Yunnan was the first to issue a regional biodiversity protection regulation to strengthen supervision and crack down on illegal activities. It set up numerous ecological red lines and nature reserves to protect endangered species. In 1958, the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve was built, followed by another 361 nature reserves, to protect 90 percent of their typical ecological systems and 80 percent of protected wild animals and plants.

Species on the edge of extinction such as green peafowl, the Asian elephant, Yunnan snub-nosed monkey and Manglietiastrum sinicum - a type of magnolia - survived and prospered again.

Yunnan also has frequent international exchanges with regions such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and European Union, as well as institutes such as the United Nations Environment Program, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the World Wide Fund for Nature. The cooperation includes sustainable usage and management of biological resources, the building of national parks and the prevention of wildlife epidemic diseases.