Biodiversity conservation in China: Legislation, plans and measures

China is one of the "megadiversity" countries with over 30,000 species of h igher plants and 6347 species of vertebrates, including numerous endemic sp ecies and relict species. The vast territory, with its various climates and landforms have formed complex and manifold habitats and rich diversity of ecosystems. China is a signatory country to several international conventio ns and agreements related to biodiversity and has established a legislation framework for biodiversity conservation. State, interdepartmental, departm ental plans related to biodiversity have been made, such as Chinas Agenda 2 1, the Chinese Country Study on Biological Diversity, the Chinese Biodivers ity Conservation Action Plan, the Chinese Environmental Protection Action P lan, and the Guideline for Nature Reserve Development Planning in China (19 96-2010). Great efforts have also been made to protect natural resources an d the environment, including policies for in situ and ex situ conservation, ecological construction, scientific research, education and training, and international cooperation. However, under the high pressure of population a nd economy, severe contradiction exists between conservation and the exploi tation of biodiversity. This paper describes such achievements and related problems.