports wildlife habitat and migration. However, as Dialogue Earth has previously reported, water scarcity remains a significant challenge for sustaining the trees.
In addition to the OECMs, PetroChina has set up buildings for biodiversity education at some oilfields. It has also begun monitoring biodiversity, with eight sites equipped with 24/7 wildlife surveillance. Plans are underway to expand monitoring to all OECMs.
Lü Zhi, executive director of the Peking University Center for Nature and Society, emphasised that OECMs are crucial to achieve the “30 by 30” goal, to conserve 30% of the world’s land, fresh waters and ocean by 2030.
“The Chinese government needs to recognise the importance of OECMs and develop guidelines for their assessment, identification, and regulation tailored to China’s specific needs,” Lü writes. “Increased investment and the establishment of a database to track the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation are also essential.”
Author: Niu Yuhan. Republished under Creative Commons licence.
Source: Dialogue Earth, August 21, 2024. https://dialogue.earth/en/digest/petrochina-establishes-conservation-areas/