Local ecology gets boost with natural reserve integrations

National parks have integrated previously spotty natural reserves in Zhejiang and Hubei provinces, injecting momentum into local ecological preservation efforts, according to park administrators on Tuesday.

The coastal Zhejiang province has unified the former Qianjiangyuan National Forest Park, several other natural reserves and scenic spots and the areas linking the places to form Qianjiangyuan National Park, headwater of the province's longest Qiantangjiang River, according to Wang Changlin, deputy head of the park's administrative body.

After the integration, the park was put under the direct supervision of the provincial government and a coordination mechanism was created among local authorities to facilitate protection efforts, he said at a regular news conference held by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration in Beijing.

Though the park's acreage – 252 square kilometers – is not impressive, the task ahead remains arduous, given that the populous province falls within the economically-vibrant Yangtze River delta, he added.

The integration efforts have also seen the expansion of the Shennongjia National Park in Central China's Hubei province, according to Liu Jianxiong, deputy head of the park's administrative body.

The park has accommodated the former Shennongjia Natural Reserve, other protected lands and surrounding residential areas home to more than 20,000 people, he said.

The acreage has expanded from the reserve's 704 square kilometers to the current 1,170, transforming the former protected land of forests into a conservation area for the entire ecology including mountains, rivers and grasslands, Liu said.

National parks, unlike nature reserves that protect unique species, emphasize the protection of the entire ecosystem, officials said.