China will create more nature reserves in the next five years to strengthen the protection of wild animals and plants, according to Wang Zhibao, director of the State Forestry Administration of China (SFAC).

From the years 2000 to 2005, the number of nature reserves managed by the SFAC will increase from the current 776 to some 1, 000, he said at the National Conference on the Protection of Wild Animals and Plants which opened here today.

The country also will ban hunting in 25 more areas and establish 18 wild animal breeding bases, 6 wild plant cultivation bases, and 32 wild animal and plant monitoring stations.

The latest SFAC statistics indicate that to date China has 1, 118 nature reserves totaling 80 million hectares, of which 135 are state-level reserves. China also has 850 forest parks with a total area of 7.5 million hectares.

These nature reserves shelter 85 percent of the country's wild animal species and 65 percent of its wild plant species, he said, adding that 7 reserves have been listed as important international wetlands, and 3 have been placed on the World Natural Heritage list by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

China has also scored considerable achievements in breeding and cultivating endangered wild animals and plants. The country has bred 96 giant pandas in 64 litters, and 61 of them have survived. The number of ibis has jumped to 203 from only 7 in 1981, and more than 1,000 rare wild plant species have been put under effective protection.

Wang urged forestry departments nationwide to take further steps to crack down on criminal activities such as illegal hunting, smuggling, and illegal trading in wild animals and plants.

China has issued the Law on Wild Animal Protection and the Law on Wild Plant Protection, and in the last five years more than 70, 000 violations of these laws have been investigated.

At the opening ceremony of the conference, the SFAC awarded Giant Panda Medals to 10 people for their outstanding contributions to wild life protection, including Zhang Hemin, a renowned giant panda specialist in Sichuan Province, and Zhao Zhongxiang, China Central Television's famous anchorman.