A pristine wetland in Lishui city, Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP 15, was held on Oct 11-15 in Kunming, capital city of Southwest China's Yunnan province.

As one of 32 priority areas for the conservation of terrestrial biodiversity in China, Lishui city in East China's Zhejiang province, which has the highest species diversity in the province, was invited to the COP 15 and shared its experiences with the participants.

Lishui has been working to protect and sustainably use its biodiversity for many years and has developed its own protocols and methods to protect plant and animal species living in its natural environment.

Over the past two years, a program has been carried out in Lishui in terms of biodiversity background investigations, monitoring, protection and sustainable utilization.

The city has completed biodiversity background investigations in Longquan city and in Suichang and Qingyuan counties. In addition to conventional methods, the investigation team also adopted international cutting-edge environmental DNA technology techniques.

Five new global species and 64 new Chinese records have been discovered in Lishui since December 2019, including a new species of Asian horned toad named Megophrys baishanzuensis.

Moving forwards, officials said Lishui would combine ecotourism, with its knowledge of the natural world and research, to harness its in-depth experience.

They said it would promote the development of a regional tourism industry and the sustainable utilization of its biological resources.