New national parks to protect wildlife

Yang Weimin, deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs, picks up questions during a press conference on pursuing green development and building a "Beautiful China" in Beijing, Oct 23, 2017. [Photo by Feng Yongbin]

China plans to give 2 percent of its national territory to protect wildlife, namely giant pandas, Siberian tigers, leopards, and Tibetan antelopes, in four approved national parks, a senior official said on Monday.

The top leadership has approved four pilot national parks in the Sanjiangyuan region (the source of three rivers - the Yangtze, the Yellow and the Lancang) and Qilian Mountain. The area in total covers 215,000 square kilometers, said Yang Weimin, deputy head of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs, the country's top economic policy-making office at a news conference on Monday afternoon.

"It means 2 percent of national territory will be saved for the rare species and to keep it clean for future generations, an unprecedented effort in history," he added at the news conference on the sidelines of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China when introducing the achievements in ecological civilization.

Yang said in the past there were many departments to manage a vast number of natural reserves, but in many cases management methods could be enhanced.