(Biodiversity Conference) Swiss "Old Bo": Planting a tropical rainforest in a Chinese city in 18 years
China News Service, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, October 8th. Title: Swiss "Old Bo": Planting a tropical rainforest in a Chinese city in 18 years
China News Agency reporter Han Shuinan
It is golden autumn, and it is located in the tropical urban area of Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province. Due to the lack of rainforest shelter, it is still hot under the scorching sun.
"Come in, cool inside!" "Lao Bo", the owner of the local internet celebrity guest house Yourantai Manor, greeted the reporter enthusiastically from a long distance away.
Passing through an iron gate to enter the guest house, the scene in front of you is amazing-a tropical rainforest landscape formed by hundreds of tropical trees blocks the sun, and the temperature is indeed much lower than outside the courtyard.
The 68-year-old Bo is from Switzerland. When he was young, he studied biology and economics. He has worked in a wide variety of jobs. He has participated in water construction projects in Nicaragua, economic work in Switzerland, and worked in the Swiss Embassy in China.
This tropical rain forest, which covers an area of about 26 acres in Jinghong City, was transformed from a rubber forest in the past 18 years of what Lao Bo has learned throughout his life.
"The rubber trees planted before have affected the soil here. When I first came, the soil on this piece of land became very firm, and rainwater was not easy to penetrate in." Lao Bo said, "If this land is allowed to naturally restore biodiversity It may take hundreds or even thousands of years, and all I have to do is to speed up this process."
In 2003, Lao Bo began to cut down the original rubber trees and collected tropical tree species for planting through various channels.
"I buy saplings in various nurseries, and my employees will bring some saplings. When hiking around Xishuangbanna, I will bring back the seeds I picked up and cultivate them into saplings for identification. If the tree species is suitable, I will also plant them."
"This is the four-numbered tree, this is the banyan tree... The trees I planted are like my friends. Some trees are already the second generation that reproduced naturally, so I planted their'dad'." Lao Bo took reporters to visit in the rainforest, and would joke from time to time.
For more than ten years, Lao Bo's persistence and dedication has made this tropical rain forest take shape. There are already more than 300 types of tropical trees in the forest.
"The 300 species have surpassed the species of trees in Switzerland." Old Bo proudly said, "Many small animals have returned here. For example, some birds and bats are attracted by the fruits of the trees, and they bring Seeds elsewhere, so they are "working" for me for free."
The process of restoring the rainforest has not been smooth sailing.
Lao Bo once planted three cherry trees from Menghai County. Two of them failed to survive, and the remaining one did not grow well.
"Because the elevation of the origin of these three cherry trees is different from here. Later, I will mainly choose local tree species for planting." Lao Bo explained.
In the rainforest of Yourantai Manor, there are only 5 rooms "hidden", all of which are wooden buildings in Dai style.
Out of the concept of environmental protection, most of the materials used in the construction of the wooden buildings are “second-hand” wood recycled by Lao Bo from the homes of local residents, and the design of the building is also from Lao Bo.
"The biggest'enemy' of a wooden house is termites, but termites are an indispensable species in the forest system, and in order to protect the environment, I can't use pesticides against them." Lao Bo shared his interest in solving termites through biological knowledge The experience of the difficult problem, “termites start from the soil and attack the wood, so we use cement to separate the soil and the wooden structure. Termites like a humid environment. I took the light into consideration when designing to keep the surroundings of the house. dry."
Lao Bo said that the operation and maintenance of this homestay in the rainforest involves expertise in ecology, architecture, economy, tourism, etc. He has fun while studying and exploring.
"At the same time, I also proved that economic development and environmental protection are not in conflict. This requires us to use more wisdom when developing the economy." Lao Bo nodded his head with a smile.
When it comes to biodiversity, Mr. Bo has a different understanding.
“Protecting biodiversity is like investing in stocks. If all assets are invested in one stock, the risk of bankruptcy is very high. Similarly, if we only plant a single tree species, it will be difficult for them to adapt to environmental changes. So we need to protect biodiversity. , This will keep nature stable." (End)