Xu Zhihong, chairman of the Chinese National Committee of MAB Program, said he saw the need to press ahead with the alliance because of tangible realistic needs. “We really need a platform to share the lessons and experiences of international peers and see how to improve our own work to benefit not just the Chinese but people across the world,” he said.

Xu said one of the challenges for conservation in China is a conflict between ecological preservation and economic and social well-being.

“Most Chinese government officials will put economic development first and associate development of protected areas with construction of mega-infrastructure. That is partly because our protected areas have been inhabited by the Chinese, and ethnic groups in particular, for centuries or even thousands of years. Local dwellers need to develop along with the reserves,” he said.

Unlike developed countries, where most nature reserves are run by experts, China’s more than 300 reserves are mainly run by government officials who lack ecological knowledge and have to deal with multi-channel management from a variety of higher-ups ranging from forestry, environmental protection, agriculture and aquaculture authorities, Xu said.

Conservation of protected areas is a long-term undertaking, and institutional and financial support from the government is required to secure its stable development. However, many local nature reserves have to provide for themselves and their administrators tend to be transferred at the end of their tenures, he added.

“I think China’s top leaders are well-aware of the significance of ecological protection, but it’s a different story when it comes to officials at the grassroots level. If the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve initiative can make a breakthrough in facilitating cooperation in protected areas management, it’s quite valuable in my view,” said Xu.

As John MacKinnon observed, many problems facing China also exist in protected areas across the world. These problems include the failure to address underlying causes of biodiversity loss, the failure to utilize indigenous knowledge and interest, and the failure to train mid-level workers.

Dr Ishwaran said there are 2,500 areas similar to Changbai Mountain in China and at least tens of thousands in the world, and people and local governments in these areas should communicate with one another more, rather than just international organizations talking among themselves.

Likening the conservation of protected areas to an American football game, Dr Ishwaran said ecologists and nature reserve management should not always be on the defensive if they want to improve conservation.

“Decentralization is the global trend and more power has been given to regions. Local governments will matter more in the global conservation of protected areas. If you want a perfect situation in which to do something, it’s not going to happen,” he said.