China will create protected areas covering 25 per cent of its territory. This will entail restrictions on human activities, with the aim of preserving the environment and ecosystems. The news was announced on the morning of Wednesday 7 July by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, which has been entrusted by the government with the project. Of particular significance is the fact that the Beijing administration has long since admitted to having accepted decades of "irrational development". This has posed serious risks to nature conservation. Hence the need for profound change.

The precise map of the areas to be protected is not yet known

"We will strictly delineate and control the boundaries of protected zones. And we will punish violations of environmental regulations that threaten the vital interests of our people," said Cui Shuhong, head of the ecological conservation department at the ministry. The same official, while declining to provide further details, indicated that the work of identifying the areas is largely complete.

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Decades of "irrational development" had put China's ecological safety under severe strain.

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♥ 9 7 lug 2021 · Apri su X →

Although precise information regarding which zones will be included among the protected areas is not yet known, it is clear that a commitment of this kind is enormous, given the size of China. The vast Asian nation has a surface area of over 9.7 million square kilometres. Twenty-five per cent of which amounts to approximately 2,525 square kilometres. Eight times the total area of Italy.

A further postponement likely for Cop 15 on biodiversity, to be held in China

According to reports from the China Internet Information Center, the zones designated by the Beijing government are expected to cover those that are "most ecologically sensitive and vulnerable. But also key regions for the protection of biodiversity". The new areas will be added to existing ones: at the end of 2019, China had 11,800 nature reserves of various types. These covered 18 per cent of the country's surface area.

Reaching 25 per cent means significantly increasing the places within which it is possible to protect fauna and flora. It is in China that the next World Conference on Biodiversity (Cop 15) will be held, which however — according to reports in the international press — will likely be postponed once again. Originally scheduled for 2020, and already delayed due to the pandemic, it could take place in February or March 2022.