“Wetlands Conservation in China”, with 1 million USD donated by the Lao Niu Foundation and 640,000 USD raised by Paulson Institute, is jointly initiated by organizations and departments including International Crane Foundation, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), China State Forestry Administration, State Oceanic Administration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and National Wetland Science and Technology Expert Committee, etc., aiming to promote China's environmental protection undertakings and study and protect China's most irreplaceable natural wetland resources. Its subproject “Strategic Research on the Conservation and Management of Coastal Wetlands” assesses the status quo and major threats of coastal wetlands in China, analyzes and summarizes the different protection and management models of coastal wetlands, conducts research on protection vacancy in Chinese territory of the migratory bird migration route “East Asia – Australia – West Asia” through 22 countries including the United States, Russia, and Australia, identifies 11 important coastal wetlands that need urgent conservation as well as 24 kinds of global threatened waterbirds, and takes protective actions. This project has won unanimous praise of State Forestry Administration, State Oceanic Administration, Chinese Academy of Sciences and other partners; and its achievement, Policy Recommendations for Policy Makers, has been  reported by “Science”, “New York Times”, Ramasar Convention and other websites; Mr. Paulson has submitted the project achievement to the State Council, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Environmental Protection, and Secretaries of Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Zhejiang; part of the research achievement has been adopted by domestic environmental protection organizations as a basis and guide for the protection of coastal wetlands. Its subproject “Coastal Wetland Conservation Network Construction and Management & Leadership Training” builds “China Coastal Wetland Conservation Network” around 11 coastal provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) to form a “two horizontal and one vertical” conservation pattern together with the two major wetland conservation networks of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, having basically established a large-scale and long-span wetland conservation framework in China; it has also improved the management capabilities of 236 coastal wetland administration officials and professionals of conservation area management.

    “Lao Niu Wetland Protection - Qomolangma National Nature Preserve” is co-developed by Lao Niu Foundation and The Pendeba Society in Tibet Autonomous Region. The first phase of the project carried out ecological protection and community capacity building in Qomolangma Nature Reserve, and adjusted the traditional lifestyle of local farmers and herdsmen to have them develop with nature in harmony. It included transformation of traditional sheepfolds (plateau wetland conservation), community capacity building training and training center repair. This project has achieved 192 sheepfolds and 6 stables constructed in 14 administrative villages, transformed over 42,000 square meters of sward sheepfolds, protected 1,500 mu of wetland, and benefited 6,772 community residents of Qomolangma, winning the Equator Prize by UNDP in 2014. The second phase of the project advocates conserving the wetland around Pumqu River in the northern slope of Mount Qomolangma through “wetland compensation”, and it will conserve and restore approximately 45,000 mu of wetland in 30 villages. Xinhua News Agency has carried out a feature for this project with 290,000 readings. This project has won a silver award in the final of the 5th China Public Welfare Project Contest.