On December 21, 2001 (November 7, 2001 in the lunar calendar), the national wildlife protection project was launched. On December 21, 2001, the national wildlife protection and nature reserve construction project was officially launched in Beijing. With the implementation of the project, a number of national key protected wild animal and plant species will be gradually restored and developed, and a number of typical natural ecosystems will be effectively protected. According to the plan, the construction period of the project will be from 2001 to 2050 and will be carried out in three stages. The short-term goals from 2001 to 2010 are as follows: First, focus on the rescue and breeding of 15 rare and endangered species such as giant pandas, crested ibis, tigers and orchidaceae plants, so that they can be initially restored and developed; Second, continue to speed up the construction of nature reserves at the headwaters of major rivers and areas with rich biodiversity and complete and fragile ecosystems, so that the number of nature reserves in China will reach 1,800, covering an area of 155 million hectares, and more than 90% of the national key protected wild animals and plants and typical natural ecosystems will be effectively protected; The third is to strengthen the protection of natural wetlands and strive to increase 80 international key wetlands; The fourth is to build a number of new wildlife provenance breeding bases and wildlife cultivation bases; Fifth, comprehensively strengthen the construction of management system, monitoring system and scientific research system, and realize dynamic monitoring of important wild animals and plants, wetlands, nature reserves and migratory birds. By the end of the project construction period in 2050, the number of nature reserves in China will reach 2,500, with a total area of 172.8 million hectares, accounting for 18% of the total land area. 85% of the wild animals and plants under national key protection will be restored and increased, and all typical ecosystems will be well protected. Zhou Shengxian, director of the State Forestry Administration, stressed that the implementation of wildlife protection and nature reserve construction projects should correctly grasp and handle the relationship between protection, utilization and development, and adhere to the three principles of protection first, rational utilization and development as the center. Related information: People's Daily commented: Strategic projects related to sustainable development On the occasion of commemorating the fourth anniversary of General Secretary Jiang Zemin's great call to "rebuild beautiful mountains and rivers", the National Master Plan for Wildlife Protection and Nature Reserve Construction Project was approved and implemented a few days ago, which marks another historic step in building beautiful mountains and rivers of the motherland, and also marks that China's wildlife and their habitat protection and nature reserve construction are advancing in the direction of standardization and engineering. The implementation of this project will surely play an important role in comprehensively improving the overall level of wildlife protection and habitat protection and nature reserve construction in China, and will have an extremely significant and far-reaching impact on enhancing the awareness of ecological protection and construction of the whole nation, safeguarding national ecological security, ensuring the long-term interests of the Chinese nation, and coordinating the pace of wildlife protection in China and the whole world. Forests, wetlands and wild animals and plants together constitute the main body of terrestrial ecosystem, and play an irreplaceable role in maintaining and optimizing the ecological environment. Wild animals and plants are also important strategic resources, preserving rich genetic diversity, and have immeasurable value in expanding the future living space of human beings. China is one of the countries with the richest biodiversity in the world. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, our government has attached great importance to the protection of wild animals and plants and their habitats, and made great achievements. However, with the continuous population growth and rapid economic development, some places have failed to properly handle the relationship between population growth, economic development and resource protection. Illegal and criminal activities such as indiscriminate hunting, mining and digging, reselling and smuggling wild animals and plants and their products are rampant, and the phenomenon of encroaching and destroying wild animals and plants habitats and nature reserves is very common. In the long run, the habitat of wild animals and plants in China will further deteriorate, biodiversity will drop sharply, and some species may become extinct, which will seriously affect the sustainable development of economy and society. Governments at all levels and relevant departments must proceed from a strategic and overall perspective, fully understand the great significance of this project, earnestly strengthen leadership, and take effective measures to actively and effectively promote the protection of wild animals and plants and their habitats and the healthy development of the construction of nature reserves. We should follow the laws of nature, adhere to the principle of protection first, organically combine people-oriented with ecological priority, combine protection with rational development and utilization, and properly handle the relationship between ecological benefits, social benefits and economic benefits. In accordance with the principles of overall planning, extensive fund-raising, rational layout, classified policies and phased implementation, in the next 10 years, we will focus on 15 major species rescue projects in China, set up a number of nature reserves in ecologically fragile areas, and make great efforts to do a good job in a number of typical projects and model projects. While adhering to the state investment, it is necessary to incorporate project construction into local and industrial development plans, ensure that the matching funds are fully in place, and at the same time extensively absorb and introduce funds and technologies from society, individuals and international protection organizations. It is necessary to strengthen supervision and law enforcement, perform their duties and responsibilities, resolutely crack down on all kinds of behaviors that destroy wildlife and wetland resources, and ensure the smooth implementation of the project. Protecting wild animals and plants is to protect the ecological environment on which human beings depend, to protect the strategic resources for sustainable economic and social development, and to protect human beings themselves. Every citizen should take action, starting from me and the small things around him, consciously resist the destruction of wildlife resources, actively participate in the great cause of protecting wildlife resources, and contribute to creating a civilized development path with production development, affluent life and good ecology.