Sino-German Workshop Series on Biodiversity
Protected forest in the subtropical Jinggangshan National Nature Reserve, Jiangxi province (photo: Susanne Lehmann)
A series of Sino-German BfN workshops on selected biodiversity and nature conservation topics have been held alternately in China and Germany at regular intervals since 2008. The workshops promote scientific exchange on methodologies and research findings together with exchange on current and planned projects and policy programmes relating to biodiversity. The workshops also provide an opportunity to discuss focal areas and strategies for German work on biodiversity and to explore options for closer cooperation and networking between German and Chinese organisations.
Bamboo plantation in the buffer zone of the Jinggangshan National Nature Reserve (photo: Susanne Lehmann)
First Bilateral Workshop
The first workshop in the series took place in Peking in March 2008 and constituted a preliminary conceptual and planning exchange. Topics ranged from current instruments and approaches for biodiversity conservation in the two countries to questions relating to potential impacts of climate change on biodiversity in China and Germany (
Workshop Agenda). The workshop identified opportunities for future cooperation between CRAES and BfN and became the first in a regular workshop series.
Second Bilateral Workshop
Excursion guide Röös explains the forestry office’s strategy for the Eifel National Park (photo: Susanne Lehmann)
A second workshop was held in Bonn in March-April 2009 and covered three main topics ( Workshop Agenda):
- Nature Conservation Facing Climate Change and Land Use: Climate change, more intensive land use and the protection of ecosystem services all highlight the importance of biodiversity.
- Monitoring and Information Management: Effective nature conservation depends on the collection and management of conservation-related data and information.
- Protected Area Management: Protected areas are a key way of conserving diversity and are currently of special relevance as China catalogues and evaluates its protected area system.
Added to the workshop programme were excursions to the Kottenforst forest near Bonn, to the Eifel National Park and to Biological Station Zwillbrock, allowing the Chinese delegates to see examples of how the workshop topics are addressed in practice in Germany.
The workshop 
presentations are available here. The proceedings are also published as a report as no. 261 in the BfN-Skripten series.
Third Bilateral Workshop
Panel discussion with experts from China, India, USA and Europe to the questions of generating the value of ecosystem services (photo: Susanne Lehmann)
The third workshop of the annual series starting in 2008 was held 21 to 24 June 2010 in China again. About 100 experts from politics, science, and business met in Beijing to discuss the role of biodiversity and ecosystem services ( workshop programme).
The workshop aimed at rising the awareness on biodiversity's value for humankind, mediating projects and approaches for the valorisation of ecosystem services, and finding solutions to mitigate the growing pressure on those ecosystems. Threats and opportunities of the current situation especially in China and Germany were discussed, with a focus on different types of land use and their impacts. Furthermore, possible recommendations for the implementation of effective political strategies as well as committed business obligations and society's responsibility were discussed in order to stop the further loss of biodiversity. The workshop was accompanied by a poster session where results from 20 scientific projects dealing with several aspects of ecosystem services were presented. The workshop report was published as no. 292 of the BfN Skripten series.
Scientific one-day field trip in the context of the third biodiversity workshop
Peripheral area of the Nandagang Wetland Natural Reserve (photo: Susanne Lehmann)
Subsequent to the workshop there were two one-day field trips to the surrounding of Beijing for selected experts. The destination of the first field trip was the Nandagang Wetland Natural Reserve at Cangzhou, Hebei (Tianjin Municipality). This marshland is composed of coastal strips, scrubs, and swamps and provides an important habitat especially for migratory birds.
The second field trip led to the Labagoumen Forest Park (Huairou District, Beijing) which is located two hours away from Beijing. An impressive botanical garden that is connected to the Beijing University and often used by students could be visited. A little nature museum is attached to the reserve, too. The forest of Labagoumen mainly is composed of secondary oak forests (Quercus mongolicus, etc.) and in the lower mountain region of birch forests (Betula chinensis, etc.) and scrubs. Those lower regions are primarily used for farming and forestry.
Fourth Bilateral Workshop
Participants of the 4th Sino-German workshop (photo: Kerstin Lehmann)
The fourth Sino-German Workshop on biodiversity issues was held from 29 June till 2 July 2011 at the Inter-national Academy for Nature Conser-vation on the Isle of Vilm. On the occasion of the 
International Year of Forests declared by the United Nations General Assembly this year’s workshop dealt with approaches, concepts and instruments, which would contribute to stronger integration of biodiversity aspects and ecosystem services in forests ( Program). About 30 participants, who predominantly came from different German and Chinese research and policymaking institutions, discussed segregative and integrative approaches of nature conservation in forestry as well as payments for ecosystem services.
China, which currently has 20% of forestland and whose goal is reach at least 28% of the country’s territory covered in woodland by 2050, nowadays still follows mostly a classified approach according to which the forest is solely regarded either as a source of timber (without considering any conservation or other aspects) or as a protected forest. Integrative approaches are rarely to be found.
The main objective of the workshop was therefore to strengthen forest management with aspects of biodiversity and ecosystem services through the exchange of experiences and networking.
Mr. Noack from Landeskompetenzzentrum Forst presents the long-term provenance trial areas (Author: Kerstin Lehmann)
In addition to lectures and discus- sions, the workshop was comple-mented by three excursions.
In the run-up the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park in North Hessen, Landeskompetenzzentrum Forst Eberswalde and Eberswalde University of Applied Science, Brandenburg, were visited. The concepts presented there gave good inputs for discussions at the workshop. The praxis-oriented views on how nature conservation aspects can be included in the management process were conveyed by the local forest ranger of the district Hessenhagen during the third excursion in the Biosphere Reserve Schorfheide-Chorin.
The outcomes of the workshop will be incorporated in the comparative study on forest protection and forest use in China and Germany and will be published as a BfN script in the upcoming autumn.
