STORY: China seeks to build world's largest national park system
SHOOTING TIME: File
DATELINE: May 22, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:55
LOCATION: CHANGCHUN/LHASA, China
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of national parks in China
2. various of the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): FENG LIMIN, Deputy director of the monitoring and research center for Siberian tigers and Amur leopards, National Forestry and Grassland Administration
4. various of Siberian tigers
5. various of the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park
6. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): KONG WEIYAO, Specialist from the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park administration
7. various of candidate areas
8. various of Qiangtang Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region
9. SOUNDBITE 3 (Tibetan): KELSANG LHUNDRUP, Head of Norbu Yugyel wildlife protection station

STORYLINE:

In 2021, China established its first batch of national parks, spanning a protected land area of 230,000 square km.

These parks, namely Sanjiangyuan National Park, the Giant Panda National Park, the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park and Wuyishan National Park, are home to nearly 30 percent of the country's key terrestrial wildlife species.

The progress these national parks have made in protecting biodiversity is evident when considering the numbers involved.

Situated in northeast China's Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park has seen an increasing population of Siberian tigers and Amur leopards in recent years.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): FENG LIMIN, Deputy director of the monitoring and research center for Siberian tigers and Amur leopards, National Forestry and Grassland Administration
"In the past year, we spotted at least 20 newly-born Siberian tiger cubs and 15 Amur leopard cubs."

Also known as the Amur tiger, the Siberian tiger is one of the world's most endangered animals and a flagship species of the forest ecosystem, mainly living in Russia's Far East and northeast China. About 500 Siberian tigers are believed to exist in the wild today.

Officially established in 2021, the park is now home to around 70 wild Siberian tigers and about 80 wild Amur leopards. 

Populations of other species in the park are also on the rise.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): KONG WEIYAO, Specialist from the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park administration
"Tigers and leopards are carnivores at the top of the food chain. The maintenance and growth of their populations require a good supply of prey. According to our monitoring results, some of their main foods, such as sika deer, wild boar, and roe deer, have seen marked growth. The population of sika deer has grown the fastest."

To better protect wildlife species and their habitats, China also designated 49 candidate areas, covering around 1.1 million square km, as national park space, according to a spatial layout plan made public in 2022.

Over the years, Qiangtang Nature Reserve in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, one of the candidate areas, has been ramping up efforts to improve its ecological protection measures and strategies.

At an average altitude of over 4,500 meters, wildlife rangers in this nature reserve brave thin air and blizzards to patrol protected areas and monitor wildlife. To their delight, the number of wild animals such as Tibetan antelopes and yaks has increased significantly in this region.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Tibetan): KELSANG LHUNDRUP, Head of Norbu Yugyel wildlife protection station
"Since the beginning of 2024, we have released three snow leopards that had sneaked into the herdsmen's sheep pens. After each capture, we escorted the snow leopard to a no-man's land, and released them into nature two or three hundred kilometers away from the herdsmen's residence."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Changchun/Lhasa, China.
(XHTV)