SHRUGGING off accusations of rampant industrial pollution and the news that it has overtaken the US as the world’s largest carbon emitter, China last week unveiled a conservation strategy for its flora.
The country is home to 10 per cent of all known plant species – half of those unique to China – and about 5000 species are under threat. The initiative involves a novel collaboration between three state agencies and London-based Botanic Gardens Conservation International. The plan is to safeguard China’s plant diversity by allowing 15 million hectares of farmland to revert to forest over the next three years,…
