Funds fundamental for key ecological functional zones

IN ORDER TO BETTER PROTECT its important ecological areas, China introduced a list of national key ecological functional zones in 2013. By September last year, the number of zones on the list was 676. However, many of the national key ecological functional zones are in poorer counties that need more financial assistance to manage and protect the zones. Beijing News on Tuesday commented:

The national list of key ecological functional zones shows the central government's firm determination to protect key ecological areas.

However, it should also be noted that even after their inclusion on the list some counties have not received any additional funds to protect and manage these areas. Some of these counties are quite poor, and without additional funding and support from the higher authorities it is rather difficult for them to manage and protect the ecological functional zones as they are supposed to.