In the golden autumn, the fragrance of osmanthus tree permeates the air. The 2024 Roundtable of Wetland City Mayors grandly kicked off in Dongying, Shandong Province. As one of the first batch of cities to receive the honor of "International Wetland City", Harbin actively responded and arranged for relevant officials from the Harbin Municipal Government, Harbin Forestry and Grassland Bureau to participate in the international event of wetland protection and development in Dongying.

This is the third time that Harbin has sent a delegation to attend this conference, following its participation in two sessions of roundtable of wetland city mayors held in Suncheon, South Korea and Amiens, France, respectively. This conference was attended by 220 leaders, experts, scholars, and representatives from 31 cities in 7 countries including China, Japan, South Korea, Hungary, France, Rwanda, and Morocco.

With the theme of "Wetlands Nourish the City, Creating a Better Future Together", this conference invited representatives of wetland cities, environmental experts, and members of international organizations from around the world in order to build an international platform for wetland city exchange and cooperation, share advanced experiences in wetland protection and management through in-depth communication and cooperation, explore strategies to address global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity conservation, and jointly promote the sustainable use and protection of wetland resources.

Through this roundtable of wetland city mayors, the Harbin delegation not only fully appreciated the achievements and styles of wetland cities in wetland protection and restoration, as well as biodiversity conservation at home and abroad, but also drew valuable experience and wisdom from an international perspective to promote the coexistence and integration of cities and wetlands, and human and wetlands. All participants expressed that they would further strengthen exchanges and cooperation, and jointly promote the global wetland conservation cause to reach new heights.

Wetland Landscape in Harbin

Looking ahead to the future, Harbin will take this conference as an opportunity to continue deepening international cooperation in wetland protection, strengthen wetland ecological restoration and protection efforts, continuously improve wetland management levels, and lay a solid foundation for the second half of Harbin's international wetland city work so as to contribute more "Harbin Strength" to global wetland protection.