Governance of Biodiversity Conservation in China And Taiwan

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PAs, and a railway scheduled to be built inside the Cao Hai NR was resited elsewhere.’
(Xie et al. (2004), op cit, n., p. 287.)


  1. Personal interview with a government-organized NGO representative, 2 January,
    2005.

  2. Personal interview with planning institute researcher, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,
    Beijing, 18 January, 2005.

  3. Xie et al. (2004), op cit, n. 3, p. 329.

  4. Ibid, p. 285.

  5. Xie et al. (2004), op cit, n. 3, p. 329.

  6. Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (2002), ‘Mountains of Southwest China hotspot’,
    12 June, 17.

  7. Ibid, p. 288.

  8. One knowledgeable observer, a forestry professor who consults with the SFA, believes this
    will change. In his estimate, within 5 years all operating expenses of national-level PAs will
    be defrayed by the central government (personal interview, Beijing, January 10, 2005). Yet
    China’s spending on all areas of environmental protection is less than 1.5 per cent of GDP.
    See Qin Chuan (2005), ‘Billions more needed for environmental protection’, China Daily,
    30 March, p. 1. Fully funding all PAs at adequate levels would likely take twice this amount.

  9. Xie et al. (2004), op cit, n. 3, p. 328.

  10. Ibid, p. 288. See also Wen Yeli (2003), Economic Analysis of China Biodiversity Protection
    Policy(in Chinese), Beijing Forestry University, PhD thesis.

  11. Glacy, Lawrence (2003), ‘China’s conservation scheme: protecting species or generating
    profits’, Sonoma State University, MA thesis, p. 23.

  12. Harkness (1998), op cit, n. 24, p. 929.

  13. Xie et al. (2004), op cit, n. 3, p. 289.

  14. For example, removing forest canopy through wood-cutting affects plants, and favors
    species growing well in light.

  15. See Fellowes, John, Michael Lau, Bosco Chan, Billy CH Hall, and Ng Sai Chit, ‘Nature
    reserves in South China: observations on their role and problems in conserving biodiversity’,
    in Xie et al. (2004), op cit, n. 3, pp. 342–55.

  16. For proposals to increase funding of PAs, see Shen Wei (2004), ‘Study on ecological tax
    of our natural areas’ (in Chinese), Problems of Forestry Economics, 24 (2) (April); and
    Wu Xiaoqing, Tuo Zhengyang, Yang Chunming, Hong Shangqun, Zeng Guangquan,
    Xi Feng, Chen Guoqian, Ye Wenhu and Duan Changqun (2002), ‘A probe into ecological
    compensation mechanisms in conservation areas of China’, Management of National Land
    & Resources, 19 , 18–21.

  17. Xie et al. (2004), op cit, n. 3, p. 289.

  18. Ibid, p. 290.

  19. Personal interview with SFA official, Beijing, 5 July, 2004.

  20. These statistics are drawn from Xie et al. (2004), op cit, n. 3, pp. 327–28. The total number
    of staff is a rough estimate and may be greater or smaller by several thousand. For a more
    comprehensive analysis, based on an evaluation index system, see Li Xiaobo (2000), The
    Evaluation Index System and Sustainable Development Model of Chinese Forest, Wetland,
    and Wildlife Nature Reserve by Social Forestry Engineering, Beijing, Chinese Academy of
    Forestry, PhD thesis.

  21. Deng Weijie and Li Shengzhi, ‘Report on capacity building of nature reserves in China’,
    in Xie et al. (2004), op cit, n. 3, pp. 554–83. The sample contained more national-level
    nature reserves than found in the universe. It heavily over represented Sichuan Province (48
    of the 56 nature reserves were in Sichuan), which is a hotspot under observation by CI since
    2002.

  22. Ibid, pp. 561–69. These data on educational background of reserve staff represent an
    improvement in qualifications. An earlier survey of 217 nature reserves indicated:
    ‘Of the 9,112 present staff, those with 4-year undergraduate education and above are 288,
    making 3.16 percent of the total; those with 2-year or 3-year specialized education are
    1,753, making up 19.25 percent of the total; 4,646 persons are with junior or senior middle
    school education, making 51.0 percent; and others 2,423 persons comprise 26.6 percent.’


Protected areas and biodiversity conservation 131
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