Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – According to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, an assessment of the ecological and environmental protection effectiveness of 145 national nature reserves along the Yangtze River Economic Belt was recently completed. The assessment shows that since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, significant progress has been made in the protection of rare and endangered species in the region.
Wildlife populations have continued to grow. The Tian'ezhou area of the Yangtze River in Hubei Province has become the world's largest ex-situ conservation population of Yangtze finless porpoises. The wild giant panda population monitored at Dafengding in Mabian County, Sichuan Province, has increased from 18 to 40. The Asian elephant population in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, has increased from 227 to 293.
Wild plant habitats have expanded. The Tianma Nature Reserve in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province, has successfully cultivated more than 200,000 rare seedlings, including *Prunus armeniaca*. The Maolan Nature Reserve in Guizhou Province protects 45 species of nationally protected wild orchids. The number of *Abies beshanzuensis* trees in the Fengyangshan-Baishanzu Nature Reserve in Zhejiang Province has increased from less than 10 to more than 500.
In recent years, the Yangtze River Economic Belt has become a hotspot for the discovery of new species, the list of rare and endemic species has been continuously updated, and the diversity, stability, and sustainability of the ecosystem have been steadily improving.
