China to speed up national park pilot program

HEFEI — China will push forward the construction of pilot national parks and draw a general plan for the development of national parks this year, according to the country's forestry authorities.

China will also set standards for building national parks, consolidate management and operation of pilot parks and conduct a comprehensive assessment of the pilot parks, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said in a statement.

The construction of 10 pilot national parks made steady progress in 2018, the statement said. The administrations of the Giant Panda and Qilian Mountains national parks were inaugurated. The general plan for the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard national park was finished, that for the three-river source national park approved, and the proposal for the Hainan tropical rainforest national park has been submitted for approval.

Meanwhile, the country established a research center for national park planning in Southwest China's Yunnan province last year to facilitate the protection of China’s nature reserves.

This year, general plans for the Giant Panda National Park and the Qilian Mountains National Park will be compiled, and together with that for the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park be submitted for approval.

The compilation of general plan for the Hainan tropical rainforest national park will begin in 2019.

The National Forestry and Grassland Administration will draft regulations for the management of natural resources and for patrols at national parks this year, the statement said.

Under a plan released in 2017, China aims to set up a batch of national parks and form a unified management system by 2020.