(2) Species richness

a. 14,000 total plant species, which account for over 50 percent of total plant species in China

b. Over 7,000 vascular plant species

c. 2,000 species of medicinal herbs, accounting for 40 percent of the plants used in traditional Chinese medicines

d. 44 percent of the woody plant species found in China

e. Migration zone for over 1,000 bird species (10 percent of the world total)

f. 173 mammal species, accounting for more than 50 percent of first grade protected animal species in China

g. Significant representation of vertebrates found throughout China: 66 percent of bird species (417), 56 percent of mammal species (173); 47 percent of reptile species (59) and 37 percent of the amphibian species (36)

h. Center of diversity of babblers, laughing-thrushes, pheasants, rhododendron (200 species), azaleas, primroses, gentian, meconopsis, monkshood, larkspur, clematis, anemone, wallflower, cranesbill, mockorange, rose, mountainash, maple, incarvillea, iris, arisaema, lily, lady''''s slippers, maidenhair, lepisorus, and wood fern, and the fish genus Schizothorax. Also, probable center of origin for the Matsutake mushroom (tricholoma spp.) - of both local and international economic significance

i. World''''s highest elevation primate species (Yunnan snub-nosed monkey)

(3) Rare and vulnerable species

a. Over 30 plant species listed as protected in the China Red Book

b. 139 vertebrate species (23 percent of total) with conservation protection status (National Class I and II, CITES Appendices I - III, China Red Book and IUCN Red List), including: Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, Black Neck Crane, Black Snub-nosed Monkey, Red Panda, Clouded Leopard, and Snow Leopard

(4)Ecosystem diversity

a. 10 distinct vegetation types (some rare and endemic) and 98 distinct formations

b. Rare ecosystems, including cushion-like grasslands at mountain tops and glacier-edge ecosystems

c. Exceptionally high overall ecosystem diversity, including: , , Alpine Mosaic, , Shrub/Scrub, Bamboo Stand, , , Meadow (Subalpine Meadow, Alpine and Subalpine Wetland subtypes only), Grassland, Warm, Sparse Woodlands, and Agriculture.

(5)Cultural Diversity

At present, population pressures within the region are quite low in relation to other parts of China. The total population is 3.2 million, with 90 percent living in rural areas. Average population density in the largest of the three prefectures (Diqing) is 24 persons per square kilometer, with roughly similar densities in the other two prefectures. By 2010, the population is forecast to be 3.55 million. NW Yunnan is one of the centers of ethnic diversity within China. The majority of inhabitants are ethnic minorities - groups with long historical traditions. They include, for example, the Tibetan, Naxi, Bai, Lisu, Dayan, Nu, Dulong, Pumi, Ahang, and Mosuo peoples. Ethnic groups in NW Yunnan represent unique cultural systems with a wealth of languages, knowledge, beliefs, technologies, art and music. Each indigenous culture has developed a balanced human-environment interaction system. These groups have established livelihoods that demonstrate traditional practices and institutions for maintaining, nurturing and sustaining the diverse landscapes in the region. Their livelihood strategies include hunting and gathering, fishing, nomadic grazing, shifting cultivation, and intensive perma-culture. Recognition of their rich cultural heritage and ancestral claims to land-use rights in the region underlies the socioeconomic importance of conserving the region''''s biological resources. Buddhism, Christianity and Islam are the three major religions, with several other local belief systems also in practice.