criteria for this designation include national and international representative
characteristics of the area, scientific importance, or specific research value.^17
The State Council is the approving agency for all national PAs.
The largest number of nature reserves is found at the sub-national level, yet
they occupy just one-third of the total protected land area: about 22 percent for
PAs at the provincial level, and 11 percent for municipal and county-level
nature reserves. The national nature reserves occupy more land than the others,
some two-thirds of the total. Moreover, they have more ‘valuable’ biodiversity
resources, and as we shall see are much better funded. This explains the great
pressure to upgrade PAs from sub-national to national status. Table 5.2 below
indicates the distribution of protected areas among different government
agencies.
Table 5.2 Agencies managing nature reserves
Agency % of PAs
State Forestry Administration 76
State Environmental Protection Administration 11
Ministry of Agriculture 3
Ministry of Water Conservation 2
Ministry of Land Resources 2
State Oceanic Administration 2
Ministry of Construction 1
Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources 1
Other* 2
Note: *Chinese medicine, scientific research and education and tourism agencies have
established some nature reserves.
Source: Adapted by authors from Xie et al. (2004), p. 282.
Clearly, the majority of PAs falls under SFA and SEPA control. The State
Forestry Administration (SFA) has responsibility for China’s forests, wetlands,
and terrestrial wild animals, whose ecosystems comprise the largest number
(and area) of protected areas.
CHALLENGES TO GOVERNANCE OF PROTECTED
AREAS
Protected areas are the main element in China’s strategy to conserve
biodiversity. The SFA estimates that PAs cover 80–85 percent of China’s
106 Governance of biodiversity conservation in China and Taiwan