Beijing Youth Daily:

The report to the 20th CPC National Congress proposed developing a national park-based nature reserve system. We have observed that the first batch of national parks has been established in our country. What progress has been made in national park development? What are the upcoming key tasks? Thank you.

Guan Zhiou:

Thank you for your question, attention, and support towards developing national parks. Establishing national parks is a crucial task, a major institutional innovation in ecological civilization, and another example guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Eco-Civilization. Through collaborative efforts, we have achieved two noteworthy milestones in this regard.

First, China launched a plan for the layout of its national parks, which includes 49 candidate areas for national parks, accounting for 10.3% of the country's land area, containing more than 5,000 species of terrestrial vertebrates and 29,000 species of higher plants, protecting more than 80% of key state-protected wildlife species and their habitats. Through the construction of national parks, we will protect our most important natural ecosystems, our most unique natural landscapes, our best natural heritage and our most biodiverse areas, which will save precious natural assets for future generations. The construction of national parks fully reflects the joint building and sharing of the community, which will benefit more than 400 counties in 28 provinces, and form a grand pattern in which 56 ethnic groups paint a beautiful picture of national parks and share the ecological well-being of national parks.

Second, construction of the first batch of national parks has achieved remarkable results. The Sanjiangyuan National Park has realized the overall protection of the sources of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers. The current forest and grass coverage rate has reached more than 74%, and the Tibetan antelope population has recovered to more than 70,000. The Giant Panda National Park has implemented innovative systems and integrated resources to establish the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. It has successfully protected more than 70% of giant pandas in the wild, and has opened 13 ecological corridors for giant panda populations. The Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park has established a protection mechanism integrating protection, monitoring and scientific research. Tiger and leopard populations continue to increase. To date, the population of wild Siberian tigers has exceeded 50, and the population of wild Amur leopards has exceeded 60. The Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park focuses on strengthening the protection and restoration of rainforest habitats and has established the Conservation and Research Center for the Black Crested Gibbon. The population of black crested gibbons has increased to 37, which is made up of six families. The Wuyi Mountain National Park has achieved coordinated protection and development, in particular by establishing a development pattern that integrates ecological conservation, green development and improvement of people's livelihoods. In recent years, 17 new species have been discovered, including Megophrys ombrophila and Gastrodia fujianensis.

Next, we will focus on three tasks: First, we will promote the introduction of the National Park Law. Second, we will develop the first batch of national parks to a high quality. Third, we will actively promote the establishment of new national parks.

Friends from the media, the second National Park Forum will be held in Xining, Qinghai province, in August to show the fruitful results of national park construction. I would like to sincerely invite all of you to come see our national parks. Let's work together to make new contributions to the protection of biodiversity and the building of a modern world where humans and nature live in harmony. Thank you.