Hainan sets up its first National Park Institute

China's island province Hainan has established its first National Park Institute in Haikou, and is seeking to lure global talents to boost tropical rainforest protection and development as well as the construction of national parks.

Tropical rainforests have the most diverse bio-systems on the planet and can provide irreplaceable material and ecological services to human society. The tropical rainforests in Hainan are the most concentrated and best-preserved among all primitive tropical rainforests in China.

In 2018, the State approved Hainan to launch a pilot system for a tropical rainforest national park and the island became one of the 10 places in the country to launch the pilot system.

The establishment of the Hainan National Park Institute is an important move for the pilot tropical rainforest national park system. The institute will be built into a high-end think tank, scientific research platform, and international exchange and cooperation bridge for national parks, according to Xia Fei, who was selected as the executive vice-chairman of Hainan National Park Institute.

Zhang Xinsheng, chairman of the institute, said that as a comprehensive international platform, the institute will host a national park construction exchange forum, set up a talent think tank, and continue to attract more scientific research talents to offer consultation for the protection and development of tropical rainforest resources in Hainan.