Significant achievements

According to statistics released by SFA, China is home to more than 6,500 vertebrate species - about 10 percent of the world’s total, making China one of the countries with the most diverse natural resources. Over 470 land vertebrate species are found only in China, including the giant panda, the golden monkey and the Chinese alligator.

China adopted its first law on the protection of endangered wildlife in the 1950s, when it also set up its first nature reserves in south China’s Guangdong Province. In 1981, China joined the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Since then, the Chinese Government has been working on improving its legal framework for wildlife protection.

According to SFA, there are currently more than 2,000 nature reserves covering 13 percent of China’s territory, where more than 85 percent of the country’s wildlife species are able to enjoy a safe living environment.

This is good news for endangered species. Until 2013, the number of wild giant pandas exceeded 1,800. Their population has grown 16.8 percent and their habitat expanded by nearly 12 percent over the past 10 years. Another example of improved natural wildlife breeding is the crested ibises, also on the endangered list and native to China, whose numbers have risen from only seven in 1981 to more than 1,700 today. zhengyang@chinafrica.cn