CHONGMING Island aims to become an important bird habitat and a protected area for large varieties of natural resources, the district government said yesterday.

The city’s top planning body and the Chongming government jointly released the plan for the island’s development through 2040 to achieve the aim of becoming a “world class ecological island.”

The Dongtan Wetland Park, a national natural reserve for birds covering about 102.4 square kilometers, becomes a top-level protected zone, with all development prohibited.