Implementation of the Wildlife Protection Law, in 1988, has helped raise Chinese people's awareness of wildlife protection and related issues, according to Chen Runsheng, director of the China Wildlife Protection Association.

"More people have been protecting wild animals voluntarily," he said.

China is cooperating with the World Conservation Union (IUCN) to protect endangered species, such as the Chinese antelope and the golden snub-nosed monkey. Some protection measures have achieved positive results. For example, there were about 1,000 pandas in the wild in the 1980s. Now, there are about 1,500.

Also, China has approximately 1,500 wildlife-protection areas - about 12.3 percent of the nation's land mass - within forestry administrations across the country.

The China Wildlife Protection Association (CWPA) is a semi-official organization affiliated with the State Forestry Administration and the China Association of Science and Technology. CWPA was established in 1983. It now has about 100,000 members.

Chen believes it is still necessary to promote wildlife protection and to raise awareness of the laws because people are still killing endangered species.

Meanwhile, creating a balance between the protection and commercialization of wild animals remains an issue. Lack of funding - the government is not providing enough money to cover costs associated with wildlife protection - also remains an issue, Chen added.

(Beijing Weekend November 12, 2004)