Photo taken on Sept. 9, 2022 shows a flock of wild birds in Baiyangdian Lake in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. In recent years, the Xiong'an New Area has strengthened the ecological protection and restoration of Baiyangdian Lake. Through systematic ecological management, the water quality of Baiyangdian Lake has seen a leaping improvement and the biodiversity has increased significantly. (Photo: Xinhua)

China's ecological authority has vowed to implement the first bunch of projects under the Kunming Biodiversity Fund, which was initiated by China in 2021 and launched on Tuesday, before the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16).

"The fund will operate and be managed according to international rules, aiming for the first projects to be implemented before the COP16. We will quickly improve and publicize the application and approval process to ensure the fund is used openly, transparently and efficiently under international rules," said Zhang Yujun, director of the Department of Nature and Ecology Conservation at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), at a press conference of the ministry on Wednesday.

COP16 is to be held from October 21 to November 1, 2024, in Cali, Colombia.

China, as the COP15 presidency, announced the establishment of the Kunming Biodiversity Fund with an initial contribution of 1.5 billion yuan ($233 million) during the COP15 in late 2021. On Tuesday, the signing ceremony for the cooperation agreement of the Kunming Biodiversity Fund was held in Beijing, attended by officials from MEE and the UN, marking the official launch of the fund.

Zhang emphasized the significant importance of the fund's establishment and official launch. Biodiversity is crucial for the well-being of all people, and biodiversity loss is a serious challenge that humanity faces today.

In a video address on Tuesday, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed stated that the Kunming Fund could catalyze investment in biodiversity by countries, enterprises and institutions, making the global economy more sustainable, fair, just and resilient, Zhang quoted.

"The launch of the Kunming Fund is a leading example of countries actively participating in biodiversity conservation," said Zhang. The Kunming Fund will adhere to multilateralism and international operations, primarily providing financial, technical and capacity support to developing countries to implement the "Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework."

"It is a very large contribution that China has made to developing countries in the Global South, in a sign of solidarity to support those countries in conserving and reversing their loss of biodiversity," Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme Inger Andersen told the Global Times at a media brief after the launch ceremony.

"We are very optimistic about this initiative, especially since China has positive lessons at home in conserving biodiversity. We hope to learn from these lessons and transfer them to other countries," she said.