Biodiversity in East Asia - A Mini Report on the State of Biodiversity Across East Asia
Introduction
As we cross the snow capped peaks of the Himalayas and head out into the staggered rice paddies, raging rivers and great metropolises of China the staggering level of biodiversity in East Asia really comes into view. Across the sea a string of islands where cranes dance in the snow, monkeys relax in hot springs and deer bow to temple visitors, Japan offers a glimpse of ecology in an East Asian Island and exhibits how nature exists alongside the fast-paced development of humanity. Just to the North stands the last vestiges of communism and one of the world’s most significant biodiversity question marks. North Korea, a nation notorious for shutting out the world could prove to be either a safe haven for nature or it could have wiped out some flora and fauna before we even knew it existed. Biodiversity in East Asia is amongst the most unique, most threatened and most diverse in the world. The endearing nature of the regions curious creatures have led to some, such as the panda bear, becoming global symbols of conservation with millions being spent to ensure their continued survival, providing evidence that when humanity truly cares for biodiversity it can bring even the most critically endangered species back from the brink.
The State of Biodiversity in East Asia
The Asia Pacific region has experienced biodiversity victories and disasters in relatively equal measure. Today East Asia has become a battleground for biodiversity loss as we see the pinnacle of modernisation and industrialisation come into contact with the ancient, natural world. Through the centuries the drive to transform East Asia into an economic powerhouse via a mixture of rapid technological development and the relentless exploitation of natural resources has placed tremendous pressure onto local ecosystems which are now crumbling and being crushed under its weight. The challenges faced by the various nations which make up the East Asian region are many, yet, the one thread which runs through them all is growth. Economic growth, population growth, growth in consumption, the growth of urbanisation, the growth in human-wildlife conflict and growth in demand for wildlife based medicines and luxury goods (UNEP-WCMC, 2016). This continuous cycle of growth, built on the back of deforestation, unsustainable trade, and commercial fishing, is bringing the region ever closer to a tipping point. The Asia Pacific has already been named the heart of the global biodiversity crisis “with 63% of the region’s GDP at risk from nature loss” (World Economic Forum, 2021) or in monetary terms $19.5 trillion in economic activity (Wright & Gros, 2021). At this very moment every nation in East Asia is faced with a difficult but necessary decision which must be to begin valuing their biodiversity as though it were worth its weight in gold and to find new, more sustainable methods by which to grow their GDP’s. This is possible to achieve, according to a study by Singapore’s powerful sovereign wealth vehicle Temasek “there are opportunities to unlock $4.3 trillion in business value and create 232 million jobs annually in the Asia-Pacific region by 2030 by following nature-positive business opportunities”, there is no doubt that East Asia could benefit from such growth. By investing in a greener future East Asia could prove not just to be an economic powerhouse but also a shining example of how development does not need to come at the cost of the natural world. In order to better understand the state of biodiversity in the region today and what plans there are for the future it is crucial that we take a closer look at a collection of individual nations who represent the considerable diversity of East Asia; China, Japan and North Korea.
China
As the largest nation in East Asia China covers a wide expanse of diverse ecosystems. Stretching from Tibet, otherwise known as the roof of the world in the West, to the rolling sand dunes of the Gobi and Talamakan deserts in the North, to the rich black soil and river valleys of the East, and to the fertile lowlands and mountainous terrain of the South, one can find almost every type of ecosystem on the planet within the boundaries of just one nation. China is considered to be one of the twelve mega-biodiverse countries in the world, “forest cover accounts for 20.36% of the total land area… China is also one of the eight centers of origin for crops, with nearly 10,000 species of crops, including their wild relatives… The country is also rich in wetlands… Grasslands cover about 41.7% of the country, harboring 6,704 known species of forage plants, among which 320 species are endemic to China. Natural grasslands are inhabited by more than 2,000 species of wild animals and a large number of plant resources with economic and medicinal values. In marine areas, some 20,278 marine species were recorded, representing over 10% of the world’s total. China also has 2,636,200 km² of deserts (27.46% of the total area) which are however relatively poor in terms of species composition. In 2008, an overall inventories report indicated the presence of more than 35,000 species of higher plants (of which 17,300 are endemic, ranking China third in the world after Brazil and Colombia), 6,445 species of vertebrates (667 being endemic) and 10% of the world’s invertebrates throughout the country. Among them are 1,371 species of birds (placing China first in the world) and 3,862 fish species (which account for 20.3% of the world’s total)” (Convention on Biological Diversity, 2023). The current state of biodiversity in China is a product of a tumultuous past that has seen wildlife decimated during “the great cuttings” of Mao’s Great Leap Forward (Aragon, 2023) era and has experienced yet more destruction as China began its race to industrialisation in the early 1970’s (Yan & Kessler, 2016). Yet the winds of change are sweeping across China as a new found appreciation of the natural world begins to take root and an awareness of how crucial such ecosystems will be to the nations continued economic development grows in strength.
China, like almost every other nation on earth, is facing an arduous uphill battle to bring its wildlife back from the brink. “Nearly half of all wild animals in the country are in decline. An estimated 11 per cent of all plants are now listed as threatened” (UN WCMC, 2022). The challenges it faces are much the same as those referenced in previous biodiversity reports. The causes of continued biodiversity loss include, but are by no means limited to;
Climate change,
Habitat loss,
Environmental pollution (Lu et al., 2020),
Desertification,
Wetland degredation,
Urbanisation and industrialization,
Overexploitation,
Invasive species,
Production of biological fuels (Convention on Biological Diversity, 2023),
Drought,
Soil erosion,
Water shortages,
Rising carbon dioxide emission (Yan & Kessler, 2016),
Such issues are unsurprising if we were to take into account China’s status as the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter (Hull, 2022). As it increases the number of permits for the construction of power plants (CREA, 2023) sees its cities transform into metropolises as the urbanisation rate jumps from 36% in 2000 to 65.2% in 2022 (Textor, 2023) and struggles to balance growing consumer demand with a need to restore its biodiversity back to, in some cases, self-sustaining levels. In 2016 a report found that “China accounts for one-sixth of the global ecological footprint, ranking ahead of all other countries in the world. The nation is already consuming 2.2 times the amount of biological material it produces in a year — its biocapacity — causing significant impact on the environment” (Yan & Kessler, 2016). Such pressure on ecosystems has actively contributed to the extinction and endangerment of numerous species such as the dugong (Cornall, 2022), pink Baiji dolphin (Jin, 2023), Snow leopard, Giant panda, Finless porpoise, Amur tiger, Amur leopard and Asian elephant. (WWF, 2023). Nevertheless, China, in particular its government, is taking action to improve the state of its nations biodiversity and is arguably moving faster in doing so than some of its more ‘developed’ western counterparts. Though its actions have not been without criticism it is important to remember that effecting change in any nation, let alone one as extensive and diverse as China is going to take many years to see through and will require tremendous energy and willing from both the government and from the population.
China’s efforts thus far to improve biodiversity both within their nation and beyond has proved effective. In 2018 they wrote their plans for an “ecological civilisation” into their constitution having already created 2,750 protected areas which cover 15% of its total land area. In 2021 these protected areas were extended to encompass a network of five national parks covering 88,000 square miles - the largest in the world. China also managed a significant reforestation effort between 2013-2017 which saw 825 million acres of bare or cultivated land be reborn through tree planting (Hull, 2022). Today, “more than 90% of terrestrial ecosystem types, together with 85% of key wild animal populations, are now protected in China; some populations of rare and endangered wild species are gradually recovering” (natureresearch, 2023). The ambitious plans do not however stop there. Chinese policymakers, scientists and practitioners are committed to some rather progressive conservation goals - “including protecting 60 per cent of wetlands and reaching 26 per cent forest cover by 2035” (UN WCMC, 2022). Naturally, China’s ambitions are not limited to their own borders, they are also looking to take up a more prominent role internationally on biodiversity conservation. By hosting summits and establishing the Kunming biodiversity fund with a capital contribution of 1.5 billion yuan ($233 million) to support the cause of biodiversity conservation in developing countries (France 24, 2021) China is setting out its stall as a leader in both climate change and wildlife conservation. In so doing they can direct the conversation and agree to make change on their own terms in their own time. A dynamic already evident in their proposals at the COP15 biodiversity talks in which they “kept the headline target of protecting 30 percent of the planet’s lands and oceans by 2030” and proposed to put “at least 30 percent” of degraded habitats under effective restoration by 2030 but rejected “the EU’s idea of committing to restore 3 billion hectares of degraded land and freshwater ecosystems and 3 billion hectares of ocean ecosystems. Beijing also scrapped the EU's push to halve pesticides use and risk” (Guillot, 2022). It will be crucial in the coming months and years that China finds ways to accept those proposals such as that made by the EU. Failing to do so could place “65% of China’s total GDP… at risk from nature loss, but a nature-positive transition could add $1.9 trillion in annual business value and create 88 million sustainable jobs by 2030” (World Economic Forum, 2021). In truth the greatest challenge facing China today is not in their capacity to conserve the natural world so much as it will be in balancing the mainstreaming of biodiversity conservation with economic and social development.
Japan
The biodiversity of Japan is as unique as it is beautiful. The string of islands which make up Japan stretches from the rugged snow covered mountains of Hokkaido in the North down through Honshu - the central island - where mount Fuji scrapes the sky and rivers flow through luscious valleys, culminating in the warm tropical beaches of Kyushu in the far South. If this sounds like something from a fairytale then you would be right, Japan’s capacity to live in harmony with nature is a story that is told over and over again (Reuters Plus, 2023), yet, how much truth is there in this story? Though Japan does not have a large land area, only around 38 million hectares, it does possess 90,000 known species, a number which could exceed 300,000 if we were to also count unclassified species. The uniqueness of Japan’s biodiversity comes in its high rates of endemic species, “including nearly 40% of land mammals and vascular plants, 60% of reptiles and 80% of amphibians” who for the most part can be found in the forests which count for 67% of total land area. 20% of Japan’s total land area is made up of natural forests and grasslands distributed across the more mountainous areas, something which proves to be a major contributing factor to why Japan’s industrialisation and urbanisation has been forced to remain limited thereby protecting vulnerable species from the excesses of humanities expansionist tendencies. Where Japan truly shines is not necessarily in its species on land or in freshwater but in the ocean and seas which surround it. Currently, 50 of the world’s 127 marine mammals, 122 of the world’s 300 sea birds and 3,700 marine fish species reside in, on or above the waters around Japan and scattered across the seas. Aside from the four main islands are the 6,400 large and small islands which are part of Japan, within which reside distinctive and highly vulnerable ecosystems. The growing vulnerability of Japan’s biodiversity is of increasing concern as “the number of threatened species identified in the Japanese Red List increased from 3,155 to 3,597” (Convention on Biological Diversity, 2023). When we picture Japan living in harmony with nature, what do we see? Is it a garden, carefully curated as a masterpiece exhibiting man’s dominion over and control of nature, the wilderness erased as quiet monks rake perfect lines into the gravel daily. Or is it the misty Mount Fuji, the subject of every great haiku and woodblock print, unmoving, watching over humanity as it constantly changes in the world below. This perfect image we have of nature in Japan is at best a half truth becauseJapan has sadly not escaped the many factors which contribute to biodiversity loss;
High population density (World Economic Forum, 2022),
Urbanisation,
Extensive conversion from vegetation to plantations,
Agricultural and aquacultural intensification,
Water and air pollution,
Climate change (Mori, 2016),
Mismanagement of ecosystems,
Invasive species,
Ocean acidification (Zenbird, 2023),
Oil spills,
Coral bleaching,
Interruption of water flow from rivers to estuaries and coastal waters, due to large concentrated populations and industry,
Land reclamation and development (Convention on Biological Diversity, 2023),
Overhunting,
Excessive control killing (Knight, 2010).
Japan has gone through and come out the other side of their industrial revolution, doing so in a time frame which has made much of the world envious of their rapid development. With its end there has been a reduction in dirty, pollutive industries meaning some of the issues such as water and air pollution have substantially improved, yet, as Japan sees success in this area a new challenge arises in the form of climate warming and the ensuing biodiversity decline (Mori, 2016). For fifty years Japan’s biodiversity and ecosystem services have been experiencing loss and degradation. The moment of realisation came for the Japanese people in 1981 when one of the nation’s most symbolic creatures, the Japanese crested ibis, known as the toki, left their skies as food sources declined in the wake of widespread pesticide use and the draining of rice paddies during the harvest. Since that moment Japanese farmers have proven that they can once again find a way to live in harmony with nature by reducing pesticides and fertilizers, whilst also keeping their paddy fields flooded to build up stocks of insects and amphibians eaten by toki. In 2008, after a successful breeding programme with a small number of toki gifted by China the ibis were released onto Sado island and today they number 450 (Heggie, 2021). This tale of loss and restoration reflects much of Japan’s efforts in recent years to revive its struggling ecosystems. With the combined efforts of government, policymakers, scientists and local populations species restoration has been possible and such efforts can be repeated across the islands if necessary. It is clear that Japan will need to find a way to truly live in peace with its indigenous creatures if it wants its unique ecosystems to stay afloat, that means reducing the hunting and culling of animals like the Hokkaido brown bear, Asiatic black bear and the Japanese macaque. It also calls for a reduction in agricultural chemical run-off, river improvement works, and soil erosion from construction sites, mainly for resorts and airports if they wish to save what is left of their coral reefs - “ 95% of the coral reefs of Okinawa (part of the Ryukyu archipelago) have been reported to be dead or dying as a result of heavy soil runoffs caused by resort development and the clearing of land for agriculture, and in 2002, fewer than ten per cent of coral communities in the waters surrounding the Ryukyu Islands were classified as healthy” (Knight, 2010).
Japan is now implementing new policies and making change. What is so positive to see is how every sector of society is doing something to help reinforce Japan’s biodiversity. In the business world, Sekisui House set up the ‘Gohon no ki’ (Five Trees) project which has been promoting ecosystem-friendly garden and community development through planting native trees in residential areas. In just 20 years it has planted a total of 17.09 million trees and has succeeded in “quantifying the effectiveness of these trees in preserving biodiversity, using big data on the number of trees, tree species, location data, and ecosystems” (World Economic Forum, 2022). In Japan’s biodiversity hotspots of Iriomote island and Yanbaru local communities and tour companies are collaborating to combat the threat of over tourism by placing restrictions on unaccompanied trekking. The local government has also “built underpasses for animals to ensure safe animal crossings, installed roadside gutters to prevent small creatures from falling down onto the road surface, and instituted an island wide speed-limit of 40km/h” (JNTO, 2020). Meanwhile, the national government has also been increasing number of protected areas, “5 wilderness conservation areas (totaling 5,631 ha), 10 nature conservation areas and 541 prefecture-level conservation areas (totaling 77,342 ha). In addition, 82 national-level wildlife protection areas and 3,759 prefecture-level wildlife protection areas (totaling 3,032,035 ha) have been created”. Today natural parks cover 14.4% of the nations total land area. Both at home and abroad Japan is stepping up to the plate and proving its commitment to protecting the natural world. At COP15 Japan promised not only to conserve at least 30% of land and sea areas by 2030 but to also commit “117 billion yen (approximately $890 million) in funding for conservation from 2023 to 2025, a $638 million contribution to the Global Environment Facility, and $17 million for the Japan Biodiversity Fund” (Reuters Plus, 2023). These promises are more than achievable and could set Japan up as a new leader in conservation if it meets the 30by30 target. Japan is proving what is possible in biodiversity restoration, however, it still has a long way to go to prove that it is a nation which can truly live up to its reputation as a country which lives in harmony with nature.
North Korea/DPRK (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea)
Inside one of the world’s most reclusive and notorious nations, whose outwards image is defined by goosestepping soldiers, grand military parades, rosy cheeked children singing nationalistic tunes and towering statues of their leaders both past and present there hides a very different world, one which is entirely unexpected. When discussing North Korea one may assume that biodiversity and conservation would not be at the top of the list of crucial issues associated with the hermit kingdom and yet there is a growing current of belief that this, along with efforts to tackle climate change, could be the way to both improve the DPRK’s relations with the outside world and in time bring the nation towards a more democratic future. Though for the time being any information provided by North Korea regarding domestic concerns, even those associated with wildlife conservation, must be taken with a pinch of salt, biodiversity is a research area that remains to an extent apolitical and can therefore be discussed with the hope of positive outcomes on all sides.
North Korea’s biodiversity is dictated by the complex topography of the region which spans over 122,762 square kilometres and the extreme seasonal shifts in weather (Raven, 2013). With many mountains and rivers as well as a long coastline the nation enjoys a rich and varied diversity with coastal ecosystems being some of their finest. Today, the mountainous area covers the largest amount of territory, about 74.7%, while the agricultural area occupies 15.2% and the water area about 6.2%. These ecosystems house 10,012 plant species, 1,494 chordate species among which vertebrate covers 1,436 species, 8,652 invertebrate species, among which insect species covers 6,257. “In DPR Korea, there are 107 species of mammalians (79 species of terrestrial ones and 20 species of marine ones), 420 species of birds, 866 species of fishes (190 species of fresh water fish, 676 species of sea fish, 17 species of amphibians, and 26 species of reptiles)” (Convention on Biological Diversity, 2016). Piecing together an accurate picture of North Korea’s biodiversity can present something of a challenge, however, from research undertaken prior to the Covid-19 pandemic we can know what challenges it faces and how the DPRK government planned to tackle such challenges. It is no secret that North Korea is facing significant ecological decline and has often seen species go into freefall, the causes of which are many;
Forest depletion (The forests are often ravaged by fires, landslides, and insect pests. Satellite images reveal that more than 40 percent of the forests in the DPRK have been lost since 1985, most of them converted to low-grade agricultural systems. Firewood from the forests is being used at a faster rate than the forests can support),
Water quality degradation,
Air pollution,
Land degredation (soil erosion),
Flooding (Raven, 2013),
Human activity (During the 1990’s, a period characterized by severe economic stress deforestation accelerated, as many people turned to the forests as a source of food and firewood, which led to cascading ecological effects, including soil erosion, soil depletion, increased flood risk and threats to biodiversity. We are yet to see if the Covid-19 pandemic has induced a similar economic/biodiversity crisis) (McCarthy et al., 2021),
Overfishing (Shim, 2019),
Climate change (Annual increase in temperature, sea level rise, severe water shortages, warmer water temperatures, severe flooding during the rainy season, severe droughts in Spring, more frequent landslides, coastal intrusion, saltwater intrusion, increase in invasive species) (UNEP et al., 2012),
Wildlife trafficking (Nuwer, 2017).
For North Korea there is no denying that deforestation is one of the most significant drivers for biodiversity loss in recent years. What is important to recognise about deforestation in North Korea is the reasoning behind it. Unlike in those nations which cut down their forests to clear space for the urban sprawl, to graze cattle or access the abundant natural resources within the people of North Korea have often been forced to exploit their forests and wild spaces simply to survive. The years of economic instability following the break up of the USSR and the former Soviet block, contributed to a famine which impacted every single member of North Korean society and led many, out of sheer desperation, to take more than the forests had to give. What many did not consider then, when hunger took over from reason, is the long-term damage done by deforestation. The loss of forests has, through the aforementioned impacts, contributed to a decline in agricultural productivity, leading to food shortages and increased food prices. Unique plant and animal species have been put at risk of extinction due to a mixture of habitat loss and degradation (DGB Group, 2023) and with every tree that is hacked down planet earths resilience to growing levels of Co2 is further diminished. Unfortunately, some of North Korea’s most deplorable acts linked to biodiversity does not actually concern creatures within their domestic boarders. The illegal wildlife trade, often perpetuated by North Korean diplomats looking to make easy money, has contributed to a significant loss in Africa biodiversity. Over the past 30 years there have been 18 incidents of North Korean diplomats found to be trafficking rhino horn or ivory, it is believed that the number of cases who have managed to go undetected is far higher. By taking advantage of the false belief that diplomats have blanket amnesty from being searched or arrested North Koreans have taken to smuggling these illicit products into China and disseminating them through criminal networks. Though North Korea’s role in the illegal wildlife trade is smaller than comparable South East Asian nations it is believed that they have contributed “to the slaughter of more than 7,100 rhinos by poachers in Africa over the past decade” (Nuwer, 2017).
Despite these setbacks in the status of the DPRK’s domestic biodiversity and in their position as a contributor to biodiversity decline in other parts of the globe there were at least some glimmers of hope shining through prior to Covid-19 which we must hope are still there. In 2019 the Korean Workers Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported a statement made by the director of the nations biodiversity institute Yun Chol Nam who said “Anyone who becomes self-aware about the importance of protecting biodiversity, not only for themselves but also for their country and future generations, will be able to spread the light of a more beautiful and livable people's paradise”. In one of those rare occasions when North Korea allows some of the sheen to fade from the perfectly curated facade of their nation the DPRK official also conceded that the nations Biodiversity Day aimed to build awareness in order to “fend off climate change, recover the ecosystem and alleviate poverty” the official also admitted that the nation had lost different crop and livestock species in the past 100 years and that overfishing has had a "negative impact on the diversity of marine life" (Shim, 2019). It is clear that, at least on a regime level, there is an effort being made to recover the nation from the deeply destructive famine years. The DPRK adopted “The Ten Year Plan for Afforestation/Reforestation” which intended to rehabilitate two million hectares of degraded forest and showed how the nations regime is willing to listen to and act upon sound science when aimed at restoring forests or finding newer, more sustainable forms of fuel. The DPRK’s plans have been praised as “well considered” as they rely on using native species and is leveled at an appropriate scale (Raven, 2013) (which is not something communist regimes are generally known for). These plans have made a healthy contribution to the 34 government designated protected areas which span 314,000 hectares or 2.4% of total land area. They are comprised of nine national parks, four national monuments, two nature reserves, three protected areas, and one scenery reserve. The nation has also entered into several multilateral environmental agreements, exhibiting their willingness to work collectively, at least on environmental matters, with other nations around the globe. They were, prior to Covid-19 planning to develop this exchange further with tourism sites being constructed in national park areas for international visitors to enjoy (McCarthy et al., 2021). Whilst there has been much positive movement from the North Korean regime in relation to biodiversity restoration, one case that stands out for the lack of involvement of any governmental body, more so the lack of involvement of people is the DMZ (Demilitarised Zone), otherwise known as the most dangerous nature reserve on earth, which sits between North and South Korea. In scenes similar to those seen in Chernobyl the lack of a human presence is returning this land to its former glory and providing a safe haven for some of the regions rarest creatures. Bears, martens, cranes, vultures, deer, wildcats, wild goats, gorals, eagles and otters have all found a home in this thin strip of land. “Wildlife surveys have found 6,168 species within eight areas of the DMZ. Of the 267 endangered species on the Korean peninsula, 102 have been recorded in the militarised zone”. Efforts are now being made, both nationally and internationally to conserve the nature within the DMZ despite the delicate political situation in the hope that “Korea's tragedy can be reimagined as an expression of humanity’s ecological vision, sooner than later” (Caton, 2023), preferably before military tensions disappear. Whilst the current state of biodiversity in North Korea might not be known, what we do know is that given the right support North Korean environmentalists can protect ecosystems the rest of the world lost sight of over eighty years ago. The unique and endangered/vulnerable species of the DPRK require support and in providing that support we can also work to reduce tensions with this last communist kingdom. After all, the survival of everyone person on earth relies on keeping the balance in our atmosphere and in our ecosystems. Survival cuts through politics and ideology and we must hope that this once again proves true for North Korea and those nations who wish to support them in conserving the nations wild spaces.
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