China will take a number of measures to further promote the protection of Asian elephants, a representative of the State Administration of Forestry and Steppe Economy of the People's Republic of China said.Zhang Zhizhong made this statement at a thematic event in Mojiang Han Autonomous County of Yunnan Province (Southwest China) on the occasion of World Elephant Day.
The representative of the ministry said that China will strengthen the protection and restoration of the habitat of Asian elephants and mitigate the conflict between people and animals, providing villagers with compensation for damage caused by wild inhabitants of nature, and developing an alert system.
In addition, the country will create a stable gene pool for artificial breeding, and will also carry out international cooperation and exchanges to promote the protection of elephants, Zhang Zhizhong added.
In China, Asian elephants are under state protection of the first category. Currently, there are 300 individuals in Yunnan Province, and their population continues to grow.
World Elephant Day is celebrated annually on August 12.
