China's new national park - Conserv

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Subject: China's new national park - Conservationism or Coverup ?

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China's new national park - Conservationism or Coverup ?

Rangoon Post / FBC   Feb. 17, 1999

  In northern Yunnan Province bording north-eastern Burma/ Mayanmar the
government of China will try to have the Yunnan Great Rivers National
Park up and running after the year 2005. After last summer's flood that
killed more than 3,000 people from irresponsible ecosystem management,
China's leaders decided to create this park.  
  This park is about 20 times larger than the Yosemite national park in
the United States.  It will setup with the help of the United States and
the pointman Ed Norton, senior advisor to the Nature Conservancy.
   They must form alliances with hostile timber-industry interests,
paper-pushing magistrates and governments and representatives of 25 or
more ethnic minorities.   
     Questions are: 
  Will this stop or slow the overforesting by the timber industry? ;
  What will happen to the people already residing there? ; 
  What will happen to the militarised border towns? ;
  Will this help or inhibit the drug trade and regular trade in and out
of Burma's northern     regions affecting Wa, Chin, maybe the Nagas and
Kachins?

REF.: Erik Stokstad's article, Outside magazine, March 1999 issue.;
      Ed Norton, Senior Advisor to the Nature Conservancy