China plans to establish a batch of protected national parks by 2020

Almaty. September 28. Silkroadnews – China plans to establish a batch of protected national parks by 2020, China Daily reported.
“China released on Tuesday an overall plan on the development and management of national parks, which calls for the strictest measures to protect the country's natural beauty and pass it on to generations to come. By 2020, China will formally set up a batch of national parks and establish a new national department to take charge of the comprehensive management of these parks, according to the plan. By 2030, the system will be further improved and the management more efficient,” the report said.
Construction works, as well as extraction of resources, are prohibited at the national parks areas, and any violation, including illegal mining of minerals, discharging of pollutants or hunting, will be punished. People living in the territories of national parks will be gradually relocated.
The central government, as reported, will regularly monitor and create databases of natural resources and the environment in natural parks, as well as assess the work of local officials and severely punish them for insufficient protection of parks.
According to the publication, in 2013 China launched pilot projects for 10 national parks with a total area of over 170,000 square kilometers covering 13 provinces such as Qinghai, Sichuan and Heilongjiang.
In the coming years these parks will receive the status of national parks.
Some of the parks are themed and dedicated to wild animals, such as a giant panda in the southwest of China or a Siberian tiger and a leopard in the northeast.
Some of them are designed to protect fragile and at the same time critical areas of nature, such as the headwaters of the Yangtze, Lanchang and Yellow rivers, China’s three major waterways. Still others are devoted to historical relics, such as the Great Wall of China.
The funding of the parks will be carried out by the central and local governments, as well as through the social investments raising.