CHENGDU - A national park devoted to the giant panda could be the best way to protect the species, at least according to Southwest China's Sichuan provincial forestry department on Saturday.

Yao Sidan, head of the department, said an provincial environmental plan, released on Friday, put forward the idea of a national park for giant panda.

A repackaging of current natural reserves, forestry and wetland parks in western Sichuan, the national park would be a major innovative project for the endangered species, Yao said.

The plan said the habitat for giant pandas should not be less than 26.5 million mu (1.77 million hectares) in the province by the year of 2020.