A delegation of key representatives from the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA) visited the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC) in Hungary in September 2017. The schedule was a busy one with not only a signing ceremony and constructive meetings on wildlife conservation and sustainable use, but the Delegation had a sightseeing tour in Budapest and had the opportunity to visit the Pilis Forestry as well.
Li Qingwen (Deputy Chairman and Secretary General of the China Wildlife Conservation Association of the Peoples’ Republic of China), Si Ping (Director of the China Wildlife Conservation Association of P.R. China), Luoding Lammel-Rath (CIC member), Wang Wei, Qi Tianjian (Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the China Wildlife Conservation Association Hunting Committee), and Wang Hongjie ( Vice-President of the China Wildlife Conservation Association) attended this delegation visit.
CWCA as future member of the CIC
In 2016, CIC President, George Aman, and Director General, Tamás Marghescu, visited Bejing officially in order to establish a connection with the country, as a potential State Member of the organization. The successful inter-institutional meetings resulted in the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA), joining the CIC. The CWCA is the largest ecological conservation organization in China with 31 provincial and 622 regional branches throughout the country counting over 200 thousand members.
The China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA) was founded by enthusiasts who love wildlife and who work on wildlife conservation, scientific research, wildlife breeding, and domestication in 1983, in Beijing, as a nonprofit national organization under the framework of the China Science Association.
The official program started on September 21st, 2017, when the CWCA and the CIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding at a special signing ceremony organized in the Hungarian Parliament. The main objective of the MoU is to promote the collaboration between the two organizations in the field of wildlife conservation and hunting, including a detailed framework of the cooperation and the establishment of a formal relationship with China.
Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary and the Patron of the CIC, Dr. Zsolt Semjén, welcomed the delegation and guests at the Hungarian Parliament, and in his opening speech underlined that the CIC professionally stands up for sustainable hunting and the unity of hunting, wildlife management, and culture. He mentioned the World Nature Expo to be held in 2021 in Hungary, and extended an invitation to Bejing to bring its long lasting hunting culture, tradition, and wildlife management to the exhibition.
President Aman highlighted that while the CIC was historically always an international institution, with this partnership it has made a step further into globalization, a step towards including more countries from Asia. He added “At the end of the day, we must not forget that we are all here because we are not only friends and lovers of nature, but friends and lovers of the sustainable use of nature in which hunting plays a major role.”
Li Quingwen, Secretary General of the CWCA, explained that the mission of the CWCA is to promote the sustainable development of China’s wildlife and their major objectives are to carry out educational and scientific activities, to promote academic communication and cooperation nationally and abroad, and to implement relevant international wildlife conservation projects.
Official visit of Pilis Forestry
The Chinese delegation’s visit was an important milestone in the cooperation between the CIC and the People’s Republic of China and because of that it was only natural to introduce them to the Pilisi Parkerdő Zrt (Pilis Forestry), where the CIC Headquarters is located. The presentation of the Pilis Forestry provided insight into an important example of Hungarian game management. The Delegation had the opportunity to witness the end of a deer hunt and see a stag at the table. The visit ended with the Austrian hunters’ hymns with the traditional reverence for the game.
The representatives will take their ideas and impressions back to China and translate it into their own wildlife management.