New data from China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration shows a recovery in some of China’s most endangered plant and animal species.
The number of wild giant pandas rose from 1,100 in the 1980s to nearly 1,900 now, and that of snow leopards has increased to more than 1,200. The number of Siberian tigers and leopards has increased from 27 and 42 in 2017 when the government established pilot national parks to 70 and 80 now. Similarly, the number of wild Asian elephants has doubled to around 300 and that of Tibetan antelope has quintupled to over 300,000.
More than 200 varieties of rare or endangered plants have also made a comeback in the wild, such as Cycas debaoensis, a palm-like plant, and Euryodendron excelsum, a type of hardwood tree found only in Yangchun, Guangdong Province, which was on the verge of extinction. The Carpinus putoensis, or Putuo hornbeam, of which only one existed when discovered, now has more than 4,000 trees, and the number of Abies beshanzuensis, a type of fir, has soared from three to over 4,000.
These achievements highlight China’s constant efforts to protect and restore habitats, including improving protection laws, launching lists of key habitats for wild animals and plants, standardizing the construction of national parks and restoring natural reserves. Experts said that habitat protection will have an “umbrella effect” where the protection of a key species will benefit other species and thus ensure biodiversity in the habitat’s ecology.
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