Administrative Level May Be the Key Factor to Improve Protection Effectiveness of Nature Reserves in China

Abstract

Nature reserves (NRs) have been the backbone of biodiversity conservation and the construction of China’s ‘ecological-civilization’ since the 1950s. With over 11,800 protected areas (PAs) covering 18% of the country’s land area, Chinese NRs have made a great contribution to global biodiversity conservation. At this point, better protection effectiveness can be achieved by optimizing the management organization rather than expanding the area. We analyzed the management structure of Chinese NRs by looking at their ranks, the hierarchy of administrative organs, number of grass-root stations, manpower, and financial resources, among other variables. We found that the average number of staff employed and yearly financial input per km2 of Chinese NRs were both higher than the world and US averages. However, the range was extremely high, revealing great unbalance among different regions and ranks of NRs. In particular, the western part of China, which is less developed and features the least disturbed ecosystems, received less funding and staff resources than the developed east. A further analysis of the highest-ranked nature reserves, i.e., the national nature reserves (NNRs), showed that administrative organs of different hierarchical statuses (the lowest being Deputy family, the highest being Division level) could be in charge of them. Unexpectedly, we found that the amount of human and financial resources injected into NNRs was correlated with the level of their administration but dissociated from other important factors such as the reserve’s size or ecological value. Furthermore, the management organization was inadequate, with many NRs lacking key departments as defined by Chinese nature reserve regulations. We suggest that the administrative levels of management organization in NRs should be unified, and through the existing ecological transfer payments policy, strengthen the financial and staffing input in the western NRs of China. Moreover, the internal structure of NRs management should include all relevant departments with specific tasks and the creation of grass-root stations should be promoted without neglecting the capacity building to improve staff’s knowledge.

Geographical distribution and conservation strategy of national key protected wild plants of China

“…Other types of nature reserves or natural parks are often not well maintained or managed due to insufficient funds, small areas, inappropriate conservation planning, weak legislation, and inadequate infrastructure and management organization. 68 , 69 , 70 The 5 national parks nominated in 2021 are combination of some NNRs, provincial nature reserves or natural parks, which haven’t determine their detail boundaries yet. Therefore, we used the distributions of species and data for 474 NNRs ( https://www.resdc.cn/ ) established to date to assess conservation effectiveness and gaps of NKPWPs.…”

Heterogeneity Analysis of Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Vegetation Cover in Two-Tider Administrative Regions of China

“…Given the administrative level's formulation and implementation of numerous ecological policies, quantifying the spatio-temporal heterogeneity of vegetation coverage across distinct administrative levels assumes paramount importance from a macro perspective. This endeavor contributes to ecological environment safeguarding and vegetation resource management [26]. Furthermore, it furnishes a scientific foundation for appraising regional vegetation coverage, crafting policies for vegetation restoration and management, and facilitating inter-regional comparisons of vegetation coverage and its fluctuations.…”