Chinanews.com, Guangzhou, December 12 (Xinhua) -- The establishment of Nanling National Park has achieved fruitful results, and the green and beautiful Guangdong has taken solid steps

Chinanews reporter Cheng Jingwei

In December, the Nanling National Nature Reserve in Guangdong Province is still lush and green, where thousands of rare wild animals and plants live and thrive. The reserve is one of 12 nature reserves within the proposed Nanling National Park.

In recent years, Guangdong has continued to promote the establishment of Nanling National Park, which has now met the requirements of the evaluation index system for the creation of national parks, and has entered the stage of application for approval. The establishment of Nanling National Park has achieved fruitful results, and has taken a solid step to further help the ecological construction of Lumei Guangdong.

The ecological barrier in the Greater Bay Area has been strengthened

On December 2022, 12, the "Decision of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China on Deepening the Ecological Construction of Lumei Guangdong" (hereinafter referred to as the "Decision") was deliberated and passed, which delineated a roadmap and task list for building a Lumei Guangdong where man and nature coexist in harmony.

The Nanling Mountains are majestic. Photo by Chen Jimin

The establishment of a national park system is an important measure for China to promote the protection of natural ecology, build a beautiful China, and promote the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. The "Decision" proposes that by 2027, Guangdong will take the lead in building a national park and a national botanical garden.

Over the past year, Guangdong has made every effort to implement the "six major actions" such as the promotion of green and beautiful protected areas, and coordinated the construction of a nature reserve system with national parks as the main body. At present, Guangdong has made a breakthrough in the establishment of Nanling National Park, and has simultaneously carried out demonstration research on the establishment of Danxia Mountain National Park.

The South Ridge is densely vegetated. Photo by Chen Jimin

According to reports, Guangdong is the first in the country to implement a comprehensive patrol platform for nature reserves in the province to achieve full coverage of the existing nature reserves in Nanling National Park (proposed). At the same time, Nanling National Park (proposed) adheres to the principle of natural restoration and reduces manual intervention; For the 14,84 hectares of natural forests in the region, the formation of natural forest closure and conservation control zones has been promoted, and refined management has been realized.

In the past two years, the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government have integrated various funds to tilt towards Nanling National Park (proposed), focusing on the implementation of pilot projects for the ecological protection and restoration of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes and grasses in the national park and its surrounding areas, and gradually restoring the ecosystem services in the degraded areas around it.

At present, Nanling National Park (proposed) has preserved the complete mountain forest ecosystem and the vertical zone of native vegetation by integrating 14 overlapping nature reserves and merging <> nature reserves with similar and connected areas, further optimizing the spatial pattern of ecological protection, and making the integrity and authenticity of the natural ecosystem more prominent.

At the same time, as an important headwater area of the Beijiang River and other rivers, Nanling National Park (proposed) has built a northern ring ecological security barrier, creating conditions for the superior ecological environment of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the ecological security barrier is more solid.

Biodiversity conservation has achieved remarkable results

In the Xiaohuangshan area of Nanling National Nature Reserve in Guangdong, a large area of Guangdong pine grows on the cliff, forming a peculiar blue pine wonder. The relevant person in charge of the reserve said that the scientific name of Guangdong pine is South China five-needle pine, and the most peculiar thing is that the color of its pine leaves changes with the four seasons.

With the deepening of the construction of Nanling National Park, the biodiversity in the area has become richer. According to the latest statistics, a total of 5527,1 species of wild animals and plants have been recorded and distributed in Nanling National Park (proposed), and 07% of the wild higher plants and 56% of vertebrate wild animals in the province have been effectively protected in an area of 68.<>% of the province's land area, and the vegetation coverage rate and the number of species and species populations have increased steadily.

Crocodile lizards. Photo by Chen Jimin

The crocodile lizard is known as the "giant panda of reptiles". In recent years, Guangdong Luokeng Alligator National Nature Reserve has continuously strengthened the protection of crocodile lizards and their habitats, and the wild population of crocodile lizards has been increasing year by year, and artificial breeding and release into the wild have been carried out. At present, the wild population of crocodile lizards in the reserve is about 770 to 875, accounting for about two-thirds of the wild population in the country.

In recent years, a variety of newly recorded species have been discovered in Nanling National Park (proposed), including Nanling Open Arrow, Shimentai Spider Egg, Shimentai White Silk Grass, Beijiang Salamander, etc.

Ecological beauty and people's wealth are organically unified

In Wuzhishan Market Town (Town), Ruyuan County, Shaoguan, early in the morning, people buy and sell special agricultural products, Chinese herbal medicines and other products, and local specialty shops and homestays open their doors to welcome guests... The development of local green ecological industries is becoming more and more prosperous.

The proposed entrance community of Qingyuan Area (Yangshan) of Nanling National Park. Photo by Cheng Jingwei

In the establishment of Nanling National Park, Guangdong has made every effort to promote green to benefit the people and enrich the people, realizing the unity of ecological beauty and people's wealth. It is planned to build 7 national park entrance communities and 8 peripheral towns, and actively promote the construction of a number of open ecological experience communities.

The relevant person in charge of the Guangdong Provincial Forestry Bureau said that Guangdong has established a mechanism of co-construction, co-governance and sharing, supported and regulated the indigenous residents of the Nanling National Park (proposed) community to engage in environment-friendly business activities, guided and driven the transformation of related industries, promoted the increase of community employment opportunities and residents' income, and promoted the development of tourism in the outer circle area.

From 2020 to 2023, the Guangdong Provincial Finance Department has implemented a total of about 3 million yuan of preliminary work funds, and the Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Provincial Forestry Bureau have successively promoted the implementation of 6.33 billion yuan of special bond funds for 40 projects, which will be used for the construction of regional supporting infrastructure driven by the radiation of Nanling National Park (proposed).

At present, Guangdong has completed the pilot project of 3 small hydropower retreats within the scope of Nanling National Park (proposed), the landscape improvement of the entrance corridor of the national park, and the boundary survey of the national park, and is orderly promoting the construction of the smart Nanling National Park and the Nanling National Park Museum.

As the core area of the "Nanling Corridor", the scope of Nanling National Park (proposed) and its surrounding areas include Yao Township, Yao Village and other residential areas. In Yangshan Liangjia Yao Township, Qingyuan City, and Bibei Town, Ruyuan County, Shaoguan City, the "Hometown of Yao in the World", the local living environment has continued to improve, and the traditional folk culture of the Yao nationality has been better inherited and developed, adding more bright colors to the ecological construction of Lumei Guangdong. (ENDS)