Changshu City has won the Paulson Prize for Sustainability 2022 for its innovative model of urban development and wetlands conservation, the only winner in the prize’s category of Nature Stewardship this year.
The Paulson Prize for Sustainability is awarded annually to a project in China that provides an innovative, scalable, and market-based solution at the intersection of economics and the environment. The prestigious award to help tackle biodiversity and climate challenges was launched by the Paulson Institute in 2013, and has been developed in partnership with Tsinghua University.
Shanghu Lake National Wetland Park in Changshu. Photo/CFP
Changshu’s innovative model became the winner from more than 100 entries. The jury committee composed of prominent experts from the US and China agreed that Changshu has piloted a path to harmony between wetlands conservation and urban development.
Changshu today is home to 30,000 hectares of wetlands and 65.4% of natural wetlands have been placed under protection, a big increase compared with 5.5% in 2011. The city has established a five-tier wetlands management system that covers the state to provincial and village levels. After years of protection and restoration, the city saw significant improvement in water quality and biodiversity, with rare species effectively protected. The number of bird species recorded in the city increased from 136 to 328, and this included 8 species under first-class national protection.
Changshu’s successful practices also became part of a resolution on enhancing the conservation and management of small wetlands, adopted at the 14th Session of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP14) of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention) in November.
