Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian traditions have long guided the protection of plants and wildlife in a nature reserve on Tianmu Mountain in eastern China. Local temples enforced strict rules and punishments against forest destruction, but, following the reserve’s recent expansion, state regulations now provide the formal legal framework for the area. Local officials say religious traditions from the past continue to shape public attitudes, reports contributor Keith Anthony Fabro for Mongabay.  The Qingliangfeng National Nature Reserve, located on the eastern coast of China,  expanded from 4,300 hectares (10,630 acres)  to become the 54,700-hectare (135,170-acre) Tianmushan-Qingliangfeng UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 2025. It represents a landmark expansion, the first of its kind in China. Long known as the “kingdom of big trees” and home to the ancient, endangered Ginkgo biloba, the biosphere reserve is a crucial biodiversity haven for thousands of species  including the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), black muntjac (Muntiacus crinifrons), Chinese golden larch (Pseudolarix amabilis) and Tianmu ironwood (Ostrya rehderiana). Religion has been one of Tianmu’s most steadfast guardians, like many mountainous regions in China, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “This place is special not only because of its nature,” Lu Senhong, head of the publicity and education division at the Tianmu National Nature Reserve Administration Bureau, told Mongabay in an interview. “It is also because people here have long believed that every tree, flower, and bird carries a spirit. That respect has kept the mountain alive.” Today, the administration formally manages the now expanded reserve, but…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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