The governor of Yunan, the province with the most diverse
topography and greatest number of plant species and animals in
southwest China, vowed on Wednesday to strengthen communication and
cooperation with non-governmental organization (NGOs), both
domestic and foreign, on environmental protection.
"The government has the same goals with the NGOs in terms of
environmental protection. They don't have a hostile relationship.
They can communicate and cooperate on environmental and biological
diversity protection," said Governor Qin Guangrong at a meeting
with representatives of domestic and foreign NGOs on Wednesday.
Qin vowed to put biodiversity protection at the top of the
agenda for the province this year.
Local officials from northwestern Yunnan's Baoshan, Dali,
Lijiang,Nujiang and Diqing cities and prefectures, areas identified
globally as a conservation priority for plant diversity, introduced
their efforts in preserving the biological heirlooms to
representatives at the meeting.
Representatives from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the
Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, the Mountain
Institute and local environmental protection organizations
participated.
The southwestern Yunnan Province, a global biodiversity hot spot
and also a famous scenic area, has attracted attention from NGOs
for some time. The NGOs had voiced their strong concerns on
biodiversity protection, resource development and hydropower
station building in the province.
The number of officially registered NGOs in China was about
354,000 in 2006. About 40,000 are approved by the civil affairs
departments annually, said State Administration of Non-Governmental
Organization sources.
(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2008)