China's first group of national parks, which cover a total of 230,000 sq km, will focus on preserving pandas and other wild animals.
The parks, which cover an area of 230,000 sq km, include the Sanjiangyuan National Park, the Giant Panda National Park, the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park and the Wuyishan National Park.
The huge project is different from nature reserves, which protect unique species. This group of parks focuses on the protection of the entire ecosystem, Li Junsheng from the research centre for eco-environmental science at the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, told Global Times.
Spreading from far northern Tibet to the southern holiday island of Hainan, the parks are expected to conserve nearly one third of the country's key terrestrial wildlife species. "The establishment of national parks is to better protect China's most valuable bioresources and maintain the natural systems' originality," the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said.
The Giant Panda National Park, which will doubtless be a hit with tourists, was among the new parks. The region, located in central China, is the panda's natural habitat, with around 80% of the Chinese giant panda population living here.
Likewise, Northeast China's Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces are home to 50 wild Siberian tigers and 60 Amur leopards, shattering predictions that both species would become extinct in China. Important projects such as village construction and cattle farming are being instituted to protect the people who already live in the areas.
