BEIJING, March 11, China daily -- Environmental monitoring results showed that the country's air and water quality have both improved generally since Jan 20 and large-scale disinfection work to fight the novel coronavirus has not affected drinking water sources, a senior environmental official said on Wednesday.

SHANGHAI, February 21, Xinhua -- Wild animals are carriers of many pathogenic microorganisms that might pose threats to human beings, so how to treat and protect them in a sustainable manner?

CHINA, February 20, China daily -- The major moves for environmental protection in China last year are as follows:

On Jan 17, the national conference on natural resources is held in Beijing. During the conference, the Ministry of Natural Resources announces several major tasks for the year. They include conducting a national survey of resources, improving the management of natural resources and formulating a territorial spatial-planning system to integrate the plans for functional zoning, land use, urban and rural areas and others into a unified entity.

JIANGSU, February 16, China Daily -- Two years after he retired in 2014, Zhu Xianwen became a wetland protection consultant in a coastal township of Jiangsu province.

Zhu, 65, worked as a fisherman and in fishery management for most of his adult life.

He now promotes the importance of wetland protection for marine and migratory birds among fishermen. To improve conditions for migratory birds, he has even persuaded some of the fishermen to return their ponds to the local government.

Zhu's work coincided with his hometown's inclusion in July as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site-the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase I).

Until three years ago, he had no idea that the intertidal mudflats near his hometown, Jinggang township in Yancheng, would become one of the core zones of the heritage site.

Zhu said that he knew that the mudflats area facing the Yellow Sea, known locally as Tiaozini, was rich in fish, crabs and clams.

Food has attracted many birds to the area, he said.

However, he never thought that the mudflats would become so important to migratory birds, resulting in their being listed as part of a World Heritage Site.

The Jiangsu provincial government has dropped its ambitious plan to reclaim 66,667 hectares of mudflats in Yancheng, a large part of which overlaps with Tiaozini.

"Being a World Heritage Site will save our mudflats from land reclamation, which in turn will ensure fishermen's livelihoods for generations," Zhu said."To be honest, that's why I am willing to work for the cause of conservation."

GUIZHOU, February 14, China daily -- A southwestern Chinese city said it would waive the entrance fees to its major scenic spots, including a world natural heritage site, for the nation's medical workers this year.