Wuhan, one of the most important metropolitans in Central China, is located in close vicinity to the Ancient Yunmeng Marshes, a wetland once extending over 20,000 km2. It is known as the “River City” where the Yangtze River and its largest tributary, the Han River, meet. Having 165 rivers and 166 lakes, with water and wetland areas exceeding a quarter of its territory, Wuhan is acclaimed as the “Lake City” and a “Wetland City”. With a population of over 13 million, Wuhan has witnessed rapid economic and social development, whose GDP reached over USD 277.1 billion in 2023. Since the second wetland resource survey in 2012, the wetland area in Wuhan has maintained stable which strongly proves the results of Wuhan’s efforts in wetland protection and rehabilitation.

Wuhan fully encourage its society to join in wetland protection and has established a “government lead, departmental coordination and social participation” mechanism.

In order to honour obligations set out by the Convention, fully implement the wetland protection, Wuhan Municipal People’s Government has established a joint meeting for the wetland protection in Wuhan, with the consent of 7 members, including Wuhan Municipal Landscape Architecture and Forestry, Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning, Wuhan Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau, Wuhan Municipal Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Wuhan Municipal Water Affairs Authority, Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Wuhan Municipal Finance Bureau, with Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Landscape Architecture and Forestry as the lead unit. Deputy Secretary-General of the Municipal People’s Government and the principal heads of Municipal Bureau of Gardening and Forestry are the Chairs. Other members are in charge of their official responsibility and keep contact with protection work about wetland.

Wuhan is the first city to develop the Lake Chief System as a means of enhancing integrated watershed management in Wuhan. In addition to the government’s official lake chiefs, folk lake chiefs were recruited to jointly carry out lake protection. In addition, the Forest Chief System has been established to promote the protection and restoration of wetlands and the maintenance of biodiversity. In accordance with the concept that mountains, water, forests, fields, lakes and grasses are a community of life, complete the integration and optimization of nature reserves, implement the hierarchical management of nature reserves, zoning control, and strictly abide by the ecological red line of protection to achieve effective protection in accordance with the law. It will strengthen the protection of wild animals and plants and their habitats, and prohibit the illegal hunting, killing, trading and eating of wild animals.