THE population of flagship species in Sanjiangyuan and Wuyishan national parks has recovered as part of the achievements made in China’s national park protection, an official said Monday. The authenticity and integrity of the ecosystem in these national parks were “under effective protection,” said Tian Yongchen, director of the National Park Center of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA), at a regular press conference. In 2021, China established the first batch of national parks, with a protected land area of 230,000 square km. These parks, namely the Sanjiangyuan National Park, the Giant Panda National Park, the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park and the Wuyishan National Park, are home to nearly 30% of the key terrestrial wildlife species found in the country. Citing a previous plan on the spatial layout of national parks, Tian said there were 49 candidate national park areas, covering 1.1 million square km, accounting for 10.3% of China’s land area. The official said the master plan will be steadily advanced, and more than 400 counties in 28 provincial-level regions are expected to benefit from it. Tian said the NFGA is actively collaborating with other departments to facilitate the enactment of a law on national parks as early as possible.(Xinhua) | 