Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – According to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the assessment results of ecological and environmental protection effectiveness in 145 national nature reserves along the Yangtze River Economic Belt show that significant progress has been made in the protection of rare and endangered species during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
Wildlife populations continue to grow. The Hubei Yangtze River Tian'ezhou Baiji Dolphin Reserve has established the world's largest ex-situ conservation population of Yangtze finless porpoises, becoming a model for cetacean conservation worldwide. The Asian elephant population in the Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve in Yunnan has increased from 227 to 293, and its habitat area has expanded year by year.
Wild plant habitats continue to expand. The Anhui Jinzhai Tianma Nature Reserve has established a rare plant breeding base, successfully cultivating more than 200,000 rare seedlings such as *Pinus thunbergii* and *Pinus dabieense*, solving the problem of natural regeneration of rare plants through "ex-situ breeding + in-situ conservation." The Guizhou Maolan Nature Reserve, as the core area of the "South China Karst" World Natural Heritage Site, protects 45 species of nationally protected wild orchids. Through artificial propagation and reintroduction into the wild, the Fengyangshan-Baishanzu Nature Reserve in Zhejiang Province has increased the number of rare and endangered *Abies beshanzuensis* trees from fewer than 10 initially discovered to over 500.
In recent years, national nature reserves along the Yangtze River Economic Belt have become hotspots for new species discovery, with the list of rare and endemic species constantly being updated, and the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems steadily improving.
