China boasts one of the world’s most extensive systems of protected areas: Some 80 percent of the country’s wildlife is protected in a massive system of more than 2,300 preserves that cover around 15 percent of the country — and is, cumulatively, more than double the size of Texas. Beautiful mountains, ancient forests and pristine wetlands have all been protected by official decree.

All of this is true on paper. But in practice, many of the protected areas in China suffer from chronic underfunding, untrained management, and a lack of local participation and employment. Some were even designated without regard to conservation priorities. This is due, in part, to a history of top-down conservation designations: Local officials were given quotas requiring the creation of preserves but didn’t receive corresponding budgets, training or direction.

But in June 2007, China created a new protected-area system to complement the existing network of preserves and address past problems. In partnership with The Nature Conservancy, Yunnan Province officials created Pudacuo National Park, a protected area that balances conservation goals with opportunities for tourism and management flexibility. The park meets international standards laid out by The World Conservation Union (IUCN). And, says Jerry Chen, national park project manager for the Conservancy in China, “local communities are already benefiting from it, because local people are preferentially employed.”

—Curtis Runyan

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Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photos © Yang Yuming; © Li Haomin