China formally establishes first national parks

(ECNS) -- China officially unveiled its first batch of national parks on Tuesday at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

The first national parks include Three-River-Source National Park (also known as Sanjiangyuan National Park), Giant Panda National Park, Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park, and Wuyishan National Park.

Each park aims to protect the habitats of some endangered species. Sanjiangyuan National Park covers 190,700 square kilometers, protecting the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers. Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park aims to protect Siberian tigers and leopards. The habitat of black-crested gibbons, among the most vulnerable primates on earth, is protected in Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park.

The total protected land area covers more than 230,000 square kilometers in 10 provinces, including nearly 30 percent of all national key protected wild animals and plants on land.

The COP15 to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity officially kicked off in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, on Monday.