Three Principles of the Establishment of National Park System and Their Implications for China’s Practice

Abstract

The idea of National Park is widely accepted in the world, which has also become a scientific mea- sure for sustainable development. Despite of the fact that the management mechanisms of national parks in different countries may differ, there are three principles which are shared by the international national parks and to be maintained, namely, people oriented, state dominance, and adjusting measures to local conditions. People oriented is the most fundamental principle as well as the primary purpose of the construction of national park, while state dominance and adjusting measures to local conditions are two guarantees of the fulfillment of social welfare. In order to construct the Chinese national park system, China should learn from international experiences and adopt the three principles. During this transitional and learning period, China is confronted with several problems, such as “tragedy of commons”, multi-sectoral management, insufficient fund etc. To deal with these issues, the current Chinese national-level parks should be carefully chosen as pilot projects, and then a unified legal system and management system should be gradually set up during this trail period. Eventually, an integrated and comprehensive Chinese National Park system should be established.