A pilot plan to build a national park for Siberian tigers and leopards was passed at a session of the powerful Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms on Dec. 5. The plan aims to enhance the protection of the animals' habitats and help achieve stable reproduction for the species.

According to an employee of the forestry department of Jilin province, the park's land will mainly be located in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. The exact areas will be determined by habitats, distribution areas, ecosystems and development demands, as well as being located far from densely populated areas and economic zones.

Siberian tigers and leopards are key protected species living mainly in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. Since the 1950s, the tigers have been gradually disappearing from the Changbai mountain area; due to severe damage of their ecosystem caused by deforestation, some experts even speculate that wild Siberian tigers could vanish entirely from China.

Fortunately, as effective measures have been taken in recent years, the tiger and leopard populations seem to be recovering. So far, 27 tigers from five Siberian tiger families have been found in Jilin, an obvious increase compared to the six to nine found by Chinese, Russian and American scientists in 1998.

According to the plan, China will move residents and factories out of this area to avoid conflicts between human and animal activity, said Xie Yan, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Zoology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In addition, the national park will offer an integrated ground-air-space network to monitor biological diversity, collecting information related to the animals' existence and reproduction.

Fan Zhiyong, a senior director of the World Wildlife Foundation, said the pilot program provides a foundation for Sino-Russian cooperation in nature conservation.