Wetlands are not only most important but also most threatened ecosystems in the world. China implemented the National Wetland Conservation Program (NWCP) to rehabilitate wetlands since 2002. In terms of its geographical coverage and number of people affected, the NWCP is the largest wetland project globally.

Due to limited data and approaches, effective ways to assess the wetland conservation projects remains unsolved to scientists and policy makers. Therefore, sustainable wetland ecosystem management requires an assessment on the effectiveness of the NWCP.

Recently, researchers from Remote Sensing Lab of Geographical Landscape assessed the effect of NWCP by comparing the changes in land cover and ecosystem services (ESs) from 1990 to 2000 and from 2000 to 2015 in the Sanjiang Plain as well as the nine national nature reserves for wetlands (NNRWs) by means of Landsat series images and the InVEST model. Results reveal that the NWCP played critical roles in reducing wetland loss and improving regional ESs. Annual loss rate of wetlands was reduced significantly after 2000, with a decrease by 561 km² yr^-1. The amount of water retention has improved by 5.4% since 2000, while the reduction rate of habitat area in good suitable grade and ecosystem carbon stock decreased notably after 2000 with a decline by 10.9% and 10.8%, respectively. NNRWs played an important role in wetland protection.

The outcome of the project should be summed up to guide future decision-making. This study is expected to be an example for evaluating the effectiveness of the NWCP at other regions and support regional wetland conservation management.

The study entitled “What did China’s National Wetland Conservation Program Achieve？Observations of changes in land cover and ecosystem services in the Sanjiang Plain” has been published online in Journal of Environment Management.