China builds the world's largest national park system to safeguard the harmonious coexistence of all things | Park | National

Xining, August 21 (Xinhua) - China builds the world's largest national park system to safeguard the harmonious coexistence of all things

Xinhua News Agency reporters Li Linhai and Zhou Shengsheng

As the "pearl on the crown" of beautiful China, the National Park is the most important part of the natural ecosystem, the most unique natural landscape, the most essence of natural heritage, and the most abundant biodiversity. From the Qinghai Tibet Plateau to the coast of the South China Sea, the harmonious picture of all things coexisting slowly unfolds, and the rare birds and animals in the national park continue to return, showcasing the beauty of nature and ecology.

The second National Park Forum, co hosted by the State Forestry and Grassland Administration and the People's Government of Qinghai Province, was recently held in Xining, Qinghai. The forum aims to jointly discuss the construction of the world's largest national park system and gather efforts to help protect flagship species.

At present, China has set up the first batch of national parks, including Sanjiangyuan, Giant Panda, Amur Tiger and Amur Leopard, Hainan Tropical Rainforest, Mount Wuyi, with a protected area of 230000 square kilometers, covering nearly 30% of the national key protected wildlife species in the land area.

Guan Zhiou, Director of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, said that establishing a national park system is a major institutional innovation in ecological civilization and the construction of a beautiful China, opening a new chapter in natural ecological protection.

The Three Rivers Source National Park has achieved overall protection of the headwaters of the Yangtze River, Yellow River, and Lancang River, and the Tibetan antelope population has been restored to over 70000; The Giant Panda National Park protects over 70% of wild giant pandas and connects 13 local population ecological corridors; The Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park has smooth cross-border channels, with over 50 Northeast tigers and over 60 Northeast leopards; The rainforest habitat in Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park continues to improve, and the population of Hainan Gibbons has recovered to 6 groups and 37 individuals

Experts say that as a representative species for regional ecological maintenance, the restoration of the population of flagship species is a significant sign of the stable increase in ecological biodiversity and the continuous improvement of ecological functions, which is of great significance for enriching global biodiversity.

The restoration of flagship species, known as the "ecosystem barometer," also means that the animals and plants in their habitats that they rely on for survival are growing healthily. Within the five officially established national parks and candidate areas for national parks, there are over 5000 terrestrial vertebrates and 29000 species of higher plants distributed, protecting over 80% of the nationally protected wildlife species and their habitats.

Stephen Polaski, a member of the Science and Technology Committee of the World Conservation Union and an academician of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States, exclaimed, "China is using practical actions to reverse the loss of biodiversity, put nature on the path of restoration, and benefit the people and the earth."

Since its construction, the national park has always attached great importance to using technological strength to protect the wildlife in the national park. In the exhibition area of Sky Ground Monitoring and New Technology Applications at this forum, there are a variety of novel technological products used for national park construction, attracting many attendees to stop and watch.

"We utilize technology equipment such as unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as ground intelligent terminals for natural ecological monitoring and real-time carbon sink measurement, to effectively assist in the monitoring and protection of flagship species in national parks," said Zhu Ming, Chief Engineer of the Unmanned Systems Research Institute at Beihang University.

Nowadays, in national parks across the country, one can feel the full "technological style" everywhere: Sichuan has established a genetic data platform for giant pandas, and has mastered the DNA archive information of more than 500 giant pandas; Using artificial intelligence recognition technology, the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park can recognize and classify more than 30 types of animals, including tigers, leopards, bears, lynx, etc; Located at the source of the Yangtze River, Glacier Glacier Glacier Glacier Glacier Glacier Glacier Glacier Glacier can transmit monitoring results through satellite transmission by a monitoring cabin car. Sitting at home, one can see how the first drop of water at the source of the Yangtze River was formed

National parks are not only a paradise for rare species, but also high-quality ecological products enjoyed by the surrounding people. "We are paying more attention to improving people's livelihoods through protection," said Guan Zhiou. Currently, various regions are accelerating the promotion of green transformation and development, exploring mechanisms for realizing the value of ecological products, and actively carrying out franchising, ecotourism, nature education, and recreational experiences.

Taking Sanjiangyuan National Park as an example, in recent years, the local government has actively explored the "franchising" system, training local herdsmen to serve as natural experience guides, expanding channels for increasing income and wealth, and exploring the "one household, one post" ecological management mechanism. As a result, approximately 20000 herdsmen have transformed from herders to caretakers, earning a fixed income of around 20000 yuan per year.

The ecological dividend of national parks will continue to be released. This forum officially announced that China will steadily and orderly promote the establishment of new national parks such as the Yellow River Estuary, Qianjiang Source Baishanzu, and Karamaili.

"The further development and brand building of national parks will enable more and more people to enjoy the fruits of green development," said Tang Xiaoping, President of the National Park Research Institute.