China's growing national parks boost wildlife conservation

Deep in the misty mountains of southwest China's Sichuan Province, the annual encounter count of 185 giant pandas in field monitoring signals a remarkable success in the country's drive to establish the world's largest national park system.

The 3rd National Park Forum held in the provincial capital Chengdu revealed that sightings have risen from the previous count of 178, marking a remarkable turnaround for a species once considered globally endangered.

China is systematically placing more than one-tenth of its landmass – over 1.1 million square kilometers – under strict protection through its expanding network of national parks.

"China is building the world's largest national park system, evolving from pilot programs launched in 2015 to the establishment of its first five national parksin 2021, followed by the release of a spatial layout plan for national parks in 2022," said Lyu Zhongmei, vice chairperson of the Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee of the National People's Congress, at the forum.

A newly released report on national park development confirms that this vast network integrates over 120 nature reserves, contributing to an overall improvement in ecosystem quality.

The results in Sichuan, the heartland of the giant panda, are tangible. According to Shi Xiaolin, governor of the province, more than 22,000 hectares of panda habitat have been restored within the boundaries of the Giant Panda National Park, along with over 1,300 hectares of ecological corridors, resulting in the recent rise in panda sightings.

This systematic approach, integrating species protection, habitat repair and community engagement, is drawing international acclaim. "China's commitment to building a national park system is hugely impressive," said Tanya Steele, CEO of the UK office of the World Wide Fund for Nature. "This is a powerful example inside China that many others across the world will want to learn from."

In his remarks at the opening ceremony of the forum, Jonathan Edward Austin, ambassador of New Zealand to China, said that China has made remarkable achievements in biodiversity conservation, with its innovative national park system offering valuable experience for global ecological governance.

Technology is a cornerstone of this conservation surge. Fan Pengfei, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University, revealed a breakthrough in monitoring the haunting songs of the Hainan gibbon, a flagship species of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the southern island province.

"Innovative algorithms allow rapid extraction of acoustic features, processing nine hours of singing analysis per hour," Fan explained, noting that this technological breakthrough enables precise and efficient conservation of this flagship tropical rainforest species.

Li Deren, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a renowned photogrammetry and remote sensing expert from Wuhan University, emphasized the importance of critical remote monitoring innovations. "Safety monitoring based on space-air-ground (SAG) integrated remote sensing has become essential support for sustainable park management, particularly in remote areas facing blackouts, communication disruptions or inaccessible roads."

In addition to monitoring pandas and gibbons, high-tech solutions are being widely adopted in national parks across China, with real-time SAG monitoring tracking elusive Siberian tigers and Amur leopards in the northeast, while smart platforms manage visitor impact and fire risks in forests of the southeast.

Notably, technology is playing a key role in reducing human-wildlife conflict. Advanced warning systems now provide 24/7 alerts to communities near tiger habitats, transmitting information directly to frontline personnel when large predators approach. On the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, innovative measures such as protective fencing and specially designed bear-proof container housesare being tested to minimize clashes.