Northeast China tiger and leopard park ensures survival of rare species, enriches regional ecosystem

The Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park has achieved remarkable results in ensuring the survival of the flagship species and enriching the regional ecosystem through effective conservation measures.

China has attached great importance to the conservation of flagship species to drive regional ecological protection and the development of ecological civilization.

Covering Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park -- home to approximately 70 wild Siberian tigers, 80 wild Amur leopards, and about 10,000 humans -- was officially established in 2021.

Siberian tigers, also known as Amur tigers, mainly live in Russia's Far East and northeast China. As one of the world's most endangered species and a flagship species of the forest ecosystem, only 12 to 16 wild Siberian tigers were believed to have been living in China in 1998.

"The Siberian tigers are extremely rare. At the beginning of this century, there were less than 20 wild Siberian tigers in China. Since the establishment of the park, their population within the park has now recovered to around 70. The Amur leopard is even more endangered. By the end of the last century, the global population of Amur leopards had hovered around 50, with only about 10 remaining in China. As of now, the population of wild Amur leopards within the park has reached 80. Such rapid recovery growth is rare worldwide," said Guan Yun, deputy director of the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park Administration.

The park, with Siberian tigers and Amur leopards as flagship species, not only protects their habitats but also safeguards all animals and plants species.

"The Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, established with the primary goal of protecting the Siberian tigers and Amur leopards, has also protected 884 species of higher plants and 397 species of vertebrate animals within the park while focusing on the flagship species of the Siberian tiger and Amur leopard," Guan said.

Thanks to these conservation efforts, the Siberian tiger population in China has continued to rebound. Last year, 20 Siberian tiger cubs and 15 Amur leopard cubs were born in the park.

"So far, the forest coverage in Hunchun has reached 86 percent, and there has been a significant increase in the biodiversity. Within the tiger and leopard national park alone, the total number of wild plant and animal species in Hunchun City has exceeded 1,270, with over 400 being wild animals. Among them, there are 16 species of wild animals under China's first-class national protection and 51 species under second-class national protection," said Liu Linbo, director of Hunchun Branch of Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park Administration.

Northeast China tiger and leopard park ensures survival of rare species, enriches regional ecosystem

Northeast China tiger and leopard park ensures survival of rare species, enriches regional ecosystem

A high-level mediation team from the African Union (AU) Commission has been dispatched to Juba, capital of South Sudan, to try to ease the rising tensions between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar, and help resolve the current political crisis in the country.

Riek Machar and several senior officials have been detained since clashes erupted in January between the South Sudan People's Defense Forces and the opposition fighters.

Machar was accused of instigating violence in Nasir in the northern part of the country.

The mediation team says it plans to engage Machar, but that meeting is yet to take place.

The AU is urging South Sudanese political leaders to resolve the current disagreement through dialogue.

Machar heads the largest opposition group that has an armed wing in the country, known as SPLM/A-IO.

South Sudan's government says it's still investigating Machar for being allegedly involved in clashes between government troops and armed civilians affiliated to SPLM/A-IO in Nasir.

"The mandate of the RTGoNU (the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity) is simple; that we stop war, we form a revitalized government of national unity so that we return security, sustainable peace in the country," said Martin Elia Lomuro, South Sudan's Minister of Cabinet Affairs.

Meanwhile, Machar's party members are calling on president Kiir to order the release of their leader.

The group argues that the arrest of Machar means the 2018 peace deal which ended five years of violence in the country has partially collapsed.

The government reaffirms its commitment to the implementation of the 2018 peace deal.

It says Mr. Machar is in conflict with the law and that the implementation of the peace deal should not be used as cover to commit crime. However, until now, South Sudanese law enforcement agencies have not charged Machar with any offense in a court of law.

South Sudan, which became independent in 2011, signed a peace deal in 2018 that ended a civil war between forces loyal to Kiir and Machar. Nearly 400,000 people died in the civil war.

Relations between Kiir and Machar, who have dominated South Sudan's politics for decades, remain strained. The clashes and latest political tensions between the two leaders have unsettled many citizens and the international community.

AU dispatches Panel of Wise to address ongoing instability in South Sudan