Microphysogobio oujiangensis, a new species of freshwater fish found in Lishui, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: ls-mnews]

Lishui, a city in East China's Zhejiang province, unveiled China's first municipal-level white paper on biodiversity protection on Nov 30, local media reported.

The white paper shows the results of the biodiversity survey that was conducted in Lishui from December 2019 to June 2022. Statistics from the white paper show that the diversity of species in Lishui is the highest in Zhejiang province.

At present, Lishui is home to 3,687 species of vascular plants, 635 species of terrestrial vertebrates, 642 species of aquatic life, 2,608 species of terrestrial insects, and 2,040 species of macrofungi.

In addition, 16 new species found in Lishui during the three-year survey have flourished.

The progress made in increasing biodiversity is an affirmation of the city's efforts in protecting its environment in recent years.

In 2020, a development plan on biodiversity protection and sustainable development was approved by Lishui authorities.

Lishui has also established the Qianjiangyuan – Baishanzu national park and set aside 75.7 percent of the city's area as ecological priority protection spaces.

Due to the efforts made in biodiversity protection, the city made the list of national demonstration zones for ecological civilization construction and became the first pilot city to operate the interest-oriented mechanism of realizing the value of ecological products.

Lishui will in the future strive to become the leading city in the field of biodiversity protection in China and explore more creative approaches to advancing development in this respect.