IAPA adopted to improve ecological conservation

International specialists have decided to set up an International Alliance of Protected Areas (IAPA) to enhance cooperation in ecological preservation.

The initiative was adopted at an international forum on ecological preservation Friday in northeast China's Jilin Province, a year after it was proposed by Chinese conservation specialists at the Changbai Mountain nature reserve.

Changbai Mountain, whose tallest peak has an altitude of 2,750 meters, boasts rich biodiversity and is home to endangered wildlife species, including Siberian tigers, boars and black bears.

The IAPA, led by China's Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve, has more than 30 members, including protected areas from China, Russia, South Africa and Indonesia. It also has 10 observers, including the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The alliance is aimed at strengthening exchanges and cooperation among protected areas, improving nature reserve management and expanding social influence, said Xie Zhongyan, director of the management bureau of the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve.

Xie said nature reserves, national parks and wildlife shelters cover at least 10 percent of the world's land, but there is a lack of international cooperation, information sharing and technological exchange.

He said the IAPA, whose secretariat will be based at Changbai Mountain, will enhance China's presence in global ecological protection.

Neronov Valery, deputy chair of the Russian Committee of UNESCO Program on Man and the Biosphere, said the IAPA will help build a new platform for international cooperation in protecting wild Siberian tigers and other endangered animals.

The IAPA will convene its first congress next year in Shennongjia National Nature Reserve in central China's Hubei Province.