Integrating with growth

Li Chunliang, deputy director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, describes the release of the new spatial layout plan as another landmark achievement in the development of China's national park network. Li says that it is of great significance in guiding the high-quality development of national parks and building the world's largest national park system.

The parks envisaged in the plan will feature various ecosystems, spanning from forests and grasslands, to wetlands and deserts, involving more than 700 existing nature reserves, as well as 10 world natural heritage sites.

The plan also states that local residents and the public will be directly involved in the protection, construction and management of national parks through franchising, voluntary service and ecological protection positions, to enjoy the ecological benefits brought by national parks.

The power of national parks to simultaneously benefit nature and the human population can be seen clearly in the case of Sanjiangyuan National Park, where local communities have profited both directly and indirectly from the conservation efforts.

According to official statistics, over the past decade, water conservation in the Sanjiangyuan area has risen by more than 6 percent on average each year, while grassland coverage has increased by over 11 percent and grass output increased by 30 percent.

The populations of wild animals and plants have continued to increase in the Sanjiangyuan area. The population of Tibetan antelopes — a species under first-class national protection in China — in Hoh Xil has increased from less than 20,000 in the 1990s to over 70,000.

Meanwhile, each herder household living inside the Sanjiangyuan National Park has been offered a job opportunity as a ranger with an annual income of over 21,000 yuan. Currently, more than 17,000 rangers work in the park.

Jamwang Phuntsog's environment protection volunteer team has been enlarged to include more than 90 members, most of whom are herders.

"I am a guardian of grassroots green culture. Nowadays, the local scenery of green mountains, grass and flowing water reminds me of my childhood," says Jamwang Phuntsog.