The National Park Law adopted at the 17th session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee took effect on Jan 1.

As the country's first specialized law on national parks, it marks a new stage of law-based and standardized development of a nature reserve system with national parks at its core.

It defines the concept of national parks in China from a legal perspective for the first time. In addition, it establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework covering their planning, establishment, zoning, protection, management, public participation and legal responsibilities.

"National parks are large in scale, and their development and management involve multiple levels of government and departments, making cross-jurisdictional governance challenges particularly prominent," said Yang Zhaoxia, vice-president of the Institute of Ecological Civilization and director of the Ecological Law Research Center at Beijing Forestry University.

One of the highlights of the law, he noted, was the establishment of a unified, standardized and efficient management system.

In a dedicated chapter on participation and sharing, it clarifies that national park management authorities shall prioritize the employment of local residents for ecological conservation positions that are established based on the need for ecological protection.

It also stipulates that the State encourages and supports public participation in national park protection and various forms of education focused on ecological environment protection.

Wang Ruihe, a member of the Constitution and Law Committee of the NPC, stated that during the implementation of the law, efforts should be made to encourage original residents to participate in the provision of commercial services within national parks and to guide social forces to engage in natural resource management and ecological conservation through various means.

Wang also emphasized the need to promptly organize the drafting and revision of regulations, rules and normative documents to further improve the national park system — especially regarding the formulation of specific measures authorized by the law.

These include measures for the protection of national park symbols, commercial services and an evaluation system for protection and management.