China has completed the first natural resource registrations to clarify the owners and supervisors of the resources and their responsibilities, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Last week, Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in Hainan province, Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, and Kunyu Mountain National Nature Reserve in Shandong province were registered by the ministry.

They were selected as the first group to represent the country's biodiversity, important environmental functions and conservation achievements.

If nature is a big family, then water, forests, mountains, grassland, sea, uninhabited islands and mineral resources are all family members that need household registration, the ministry said.

The registration identifies a natural resource's location, spatial scope, coverage, type and quality.

It also registers who owns the natural resources and who is commissioned to take care of them.

For example, the three key areas registered last week are owned by the people and three provincial governments are in charge of protecting and using the areas commissioned by the ministry.

Despite the management system for natural resources being set up in 2012 and producing positive results, problems such as unclear responsibilities, excessive resource development and lack of protection still pose challenges, the ministry said.

In 2016, the central government adopted trial measures for the registration of natural resources and carried out pilot projects in 12 provinces.

Registration helps draw a clear boundary between areas owned by the people, those with collective ownership of nearby villages and those with ownership assumed by different levels of government, according to the measures.

The ministry said that it will improve the natural resources registration procedures and technical standards, and it will carry forward the registration for the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, wetlands of international importance and national key forest areas.