• Strategic Approach on Promoting Reform of China’s Natural Protected Areas System with National Parks as Backbone

    Subjects: Other Disciplines >> Synthetic discipline submitted time 2023-03-19 Cooperative journals: 《中国科学院院刊》

    Abstract: China has formed a natural protected areas system with various types and functions, which has played an important role in protecting important natural ecosystems and biodiversity. However, for a long time, China basically implemented a “rescue” conservation strategy, focused on protected area expansion, and ignored the improvement of management quality and ability. The construction and management of protected area cannot keep China’s pace of promoting ecological civilization construction. The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposes to establish a natural protected areas system with national parks as the main backbone, which poses urgent demands on promoting the revolution of the natural protected areas system in China. Firstly, this study deeply analyzed a series of outstanding problems facing China’s natural protected areas system, which included the lack of top-level design and system planning, weak legal system, insufficient multi-participation, shortage of funds, unclear land ownership, fierce conflict between conservation and development, weak management capacity, etc. On this basis, the study proposes to promote a systematic reform of China’s natural protected areas system. First, promote the top-level design, system planning, and legislative arrangements on the natural protected areas system. Second, improve the property right system of protected areas. Third, build governance system and promote multi-governing of protected areas. Then, expand the scope of space governance of protected areas, and facilitate coordinated development between protected areas and surrounding areas. Finally, establish a mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products in and around protected areas.