The BBC introduces a program airing this weekend called Wild China, which introduces the country’s diverse natural landscape and the threats it faces:
The Chinese are proud of their natural riches, and many notable plants and animals are officially protected in national parks and wildlife reserves.
But official protection is no guarantee of safety.
In recent decades conservation has been poorly funded and protection has been weak.
Many reserves, especially locally designated ones, have been under-staffed.
And many workers have had little specialist training, and are ill-equipped to deal with well-organised groups of outsiders who come to hunt animals, mine minerals or collect plants in nominally protected areas.
Watch the video here.
