Ⅰ

With so many people on the earth and with so many technological development, the envi-ronment is changing so repidly that there is great concern as to whether this is now leading to a situation where we will no longer be able to survive on this planet. Among the many problems which we face are providing enough food for all mankind, finding sufficient energy sources for our civilization, and preventing intolerable pollution of our environment.
A century ago F. Engels has pointed out that, men have been carried away by triumphs over the nature, but the nature took revenge on men for every victory they enjoyed. The death knell for the lands of the Mesopotamia, Greece, Asia Minor and Italia was actually sounded by destroying forests, when men began to harness the nature in the name of control. Slowly it be-gan to emerge that in our battle to gain control of our planet we had failed to see the dire conse-quences of the damage we had done to our environment. As the great nature has meted out such severe punishment to human beings , people become painfully aware that absolutely undesirable to deprive the good earth ruthlessly of its resources which nurse mankind.

Conservation of land as the time-honored basic natural resources has been deliberately em-phasized in many countries. However, in view of the future of civilization, all of the natural re-sources must be remembered: air, water, mineral, grasslands, forests, recreational areas, wilderness areas, and wildlife. Each of these resources has its unique characteristics and bio-logical components. The natural resources, wildlife, is singled out for special attention since obliteration of a species is forever whereas natural feed-back signals tell us where other natural resources are in danger of severe damage.

For a long time past about two thirds of the land on the globe, totaling 7. 6 billion hectares used to be covered by forests, but now most of the trees have gone and the remaining 2. 8 bil-lion hectares of forests are quickly diminished. The present rate of world forest loss is 18 mil-lion hectares a year. Owing to man's interference in the environment and changes in the natural order, many species of animals and plants extinct. Between 1700 and 1900, more than 20 thou-sand species of plants, 593 species of birds, over 400 species of mammals, 209 species of am-phibians and reptiles became extinct. In the present age an average of one species is wiped out daily.
Just as the problems are diverse, the solutions to these problems are diverse. In general, the structures of all organisms at all levels of the biological hierarchy are designed for function for meeting the problems that organisms face. Nature and human nature are interwined in the web of life. Every reasonable person understands that environment problems exist. The prob-lems of the environment will not be solved with straight-line thinking but with multiple ap-proaches.

Biodiversity has become a hot topic for the 1990s. The term diversity addresses the differ-ences, among kinds of life, and every species has distinctive, presumably unique features.

It is especially tempting to muse about what awaits the attention of those who turn to flora and fauna unexplored. Until recently, access to all realms has been extremely limited, and even now only a small portion of the mantle that embraces the planet can be effectively reached by scientific observes. Even today no one is quite sure of the exact number of natural species in the world, the current estimate is some 5 to 10 million, with only 1. 43 million has been named and millions of species are thought to remain unnamed.

Resistance to the loss of diversity has led to protective measures, usually focusing on indi-vidual species. Clearly, protective for individual species, whether tigers or dolphins, pandas or dugongs, involves the protection of systems. To maintain a species, it is necessary to maintain a system, and by maintaining a system many species are saved——not just the ones in the spot-light. Increasingly, the importance of entire systems is becoming recognized, not just to main-tain biological diversity but as a way to help ensure stability and planetary health.

The shape of the era to come depends on how we manage—— or mismanage—— our wildlife heritage. If we are to preserve a world of humans and animals, each adjusting to the others needs, each necessary for the continued well-being and wholeness of the other, we must learn the best ways to reconstruct nature's vital system, refuge by refuge.

Each year as the natural history of animals is encroached upon, at an accelerating rate, by the machinations of man, the role of reserves in protecting wild species and all they represent grows more essential. These life forms are not only sources of splendour and inspiration but al-so raw material for medicine, improved livestock production, genetic engineering, and purpos-es as yet scarcely guessed at. For example, which of our fellow plants such as mayten, plumyew do you suppose will prove most valuable in anticancer drugs.

Many people are fond of projecting to the year 2000 and imaging what life will be like at the turn of the century. We happen to favor 2000 because of the next years could prove to be an especially timely and fortuitous opportunity to initiate new and durable measures to maintain the living assets that too often are take for granted. If we are wise, in 2100 there will still be pandas and tigers mating in the moonlight and our people feeling smug for having the good sense to have done what was required to let them be.

Ⅱ

As a country with a vast territory, China has a complex topography with great variations. From north to south the difference in latitudes is 49° and the southernmost point of the Nansha Isles lies only 400 km north of equator. Coastline of mainland stretches 18000km, dotted with more than 5000 islands. Mountainous regions amount to 33 percent of the total area, among which the other 26 percent are plateaus, 19 percent are basins, 10 percent are hilly lands. Chi-na in reality is a mountain area. Differences in latitude and temperature have led to the creation of the following three subregions.

In southwest China the violet uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau rises 4000 to 5000 m above sea level, comprising of high peaks, tablelands, lakes, valleys. High mountains covered with snow throughout the year are nowaday glacial landform. There are more than 1500 inland salt-water lakes, providing habitats for alpine plants and many species of migrant birds. At its southern part Himalayas, the highest in world, stand erect. At its eastern part near the 29°N Hengduan Mountains run from south to north. Owing to the influence of warm current of Indian Ocean, the region has a clearly'defined vertical climatic zone with a typical altitudinal belt of biotic community.

The second subregion is a vast expanse of inland plateau. Its eastern part is comprised of four 1000 to 2000 m plateaus, including the smooth Mongolia plateau, the eroded Loess Plateau, Ordos Plateau and the Alxa Plateau. At its west part tower the Altay Mountains and Tianshan Mountains of 3000 and 5000 m above sea level. In the lower intermediate terrain the famous Turfan Basin, Hi Basin and Jungar Basin are formed. The whole subregion is controlled by typical continental climate with scarce precipitation and great difference of temperature. On the vast arid deserts and gobis are scattered small forests and grasslands with poor vegetation. Ungulates and herbivorous rodents prevail here. The inland lakes and marshes house migrant waterfowls.

In China, forests, grasslands, deserts, seabeaches, marshes and islands can all be found. Eastern China has a clearly defined zonality of plant life, from north to south running as: conif-erous forest, mixed coniferous-broadleaf forest, deciduous broadleaf forest, mixed broadleaf forest, evergreen broadleaf forest, tropical monsoon forest, rain forest and bamboo forest. Other vegetations such as grassland, shrub growth, meadow, bog vegetation, frozen plain, desert vegetation and alpine plants also can be observed. The vast majority of the western Chi-na is composed of forest-grassland, meadow, bog vegetation, desert vegetation, with exception of the frigid temperate coniferous forest in the Altay Mountains.

China boasts 30000 species of higher plants, placing third after Brazil and Malaysia. China houses approximately 200 unique single genera and a distribution of world-famous relic plants such as Cathay silver fir, ginkgo, dawn red wood, white aril yew, golden larch, dove tree, Chinese brestschneidera and eumommia, all of these are peculiar to China. There are 12 fami-lies and 800 species of gymosperms in world, of which over 10 families and 230 species are recorded in China. A variety of pines, larches, dragon spruces and firs prevails from frigid temperate zone to tropical. China possesses 25 thousand species of angiosperms. Other tropical and subtropical trees that figure prominently in China are hsienmu, Ford erythrophleum, fewn-erve garcinia, sago, champhor tree, nanmu, gurjun, hopea, parashorea. China possesses a splendid array of economically valuable plants, including perfume plants, oil-bearing plants, edible plants and other industrial plants. Eumommia, plumyew, devilpepper, mayten and dra-caena are valuable medicinal plants. Proper conservation and utilization of these wild plants are of major importance for scientific research and practical use.

China has over 2200 species of mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, being one of the rich in wildlife country in world. The giant panda, golden monkey, white-lipped deer, takin,Taiwan monkey, Chinese river dolphin, giant salamander, brown-eared pheasant, blacknecked crane, Fujian tragopan, Chinese alligator and other 100 species are rarest animals.

There are 15 species of cranes in the world, of which 9 species are recorded in China: red-crowned crane, black-necked crane, Siberian crane, white crane, gray crane and Canadian crane. China also houses a variety of primates, including 4 species of gibbons, 4 species of leaf-monkeys , 3 species of golden monkeys, 2 species of loris, 6 secies of rhesus macaques and 20 species of white-buttocked leaf monkeys in 6 genera. China has 56 species of pheasants, amounting one fifth of the world, of which 19 species are peculiar to China.

Ⅲ

China is an ancient civilized country. According to historical records, its vast territory used to be covered by thick vegetation. Some 3000 years ago, forest once covered over 50 per-cent of the Loess Plateau. More than 1000 years ago many places in and outside the Great Wall were fertile farmland and pastures with rich water resources and thick vegetation. And then China's vast terrain boasts an incredibly rich fauna. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770 to 476B. C. ), a great quantity of David's deers are recorded along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties giant pandas still occurred in western Hubei, western Hunan and eastern Sichuan.

But frequent wars over the years, the rapid growth of population and the excessive ex-ploitation have destroyed large tracts of forests and grasslands and upset the ecology. By 1949 was found, only 3 percent of the Loess Plateau was afforested. Extensive regions have been re-duced to areas crisscrossed by gullies and ravines, the hills are bare and winds and sand storms wreaked havoc. Wildlife population too were dwindled.

After the founding of new China, in 1956 Bing Zhi, Qian Chong-shu and other renowned scientists raised the following proposal at the Third Session of the National People's Congress: "It is hoped that the government will designate specific areas in all provinces (regions) where the felling of trees is prohibited in the interest of conservation of natural plant life and scientific research. "In October of the same year the Ministry of Forestry authorized dispatch of the "Draft Plan for the Designation of Areas for National Forestry Reserve". Since 1956 China offi-cially opened more than 20 nature reserves, including Dinghu Mountain (Guangdong), Chang-bai Mountains (Jilin ), Fengling (Heilongjiang), Huaping (Guangxi ) and three reserves in Xishuangbanna (Yunnan)such as Xiaomengyang, Menlun and Mengla.

Through years of exploratory efforts, a plan for the development of wildlife reserves was put forward in 1962.
From 1966 to 1976 China was rocked by the political and social upheaval unleashed by the "cultural revolution". During this decade of chaos a number of China's nature reserves was damaged beyond belief. Burning and clearing of forests for agriculture, reclamation of waste-land, felling of trees for timber and hunting for rare birds and animals all raged unchecked throughout these years.

Since 1976 the number of nature reserves has shot up, and standards of management and organization of the reserves have steadily improved. In September 1980 a meeting for the desig-nation of natural protected areas was convened , deciding that designation would be conducted by governments of provinces (municipalities and regions) and the following regions should be declared natural protected areas:
The varied typical ecosystems and representative landscapes.

Important habitats for the rare flora and fauna at the first level of national protection or other valuable wild animals and plants.

Important natural ecosystems and biota which have been destroyed but must be re-stored.
d. Special geological sections and geomorphological features such as glacial relics, volcanic remains, hot springs, repositories of fossils, unique lime stone terrace fields.

2500 specialists were sent to conduct feasibility study and survey. On the basis of their survey, in August 1983 Ministry of Forestry has draw up lists of the types of nature reserves it plans to set up. By 1993, there was a total of 501 forest and wildlife nature reserves in China, covering a total area of 50. 59 million hectares, accounting for 5. 3 percent of the country total. China's reserves now have 13000 administrative personnel.

Ⅳ

How does a reserve best fulfill its role? Preservation can involve far more than simply set-ting animals and plants aside some places and guarding them. Our purpose is make reserve a kind of place, working hard to ensure the proper abundance and maximum diversity of the ani-mal and plant kingdom, and suggesting important paths toward the future.

Adopted in 1984, Forestry Law of the PRC includes specific clauses on protection of na-ture. The Article 20 reads: "The competent forestry department under the State Council as well as people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, for the purpose of better protection and administration, set up nature reserves in forest areas calling for special protection, such as areas with typical forest e-cology in different natural regions, forest areas where rare plants and animals propagate, and natural tropical rain forests.

In some key reserves such as habitats for pandas, tigers and elephants, farmers have been moved away. In other reserves tourism is carefully controlled and farmers are restricted to cer-tain areas, to ensure that a minimum of harm is done to the environment.

Solution to the prob-lem of farmers' life was found. Farmers are not only organized to protect the area, but also encouraged to plant trees, and to develop live stock breeding and sideline products. These mea-sures will not only bring about ecological and economic benefits, but also exert a tremendous social impact, for at present, the State still has difficulty allocating a lot of money for conser-vation.

Nature reserves were not only established specifically for conservation of natural ecosys-tem and scientific research, but also fulfil the educational and tourist roles. Tourist routes and hotels have been set up in many reserves, most of them are equipped with the exhibition halls, opening to the public. Many of China's nature reserves have become tourist attractions. Num-bers of students and pupils are flocked to reserves in search of knowledge.

With their integrated ecosystems, rich vegetation and wildlife, many nature reserves pro-vide a natural laboratory for scientific experiment and offer a sound base for all types of ecologi-cal research. Systematic surveys and general research have been conducted in more than 200 re-serves, including Xishuangbanna, Wuyi Mountains, Fanjing Mountain, Maolan, Jinggang Mountains, Meihua Mountain, Badagong Mountain, Taibai Mountain, Poyang Lake, Song Mountain, Zhalong. They assessed resources and published resultant treatises and reports. Their surveys and investigations provide a foundation to subsequent research.

In Changbai Mountains, Wuyi Mountains and Dinghu Mountain have been set up forest e-cosystem research stations for mornitoring changes in the number distribution and rate of ac-tiviity of biota. Quite a number of reserves also have their own mass organizations for conser-vation scientific research. After much experimentation great success has reached: artificial incu-bation and rearing of the Chinese alligators and cranes. Such characteristic plants as Cathay sil-ver fir, dove tree, golden flower camelia and whitearil yew have been cultivated artificially. These have won the attention and applause of various circles at home and abroad.

Chinese Government is also very interested in international cooperation with other coun-tries. Since the 1970s the upsurge of international interest in nature reserves has had a major influence on China. China's Changbai Mountains, Dinghu Mountain, Shennongjia, Wuyi Mountains, Xilin Gol Prairie, Fanjing Mountain and Wolong nature reserves have all been de-clared international biosphere reserves by UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme.
To save the giant panda. Ministry of Forestry of China joined forces with the World Wildlife Fund to conduct an on-the-spot investigation in Wolong panda reserve. The life, habits and characteristics of giant pandas in their natural environment were all observed.

China has cooperated with the International Union of Conservation of Nature Resources on a project to help the David's deers return to their homeland. Chinese scientists have another cooperative project with the International Crane Fund for researching red-crowned crane, white crane and black-necked crane.
At present China has established natural conservation cooperation with United States, Japan, Australia and Russia.

China is involved in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and other conventions such as convention on conservation of cultural and natu-ral relics, convention on conservation of wetlands.