From the establishment of the first group of natural reserves in Zhaoqing of Guangdong Province in 1956 to the formal kick-off of the nationwide project for wildlife protection and natural reserves construction in December 2001, China has made immense achievements in natural reserve development and ecological protection. As an illustration, the following is a review of some developments in China's forestry reserves.

Forests, wetlands，flora and fauna are some of the earth's most precious things bestowed by nature. During the past half-century, China has been working hard to maintain ecological safety and balance in order to protect resources for sustainable development and preserve bio-diversity through establishing natural reserves and taking protective measures.

When people take natural resources to satisfy their demands for living and development, they are creating unavoidable obligations to maintain eco-balance and bio-diversity so that coming generations will have a clean earth. Establishing nature reserves in representative areas with abundant ecological species has proved an effective way for ecological preservation and counter-protection.

It is self-evident that China has a great responsibility and arduous task with respect to preserving its eco-system and bio-diversity as it has such a vast territory and is home to over 30,000 species of plants and 2,200 vertebrata.

The following statistics reflect sustained efforts made by the Chinese government, especially forestry authorities at different levels, to construct its natural reserves.

At the end of 2002, China established 1,757 natural reserves with various functions, covering a total of 133 million hectares, or 13.2 percent of the state territory, having reached the levels of advanced countries. Of these, 1,405 are forestry reserves with a total acreage of 109 million hectares, accounting for 82 percent of area and 80 percent of the whole natural reserves; state-level forestry reserves (greater ecological impact and importance) amount to 142, accounting for 72 percent of the total nationwide state-level natural reserves.

China is a developing country, and the most populous country in the world. The contradictions between improving living standards and protecting the environment have not yet been solved fundamentally in China. When looking back, from the establishment of the first batch of natural reserves in Zhaoqing of Guangdong Province in 1956 to nationwide wildlife protection, it's not difficult to hear the powerful footsteps of the Chinese government building its eco-environment in order to sustain economic development.

So far, the Chinese forestry department has established a comprehensive protective network, playing the following multiple roles in ecological preservation:

• Protecting the national ecological system and environment, this has promoted productive forces. Forestry eco-systems, wetland eco-systems, desert eco-systems, major wildlife distribution districts, and districts rich in bio-species have effectively protected 85 percent of China's terrestrial eco-system types, 85 percent of its wild animal population and 65 percent of its wild plant community and at the same time protecting habitats of rare and endangered wild animals providing a stable environmental guarantee for economic and social development.

• Protecting China's animal and plant resource and guaranteeing state economic and social development demands and people's long-term interests. Natural reserves are a place with abundant wildlife resources and are regarded as a natural wildlife gene bank. Habitats for over 300 of the most endangered wild animals including giant pandas, golden-monkeys, Chinese alligators, tigers, David's deer (milu) and distribution ranges of over 130 rare plant species including Chinese yew (Taxus chinensis), Abies Beshanzuensis, sago palm (Cycas revolute) have all been well protected. It has laid a foundation for further cultivating and protecting resources as well as meeting the needs of economic development. Especially with the development of modern science and technology, research on wildlife gene pools is of strategic value to the development of life and biological science as well as to the exploration of new resources, energy and materials.

• Promoting harmonious relationships between human beings and nature, developing ideas of sustainable development, and satisfying people's increasing desire for spiritual civilization. Functions of nature reserves have a full range, with some becoming important bases for carrying out eco-environment education, promoting ideas of humans developing harmoniously with nature, and popularizing natural science knowledge. Some of them have been set as educational and scientific research bases for universities and scientific institutes, and 11 natural reserves have been listed as Nationwide Popular Science Education Bases.

• Building up a good image and winning commendation from the international community for the Chinese government's achievements in ecological protection. In 2002, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) handed a "Gift to the Earth" certificate to the head of China's State Forestry Administration, Zhou Shengxian, honoring its efforts to protect the wetlands as well as to build up natural reserves and preserve ecology.

Up to now, 21 natural reserves in China have been added to the world network of "Man and Biosphere Program (MAB)" sponsored by UNESCO; 21 listed as Wetlands of International Importance; 3 listed as World Natural Heritages, and many set as key areas for the preservation of global bio-diversity. China is a contracting party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Meanwhile, China has signed with the United States, Japan, Russia, Australia, India and others some natural conservation bilateral agreements concerning migratory bird protection, tiger protection and making a greater contribution and performing its duty to global natural ecology preservation well.

"As a populous developing country, China, while maintaining high economic development speed, has established a rather complete ecological preservation system thanks to the efforts of cadres and the masses on the nature reserves. This remarkable accomplishment is China's active contribution to humanity," says Jim Harkness, chief representative of WWF's China Project, while evaluating China's undertakings on its nature reserves.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting, May 8, 2003)