China Species Under Threat

Environment

7 October 2003

About
15 to 20 percent of animal and plant species in China are in danger of extinction, higher
than the world level of 10 to 15 percent, state media reported. According to statistics from
the State Forestry Administration, over 300 species of land animals and some 410 species
of wild plants are at risk. By 2010, China will have a total of 3,000 to 4,000 plants facing
extinction. Insufficient forest resources, destruction of the natural habitat of wild species,
and illicit poaching are to blame, according to the report.