The number of white-cheeked gibbons has doubled over the past two decades to reach 23 on the island province of Hainan, in south China.

Wang Chundong, head of the Wildlife Protection Center of the province's forestry bureau, attributed the increase to the marked improvement of the local environment.

White-cheeked gibbons, native to Hainan, live in tropical virgin forest. The 23 gibbons are found in the tropical forest in the Bawangling Nature Reserve in the western part of Hainan.

The gibbons are highly endangered and were on the verge of extinction several years ago due to destruction of their forest habitat and climatic changes.

Hainan launched a project to improve the ecological environment several ago to save wildlife.

As a result, the forest coverage rate in the province has reached 53.3 percent. The province has 66 nature reserves, covering 2.73.65 million hectares.

The province is home to 4,600 vascular bundle plants, accounting for 15 percent of the national total, 566 species of land vertebrate, 37 kinds of amphibians and 104 species of reptile, or 33 percent of the national total. It also has 349 kinds of birds, accounting for 30.7 percent of the national total.

Moreover, the province boasts over 3,000 types of marine organism.

(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2004)