Yunnan leads nation in saving dwindling species

Yunnan province, one of the world's most biologically diverse regions, has taken the lead nationwide in implementing a series of innovative measures to protect wild animals and plants, a senior official of the province's forestry and grassland bureau said on Monday.

"Yunnan is a pioneer in the country in proposing the concept of rescuing and protecting species with extremely small populations," said Ding Kun, deputy director of the bureau, adding that it has protected more than 20,000 animal and plant species through relocation efforts.

Ding said the province was the first in the country to establish an Asian elephant monitoring and early warning system to effectively prevent and alleviate human-elephant conflicts.

Yunnan has also established a public liability insurance system for wild animals, the first of its kind in the country, with a cumulative investment of 710 million yuan ($99.4 million) and insurance payouts totaling 656 million yuan, he said.

Currently, the province has established 333 natural protected areas of various types and levels. It is home to the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, a research and preservation facility that maintains the second-largest collection of germplasm in the world for rare and endangered plants and animals.

Current theory, which attempts to explain the process of physical inheritance, holds that germplasm is the essential element of eggs and sperm cells and is the hereditary material that is passed from generation to generation.

Yunnan has effectively protected nearly 85 percent of nationally protected wild animals and plants, the officials said.

The population of wild Asian elephants in Yunnan has seen a steady increase over the past 30 years, from around 150 to more than 300, according to the provincial forestry and grassland bureau.