The protection of Yunnan golden monkeys has achieved results (People's Eyes·Strengthen Biodiversity Protection)
Cub of Yunnan snub-nosed monkey.
Xinhua News Agency
Introduction
"Oh-oh-oh -" a long call broke the silence of Xiangguqing in the early morning.
The sky was getting bright, and it was estimated that the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey had already woken up. The rangers in Xiangguqing, Tacheng Town, Weixi Lisu Autonomous County, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, began to shout towards the forest.
"Hmm, ah..." Soon, a reply came from the forest.
Located in the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve in Yunnan, Xiangguqing is home to a display monkey group composed of 10 "families" and more than 60 Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys. It is currently the only place where people can observe Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys up close.
When they get along day and night, the rangers establish a special connection with these Yunnan golden monkeys: Only when they call will the Yunnan golden monkeys emerge from the dense forests of the mountains.
This surprised tourists from afar.
The Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey with upturned nose, pink lips and big eyes is a rare and endangered animal unique to my country. It lives in high mountain forests at an altitude of 2500 to 4700 meters.
Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve is located in the core area of the "Three Parallel Rivers" World Natural Heritage. It is the habitat of about 60% of the Yunnan golden monkey.
In October this year, the 15th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations "Convention on Biological Diversity" will be held in Kunming, Yunnan.
"As the chairman of the Kunming Conference, China is willing to share the experience of biodiversity governance and ecological civilization construction with all parties." On September 30, 2020, President Xi Jinping pointed out in an important speech at the United Nations Biodiversity Summit, "Currently, global The extinction rate of species is accelerating, and the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystems pose a major risk to human survival and development. The new crown pneumonia epidemic tells us that man and nature are a community of destiny. We must work together, act quickly, and protect in development. Develop while protecting, and build a beautiful home in harmony with all things."
"Mountains are high, and trees are long." After long-term protection, the population and overall number of Yunnan golden monkeys continue to grow.
At the end of April this year, the Yunnan Forestry and Grassland Bureau announced the results of more than two years of dynamic monitoring of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys: The population and total number of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys has increased from 1,000 to 1,500 in 13 populations in 1996 to 3,300 in the current 23 populations. Only above.
This time, the dynamic monitoring of Yunnan golden monkeys was carried out in a coordinated action of "government + public welfare organizations + experts + protectors + community residents". The result of the "Green Paper on the Protection of Yunnan Golden Monkeys" has also been officially published.
The protection effect of the Yunnan golden monkey can be regarded as a vivid example of my country's continuous promotion of biodiversity management and the construction of ecological civilization.
In the summer, the reporter walked into the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve to explore how Yunnan golden monkeys ushered in restorative growth.
Strengthen field patrol
The patrol force has grown stronger, the methods have become more diverse, and the system has become increasingly standardized
Every day, from 6 in the morning to 8:30 in the evening, Yu Jianhua guards the monkeys in Xiangguqing.
It is a simple plastic shed that shelters him from wind and rain.
In the early morning, he guided the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkeys that he guarded from the overnight spot to the monkey-watching spot, and fed them with usnea, apples, etc., to welcome the tourists who came to visit in the morning.
When the monkey is in a bad state, he will immediately contact the nearby wildlife rescue station.
When the monkey was taking a nap, he hurriedly took a meal.
Yu Jianhua is 69 years old this year.
From 14 to 45 years old, he mainly lived by hunting.
In the past, many villagers around Xiangguqing went to the mountains to hunt and cut trees for their livelihoods. The habitat of Yunnan golden monkeys was affected, the number of monkeys was once reduced, and the protection situation was severe.
Improving biological habitat is the foundation of biodiversity conservation.
In 1983, the Yunnan Provincial Government approved the establishment of the Baima Snow Mountain Provincial Nature Reserve (in 1988, it was upgraded to a national nature reserve with the approval of the State Council), and then the Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve Management Office was established in the Deqin County Forestry Bureau, under the Xia Ruo and Yeri two protection stations and Shusong test station opened the prelude to the protection of Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkeys.
That year, Zhong Tai, who is currently the deputy director of the Management and Protection Bureau of Yunnan Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve, was recruited and assigned to the Yeri Conservation Station, becoming the first group of staff specializing in the protection of Yunnan golden monkeys.
When he first arrived at the protection station, Zhong Tai has never remembered: “In the past, the protection station had to take a truck to Benzilan Town, Deqin County, and then walk with the caravan for three days. At that time, the protection station did not even have an office space. , We ran our own rammed-earth wall to build the station." A mule became the main means of transportation for the 4 staff of the protection station to transport materials.
It is not easy to build a station, and it is not easy to carry out protection work.
The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey lives in dense forests far away from human beings. In addition, the population is very small, making it difficult to see.
"Tell the people to protect the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkeys, but most people have never seen them look like." Zhong Tai said.
In order to assist researchers in investigating Yunnan golden monkeys, Zhong Tai and his colleagues often carried more than a dozen pairs of rubber shoes into the mountains-trekking through the mountains and wading through the water. They could wear a pair of shoes in three to five days, and it would take more than 10 days or even a month to go around in the mountains.
At the end of 1985, Zhong Tai and experts from the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences met the Yunnan golden monkey for the first time during a field survey. Only then did he know that the adult Yunnan golden monkey is black and white, not the golden yellow of the Sichuan golden monkey. .
More than 10 years later, the team of tracking and monitoring Yunnan golden monkeys has gradually grown, and Yu Jianhua is one of them.
"Stop hunting, go up the mountain to find and patrol Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkeys." In the spring of 1997, Li Hu, then director of the Weixi County Forestry Bureau, approached Yu Jianhua.
The county forestry bureau also squeezed a portion of its very inadequate office funds to provide each patrol team with a daily salary of 6 yuan.
In this way, Yu Jianhua became one of the first batch of three Yunnan golden monkey rangers.
In order to find the Yunnan golden monkey, Yu Jianhua and his colleagues walked more than ten kilometers of mountain roads every day.
On rainy days, the mountains are full of clouds and fog, and the visibility is only a few meters. They hide from the rain under the big trees and rocks, and they are all wet. In snowy days, the snow in the mountains often covers the waist, and the rugged mountain roads are even more difficult.
Over the years, Yu Jianhua and his colleagues have found a group of hundreds of monkeys, and gradually figured out the doorway to find the Yunnan golden monkey: either based on the feces on the ground and the food they left behind, or climbing to the ridge of the big tree Explore the sounds of the Yunnan golden monkeys, or place their favorite foods such as bamboo shoots, wild fruits, usneas, etc. along the way, or wait near the drinking point...
"Following the monkeys for seven or eight years, we not only found the monkeys, but also gained their trust." Yu Jianhua said, "The monkeys remembered our voices and looks, met us, put down our guard, and stayed on the tree. Foraging, taking a nap."
With the passage of time, tracking and patrols have entered a standardized track.
This year’s continuous dry weather has turned the thick moss in the dense forests of Baima Snow Mountain into withered yellow. In response to the problem found in the field patrol, the Benzilan Management Office cleaned and repaired the drinking points between the forests and built 3 new water storage points. The pond is for wild animals such as Yunnan golden monkeys to drink.
The construction of the reservoir is very particular: in order to prevent monkeys from falling into the water, the length, width, and depth of the reservoir are tailor-made for them; medicated salts are put in the pool to prevent diseases.
Benzilan Management Office was formed by the merger of Xiaruo and Yeri protection stations and Shusong test station in 2005, directly under the Deqin branch of the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve Management and Protection Bureau.
When the reporter interviewed here, half of the 10 staff members were patrolling the field.
Chen Jie, deputy director of the management office, said that patrol is one of the most basic and important tasks for resource management and protection in protected areas, and it is now increasingly standardized.
"Daily patrols and monitoring patrols must formulate annual plans in advance, clarify routes, and focus on discovering and solving problems; inspections and patrols on irregular and irregular routes will act immediately after receiving reports from the masses."
Yu Jianhua’s son, Yu Zhonghua, has been engaged in patrol work in the Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve for 15 years. He talked about the protection of Yunnan golden monkeys: what food do they have throughout the year, and what other wild animals are in the habitat of Yunnan golden monkeys... and Compared with his father, Yu Zhonghua pays more attention to observation and research. He will look up information online, consult researchers who come to the protected area for field trips, and upload videos of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys to the Internet to interact with "fans".
"In the early years, patrolling the mountains to protect the long-term windy meals and sleepers, now the reserve uses infrared to monitor, observe animal activities, collect scientific data, and control poaching activities." Yu Zhonghua told reporters that nowadays, patrols focus on the application of technological methods, and many high-definition cameras are deployed in the dense forests of the mountains. , A camera can monitor the surrounding area with a radius of two kilometers.
The video system directly connects the relevant administrative departments of Yunnan Province and Diqing Prefecture to realize remote online monitoring and dispatching.
Patrol forces are also strengthening.
The patrol team of Xiangguqing has expanded from the initial 3 to 28, and many of them have experienced the transition from hunter to patrol.
The treatment guarantee is also improving. “Initially, the county Forestry Bureau allocated wages from office funds, and now it has been transferred to the special fund guarantee of the Yunnan Golden Monkey National Park in the reserve, and the wages have been increased to 1,800 yuan per month.” Yu Jianhua introduced.
Strengthen scientific research support
Carry out research on conservation biology and ecological behavior of Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, and implement monitoring research and systematic protection of the entire forest ecosystem
Not long ago, the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey "rice-grain" family welcomed the addition of baby monkeys. This is the eleventh new born monkey in the Xiangguqing display group this year.
“The female monkeys in the display group give birth to an average of one child in two years. For the rare and endangered Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey, this kind of growth is very rare.” Yu Jianhua raised his eyebrows with joy.
The rejuvenation of the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey population is inseparable from the efforts of scientific research and patrol personnel.
In May 2008, the Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve separated some families from the Xiangguqing monkey group. On the one hand, it was exhibited to the public and developed eco-tourism; The golden monkey is restricted to activities in a relatively fixed area in order to carry out scientific observation and protection.
Nowadays, there are more than 60 Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys on display in Xiangguqing. The living area is located in the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey national park in the Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve. The surrounding forest vegetation community is complete and the environment is livable.
In addition to staple foods such as usnea, Yu Jianhua and his colleagues also prepared supplementary foods such as eggs, apples, and pumpkin seeds for them to improve nutrition.
"The monkeys change a place for the night every day. To prevent them from getting sick, we will wait for them to choose a resting area and make sure there are no problems before going down the mountain." Yu Jianhua waits for the monkeys to fall asleep before going home every day, early the next morning , Before the monkey woke up, he came to the monkey group.
Living together day and night, Yu Jianhua can call each monkey's name, and can distinguish their joy, anger, sorrow, and joy by shouting.
This is inseparable from the "domestication" management-scientific researchers have established a family file for each Yunnan golden monkey, recording its family members, age structure, and blood relationship in detail.
"Field patrols can only discover and roughly grasp the number and distribution of monkey groups, and the management of'domestication' is helpful for close scientific observation and conducting research on conservation biology and ecological behavior of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys." Zhong Tai said.
Close observations helped scientific researchers discover the "earthwork" for the treatment of diarrhea in Yunnan golden monkeys.
Lai Jiandong, head of the Wildlife Rescue Station of the Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve, recalled that the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey in the reserve had been infected with parasites and was in poor mental state. The rescue station tried many drugs to no avail, and later used it to improve the nutrition of the Yunnan golden monkey. I found a mystery: pumpkin seeds and sumac seeds can effectively inhibit parasites and are very useful for treating diarrhea in Yunnan golden monkeys.
"Fights often occur between adult male monkeys, and we do not directly intervene in this, because it helps the reproduction and communication between different monkey groups and avoids inbreeding. Once a monkey is found injured in the fight, immediately ask the wildlife rescue station to work. People rushed for treatment." Zhong Tai said that in order to reduce internal competition among monkey groups and promote gene exchange between different monkey groups, the number of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys exhibiting the monkey group is maintained within 70. "Once more than 70, they will be grouped appropriately."
Monitoring and research on the habitat environment of Yunnan golden monkeys are also advancing simultaneously.
The vehicle stopped by the 214 National Highway, and the reporter went downhill along the mountain path and walked for about an hour to Quzonggong, an alpine meadow located in the Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve.
Two huge U-shaped valleys meet here, and two rivers, Ji Ni and Ji Niu, flow out.
It is located in the upper reaches of Zhubalo River, a tributary of the Jinsha River, and the Quzonggong Ecological Positioning Monitoring Station is built here.
Walking by the Ji Niu River, the white tarpaulins laid under the dense forest on the roadside attracted the attention of reporters.
"There are spruce, fir, redwood and other tree species, and it is a stable forest ecological community." said Tibu, head of the Quzonggong Ecological Positioning Monitoring Station. "These white tarpaulins are mainly used to collect trees. Fallen leaves and fallen fruits on the forest. We analyze the canopy closure of the forest through the number of fallen leaves and fallen fruits in an area; through the detection and testing of the fallen leaves, analyze whether there are diseases and insect pests in the relevant forest area, and then achieve the health of the forest ecosystem monitor."
After patrolling for many years, Yu Zhonghua has observed this phenomenon: "The places where Yunnan golden monkeys love to move are often places where there are many species of animals and plants and the forest ecology is stable. Some plantations with a single tree species are not happy to go to Yunnan golden monkeys."
Mao Wei, deputy director of the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve Management Bureau, believes that the protection of Yunnan golden monkeys needs to adhere to systems thinking, protect the diversity of animals and plants, establish a stable and complete forest ecosystem, and create a good habitat for Yunnan golden monkeys.
In recent years, scientific research and patrol personnel of Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve have jointly conducted field surveys with Yunnan University researcher Yu Li's team and other scientific research teams to analyze the genetic relationship of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys and are building a species gene bank.
They have collected 3051 fecal samples from 22 Yunnan snub-nosed monkey populations. The study found that the genetic diversity of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys is at the upper-middle level compared with other primates.
In order to improve genetic diversity, they proposed to build an ecological corridor connecting the various habitats of Yunnan golden monkeys.
In July 2019, the Yunnan Forestry and Grassland Bureau, together with more than 10 associations and scientific research institutions including the Provincial Green Environment Development Foundation, initiated the establishment of the Yunnan Golden Snub-nosed Monkey Conservation Network to strengthen the protection of Yunnan's golden snub-nosed monkey populations and their habitats.
As of the end of last year, 6,100 acres of ecological corridor restoration and afforestation have been implemented, and 630,000 spruce, Huashan pine, fir and other trees have been planted.
Form a protective force
Explore the community co-management mechanism to guide the masses from passive protection of Yunnan golden monkeys to active protection
In the Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve and its surrounding 3 kilometers, more than 70,000 farmers once backed to the mountains to eat, including cutting firewood, digging cordyceps and matsutake, and reclaiming land for agriculture and animal husbandry.
On the one hand is the survival of the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, on the other is the livelihood of the people, how to coordinate biodiversity conservation and help farmers increase income to achieve a win-win situation?
"The protection measures for Yunnan golden monkeys have been continuously strengthened over the years, and the results have been remarkable." said Xie Hongfang, who retired as the director of the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve Management Bureau last year. Benefit from protection."
In the early morning, Yu Xinhua, a villager of Xiangguqing, climbed the hillside covered with nettles and came to a shade of shed. The Chinese herbal medicines such as Dianzhonglou, Gentiana, Jintiesuo, etc. grew gratifyingly in the ground.
After finishing his work in the field, he went to the nearby bee farm to cut honey.
Planting Chinese herbal medicine and keeping beekeeping, Yu Xinhua's family earns more than 50,000 yuan per year.
Yu Xinhua started raising bees in 2011, but it is different from the method of his parents. Following expert guidance, the beehives in his house are no longer made from hollowed out tree trunks, but new beehives that keep warm and are hygienic.
"Beekeeping with new beehives is easier to manage and the quality of the honey produced is higher." Yu Xinhua said, "This is thanks to the community co-management project for inviting teachers from Yunnan Agricultural University to teach us scientific beekeeping methods."
Since 2014, the Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve has carried out community co-management exploration of biodiversity protection, considering the natural resource management of the reserve and the economic and social development of the community as a whole, focusing on improving the livelihood of the protected area and surrounding villagers, and changing their production and lifestyles. Guide the masses from passive protection of Yunnan golden monkeys to active protection.
The exploration and practice of community co-management has brought many changes, and Matsutake resource management is one of them.
Around July each year, when the rainy season arrives, the harvesting of matsutake ushers in a good season, which is the main source of income for many villagers around the reserve.
For a long time in the past, out of the mentality of "I don’t dig, others will dig", many young velvets who have not grown up and old velvets that will leave their seeds after opening the umbrella have also been excavated, causing the output of matsutake to decrease year by year. .
The masses reported this issue to the Management and Protection Bureau of the Reserve.
The staff of the reserve discussed with the villagers to strengthen the resource management of matsutake, and decided to start with the ban on the collection of children's mushrooms.
At this time, the question is: how old is it?
Some people propose to measure the size, but what if the person who measures is good for relatives and friends?
In the end, everyone agreed: Weld the steel ring according to a certain size, and the only thing that can be passed through is the velvet. The picking is strictly prohibited, and the punishment rules are set; intermittent picking is implemented, and the picking is three days off for one day to let the matsutake grow "take a breath"; the local matsutake grows away. Not open to Yunnan pine and alpine oak, many villages clearly ban logging and fuelwood in the village regulations and folk agreements to ensure the long-term income of matsutake.
In the past few years, the matsutake from Baima Snow Mountain has gradually become a popular item on the market, which not only helps farmers increase their income, but also makes villagers aware of the importance of protecting the forest ecology.
Walking into Xiangguqing, the wooden planks covering the roofs of every household are gone, replaced by new materials, resin tiles.
Zhong Tai, who has worked in the Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve for 38 years, said: “In the past, villagers used wooden'headboards' ---cutting spruce and other big trees and sawing them into blocks. Today,'boards are replaced with tiles.' 'The experience has been promoted in Diqing Prefecture."
"The community co-management mechanism insists on reflecting demands from the bottom up. According to the production and living needs of the masses, the protection area management and protection bureau researches and solves problems, demonstrates and explores by means of project systems, and promotes and guides surrounding villagers to protect and develop in protection. According to Zhao Weidong, a senior engineer of the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve Management and Protection Bureau, in recent years, the community co-management mechanism has been promoted in the Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve and its surrounding areas. In the reserve, 15 species of national first-level protected wild animals, including the Yunnan golden monkey, have been promoted. The numbers are steadily increasing.
In September 2017, the Central Office and the State Council issued the "Overall Plan for Establishing a National Park System", which clearly stated "Establishing a Community Co-management Mechanism."
In Xie Hongfang's view, the community co-management mechanism is a microcosm of the country's strong measures to protect biodiversity.
"In the late 1990s, my country began to implement natural forest logging bans, and the'wood finance' of cutting trees and selling money in some counties has gradually ended. This has directly protected the living environment of Yunnan golden monkeys. Especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, we have insisted Mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasses and sand are communities of life that coordinate the promotion of biodiversity governance; practicing the concept that green waters and green mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains, exploring the path to realize the transformation of ecological value, has promoted the protection of Yunnan golden monkeys to achieve new results."
Layout design: Shen Yiling
Our reporter Zhang Fan Xu Yuanfeng Yang Wenming