Construction of an indicator system and a case study of protection efficacy evaluation of China’s national nature reserves for migratory birds

The most direct and effective way of protecting biodiversity and their habitats is to establish nature reserves. It has become critically important to establish a comprehensive scientific evaluation index system to assess protection efficacy and promote effective management of China's national nature reserves. Currently, a large number of nature reserves or protected areas have been established worldwide. Different scales of time and space lead to different evaluation results of protection efficacy. We used three methods: integrated analysis, expert consultation, and a case study to develop the first indicator system for evaluating protection efficacy of national nature reserves for migratory birds over the past ten years. However, a lack of clarity about land ownership has resulted in a series of adverse consequences. There is, therefore, a need to strive for clarity in terms of land ownership, establishing effective management, and developing ecotourism to improve residents' incomes, and reduce anthropogenic influences to restore the habitats of migratory birds.