In national parks, for example, development and construction that could hurt the ecosystem will be prohibited, and those engaging in practices such as illegal mining, the discharging of pollutants and poaching will be punished.

"But the overall planning of the country's nature reserve areas is imperfect and the management system also needs to be improved to keep pace with the rapid development of the country," the administration official said.

"The guideline marks a milestone in the country's comprehensively deepening reform on nature reserve areas. It will support China's overall ecological protection work and lay a foundation for our sustainable economic and social development."

Under the guideline, there will be three kinds of protected areas－national parks, nature reserves and nature parks－based on their ecological value.

Overlapping nature reserves or ecologically-connected areas that used to be managed separately by different departments will be integrated, with management and protection work enhanced, and the total area covered by the three kinds of protected areas will be no smaller than the previous areas.

The habitats of some endangered wild species and regions with representative geological conditions will be included in the nature reserves. Nature parks will be those regions holding natural scenery or relics with potential for scientific or cultural study.