New Forest National Park Authority votes against plans to collaborate with Giant Panda National Park in China

A PLAN for the New Forest National Park Authority to cooperate with China was thrown out amid concerns about its attitude towards nature.

NPA members reacted against to sharing experiences of managing a national park with a newly formed panda reserve stretching across Sichuan, Ningxia, and Shaanxi provinces.

The opportunity had arisen to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Giant Panda National Park through its membership with National Parks UK (NPUK).

But at a meeting of the authority, members were surprised at the suggestion and raised concerns that China, one of the most polluting countries on the planet, would have very different ideas about priorities and managing its parks.

They also raised issues with the contrast in focussing on a single species as opposed to the variety of wild animals in the New Forest.

NPA member Sue Bennison said she was "sceptical" and added: "I can't really quite see how we would aid them in shared experience and management practice of a giant panda."

Diane Andrews, who told the meeting she had lived in China for 20 years, was also against the plan.

She said: "Their way of doing things is so diametrically opposed to everything we understand that I don't see this is anything we should be touching with China.

"They aren't going to show us anything we can use here. We are struggling to get Public Space Protection Orders here – let's be real.

"So to take on any idea to do something with China is laughable."

The Giant Panda National Park encompasses 67 existing panda reserves and is home to more than 1,800 pandas.

A report by the NPA's head of environment and rural economy, Paul Walton, suggested signing a memorandum of understanding with the country.

The report said: "The Giant Panda National Park was officially established in 2020 and is one China’s first national parks to be set up chiefly for a single species.

"NPUK contact with the Giant Panda National Park came via the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, who saw an opportunity to share experience and management practice between our respective parks."

The report added that last autumn the NPA hosted visits by delegations from Colombia, Denmark and Belgium.

It said while there were no visits currently planned either to or from China there were "many shared challenges" between the parks, such as visitor management and working with resident communities on species and habitat management.