China’s Ecological Protection Plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan Period (2026-2030) establishes priorities for ecosystem protection and restoration. By 2030, it seeks improved ecological quality and resilience, reduced biodiversity loss and stronger ecological security. Targets include at least 18% land coverage by protected areas, an Ecological Quality Index of 86.5, water-and-soil conservation above 74%, and 25.8% forest cover. Key measures optimize ecological barriers, corridors, ecological protection redlines and a protected-area system centred on national parks. The Plan prioritizes natural recovery, supplemented by restoration; protects forests, grasslands, wetlands, rivers, deserts, glaciers and marine ecosystems; and advances “Three-North” projects, erosion and rocky-desertification control, mine restoration, carbon sinks, urban green spaces and rural environmental improvement. It strengthens endangered-species habitats, migration routes, germplasm banks, invasive-species and biotechnology controls, and implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework. Monitoring combines satellites, ground stations, AI, acoustic recognition and shared databases; enforcement uses remote sensing, drones, joint investigations and links with criminal justice and public-interest litigation. Supporting measures include ecological compensation, damage restoration, green finance, digital supervision platforms, demonstration zones and coordinated national-local implementation.
China · 2026-08-06