The government of Zhejiang recently issued a set of guidelines regarding the establishment of a protected natural area system in the province.

According to the guidelines, Zhejiang will build a framework for the system in 2020 and have the system established by 2025. It will also ensure that the province's natural reserves account for more than 10 percent of land areas and more than 10 percent of ocean areas by 2035.

According to national classification standards, protected natural areas can be divided into national parks, natural reserves and natural parks. Natural parks include scenic spots, forest parks, geological parks, marine parks and wetland parks.

All protected natural areas will be improved and integrated to facilitate management. National parks and national-level nature reserves will be managed by the central or provincial government, while the rest will be under the responsibility of city and county governments.

Each category of the protected natural areas will be divided into core and common areas. Core areas will be strictly protected and human activities will be banned, while common areas can be properly utilized for economic purposes.

In addition, natural resources in the protected natural areas will be registered and properly managed, mechanisms will be improved to properly utilize and protect the areas, as well as to monitor and assess the protection work, and financial, technological and personnel support will also be strengthened for protecting these areas.