China on Thursday attended a conference here to promote a landmark scheme designed to halt the loss of the country's exceptional plant diversity in the face of its record economic growth.

The National Strategy for Plant Conservation will serve as an overall framework of guidance for action plans and play an important role in China's wild plant conservation and management in the future, Jia Jiansheng, deputy director of the Department of Wildlife Conservation said at the conference, sponsored and organized by Britain's Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

Relevant agencies of the Chinese government have been mobilized to participate in formulating the strategy based on the 16 targets of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), he added.

"Through this, China will proportionally contribute to and playa leading role in the realization of the targets of the GSPC," Jia said.

Barry Gardiner, British Minister for Biodiversity, Landscape and Rural Affairs, said the unveiling of China's strategy for plant conservation is "an exceptionally important step."

He said the strategy would form a sound basis for focused and concerted action to conserve plants.

At the same time, Gardiner said no single country or organization can address the challenges of sustainable development alone.

"Instead we should cooperate and work together to ensure real focus, shared learning and even greater progress," he said.

The minister said this is why Britain has entered into a dialogue with China on sustainable development.

China is one of the countries that has the richest plant diversity in the world and the most significant areas in terms of plant diversity and ecosystems, mainly because of its vast land, great physical range of conditions and the climate diversity.

It is estimated that more than 30,000 species of higher plant exist in China, accounting for 10 percent of the total higher plant species all over the world, in which about 15,000-18,000 are endemic species to China.

In addition, China, one of the first group countries that joined the Convention on Biological Diversity, is the original center of the ancient flora and has a large number of cultivated species.

The richest plant species are not only the most important resources for the social and economic development of China, but also the strategic resources for the sustainable development of the whole world.

(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2007)