China is determined to turn 18 percent of its territory into a paradise for wildlife and plants by the year 2050, said a signed article published in Tuesday's People's Daily.
Zhou Shengxian, director of State Forestry Administration, said the State Development Planning Commission has approved a comprehensive plan for China's protection of wildlife, plants and construction of nature reserves in the first half of the 21st century.
The plan says the number of the country's nature reserves will reach 2,500, with the area amounting to 172.8 million hectares and accounting for 18 percent of the country's total territory.
Compiled by a team from Zhou's organization, the plan is designed to increase populations of and safeguard rare species across the country and to achieve a sustainable development of wildlife and plant resources.
China is rich in bio-diversity. Statistics show that China has about 6,266 kinds of vertebrate, accounting for ten percent of theworld's total, and is home to more than 30,000 kinds of plants, ranking third in the world in number of plant species. The countryalso has 65.94 million hectares of wetland.
By the year 2000, the number of nature reserves totaled 1,276, and the total area amounted to 123 million hectares, accounting for 12.81 percent of the country's total territory.
China has also enacted a number of laws and regulations to provide legal support for the country's protection of wildlife, plants, and construction of nature reserves.
(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2001)
