Yunnan province, known as "the kingdom of plants and animals", has been a pioneer in biodiversity protection over the last decade. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Yunnan province, known as "the kingdom of plants and animals", has been a pioneer in biodiversity protection over the last decade.

Yunnan has one of the richest biological diversity globally, as it is located at the intersection of the southwestern Chinese mountainous area, the eastern Himalayan region and the India-Myanmar area. At the same time, it faces one of the biggest threats in preserving living species.

The province has given high priority to biodiversity in its social and economic development, with an idea to promote green development, officials said at a news conference in early September.

Yunnan province, known as "the kingdom of plants and animals", has been a pioneer in biodiversity protection over the last decade. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Yunnan was the first to issue a regional biodiversity protection regulation to strengthen supervision and crack down on illegal activities. It set up numerous ecological red lines and nature reserves to protect endangered species. In 1958, the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve was built, followed by another 361 nature reserves, to protect 90 percent of their typical ecological systems and 80 percent of protected wild animals and plants.

Species on the edge of extinction such as green peafowl, the Asian elephant, Yunnan snub-nosed monkey and Manglietiastrum sinicum - a type of magnolia - survived and prospered again.

Yunnan also has frequent international exchanges with regions such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and European Union, as well as institutes such as the United Nations Environment Program, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the World Wide Fund for Nature. The cooperation includes sustainable usage and management of biological resources, the building of national parks and the prevention of wildlife epidemic diseases.

Yunnan province, known as "the kingdom of plants and animals", has been a pioneer in biodiversity protection over the last decade. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Yunnan province, known as "the kingdom of plants and animals", has been a pioneer in biodiversity protection over the last decade. [Photo by Xu Jun/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Yunnan province, known as "the kingdom of plants and animals", has been a pioneer in biodiversity protection over the last decade. [Photo by Xu Jun/for chinadaily.com.cn]