China should show its global leadership in biodiversity protection, an expert said in a public speech in Beijing on Saturday.

The value of global ecosystem services is estimated at US$16-US$64 trillion, of which China accounts for 10 percent with its extraordinary biotic richness, John MacKinnon, an expert of EU-China Biodiversity Programme (ECBP) said.

The keynote speech of MacKinnon was the last of a series of speeches arranged by the ECBP to celebrate the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity, which was declared by the United Nations with the theme "Biodiversity is life; biodiversity is our life."

From May to October, the program offered nine public speeches related to biodiversity protection, which attracted more than 10,000 people.

As most of the world, China meets many threats in biodiversity. In order to resolve those issues, China should strengthen its Nature Reserve system and law enforcement, change some bad habits among consumers and restore ecosystem services, MacKinnon said.

The current problem in China's biodiversity called for action for authorities and the public, using different tools to help cool down the earth and realize the sustainable development, MacKinnon said.

MacKinnon is responsible for the Visibility Awareness Component of ECBP, the European Union's largest overseas biodiversity conservation program, which helps develop the capacity of the Chinese Ministry of Environment Protection, as secretariat of the China Steering Committee for implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

In September, the State Council adopted in principle Biodiversity Protection Strategy and Action Plan of China (2011-2030), identifying the guidance, basic principle, objectives, tasks and guarantee measures on biodiversity protection in the next 20 years.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection, China had established 2,541 natural reserves by the end of 2009, covering about 14.7 percent of its land.

(China Daily October 19, 2010)