(Something asks) Mao Jianghui: Is protecting Tibetan antelope all about Hoh Xil?

　　China News Service, Xining, October 13th, title: Is the protection of Tibetan antelopes all in Hoh Xil?

　　——Interview with Mao Jianghui, Director of the Institute of Ecological Environment, Qinghai Academy of Social Sciences

　　China News Agency reporter Pan Yujie

　　The Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve is located in the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the core area of ​​the Sanjiangyuan, and the western part of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province. It has a total area of ​​45,000 square kilometers. It is the largest in area, the highest altitude, the richest wildlife resources, and the original degree of ecological system preservation. One of the most intact world natural heritage sites.

In 2017, "Qinghai Kekexili" was approved to be included in the "World Heritage List" at the 41st World Heritage Conference, becoming China's 12th World Natural Heritage Site.

　　What is the global significance of Hoh Xil's biodiversity?

What is the world value of China's Hoh Xil protection practice?

Mao Jianghui, director of the Institute of Ecological Environment of the Qinghai Academy of Social Sciences, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency "Questions on East and West" to answer these questions one by one.

Data map: A pair of Tibetan antelopes follow each other.

Photo by Chega

The summary of the interview record is as follows:

China News Agency reporter: When it comes to Hoh Xil, people naturally think of Tibetan antelope.

In fact, Hoh Xil is extremely rich in wildlife resources, not just Tibetan antelopes.

Can you take Hoh Xil as an example to talk about what biodiversity is?

From a global perspective, why is it important to protect Hoh Xil’s biodiversity?

Mao Jianghui: The

survival and reproduction of plants and animals cannot do without the natural environment.

"Biodiversity" not only refers to the variety of animals and plants, but its important connotation lies in the dynamic and stable relationship of movement, interaction, and harmonious symbiosis between the biological community and its natural environment.

　　There are currently 20 species of mammals and 142 species of insects in Hoh Xil. Among them, Tibetan antelopes, Tibetan wild donkeys, brown bears, wild yaks, white-lipped deer and other species endemic to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, they are still thriving here after thousands of years of evolution.

They are "in the same frame" with the blue sky and light clouds, vast deserts, alpine meadows, quiet glaciers, dense lakes, continuous snow mountains, and wide valley basins in Hoh Xil. They not only have top aesthetic landscape value, but also constitute a complete and special natural ecosystem.

　　The vast plateau wilderness of Hoh Xil is seldom disturbed by human activities. The wilderness system itself has a synergistic nature, which achieves dynamic balance by adjusting its internal structural attributes.

This not only opens a window for the world to study the gene bank and distribution of wild animals and plants, but also allows humans to understand the evolution of the natural environment.

　　In short, in terms of its authenticity, completeness, and coordination, Hoh Xil is a rare ideal space in the world to carry out multidisciplinary research, to understand the interconnections and constraints between organisms, and the changes in the ecosystem.

Data map: Tibetan wild donkeys in the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve of Qinghai Province foraging on the grass.

Photo by Dong Naide issued by China News Agency Photo source: CNSPHOTO

China News Agency reporter: In the practice of repairing and protecting Hoh Xil in recent years, what experience has the Chinese government accumulated that can provide reference for the world?

Mao Jianghui:

Historically, the ecological environment of Hoh Xil has faced various threats such as illegal poaching, illegal mining and digging, and land desertification. The Chinese government has taken many effective restoration and protection measures in decades.

　　The most important experience is the long-term adherence to the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, and maximum respect and support for the role of the indigenous people in ecological protection.

The aborigines who have lived in the Hoh Xil region for generations understand the changes of one grass, one tree, one river and one water, and can provide important help for the collection and investigation of biodiversity background data in nature reserves.

In recent years, the Chinese government has established ecological public welfare management and protection posts, and the aborigines have become the main body of ecological tourism and franchising management, mobilizing their enthusiasm for participating in protection and enjoying the results of ecological protection; at the same time, the ecological civilization science popularization and The integration of the simple protection concept of the aborigines and the tradition of respecting the nature of the world has made the relationship between man and land more harmonious.

　　The second is partition protection.

Hoh Xil is divided into a wilderness area of ​​35,000 square kilometers and an exhibition area of ​​2,000 square kilometers. The wilderness area is hardly disturbed by human activities. The original ecosystem is completely preserved, and the lambing, mating, habitat and migration paths of Tibetan antelopes are strictly protected; unless necessary In addition to scientific research, construction, tourism, mining and other activities are prohibited, herders are gradually moved and grazing stopped, compensation mechanisms and policies are studied, and ecological restoration of project abandoned land is carried out.

The exhibition area along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway is relatively low in ecological sensitivity, and activities such as scientific research, popular science education, heritage display, and ecological experience can be carried out with limited conditions and conditions.

Scientific and reasonable zoning methods not only improve the efficiency of protection, but also help the public to recognize the value of heritage.

　　In addition, give full play to the power of non-governmental environmental protection organizations.

Many of them are committed to the protection of the Hoh Xil ecosystem all year round. They are familiar with the local reality and can speak out in time. They have become a bridge connecting the local and the outside world, allowing the world to understand the protection practices of the Chinese government and absorbing advanced protection experience from other countries. .

　　After years of practice, we have concluded the concept of "natural restoration first, and man-made protection second".

Many biological and engineering measures we have taken have produced protective effects. However, judging from the overall reflection of the Hoh Xil ecosystem, excessive use of high-tech and man-made management methods may not necessarily receive a positive response from nature.

　　I believe that for a unique natural ecosystem like Hoh Xil, it is very important to maintain the "coexistence of the same phase and different places": in the same natural space, different biological communities such as animals, plants, and microorganisms all live in a relatively stable range and space according to their own laws. Dependence and influence.

Too much human intervention may cause instability of the overall ecosystem, which is contrary to the original intention of protection.

This has inspired some natural heritage sites around the world.

Data map: The snow-capped mountains stretch in the Kekexili Nature Reserve, Qinghai.

Photo by Chu Fuyi posted by China News Agency Photo source: CNSPHOTO

China News Agency reporter: Why is it said that "the entrance to the world's third pole" Hoh Xil has an important and special role in tackling global climate change?

Mao Jianghui:

In September 2011, the

Zhuonai

Lake in the hinterland of Hoh Xil suffered an outburst. The lake broke through its banks, causing the river to widen and the lake bottom to be exposed, forming dust and sandy land. The female Tibetan antelopes had difficulty in obtaining water, which indirectly affected the population reproduction.

This issue has aroused global attention.

　　The collapse of Zhuonai Lake was affected by the increase in temperature and rainfall.

Hoh Xil, represented by Zhuonai Lake, is one of the most sensitive areas to global warming. It acts as a "barometer" and sends a signal to the world in time, paying attention to sensitive areas similar to Hoh Xil, and concentrating scientific research efforts to explore changes. The mechanism can accumulate experience for coping with global climate change and strengthen prevention.

　　Scientific research has shown that for a long time, the climate in the Hoh Xil region has related components of eccentricity, inclination of the earth's axis, and precession cycle.

Protecting Hoh Xil is to maintain the global climate change information database, which will provide true data for greenhouse gas emission reduction.

　　In addition, the Hoh Xil ecosystem is also a typical part of the atmosphere-ocean-terrestrial carbon cycle.

In ancient times, carbonates formed limestone, dolomite and carbonaceous shale through sedimentation. Under chemical and physical action, these rocks weathered to form three kinds of zonal soils: alpine meadow soil, alpine grassland soil and alpine cold desert soil. The carbon is released into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide.

Through scientific research, it is possible to gradually discover the single and multiple mechanisms of action of meadows and deserts in carbon emissions in addition to biological organisms, enrich the arrangements of emission reduction systems, and provide strong evidence for examining the carbon cycle mechanism of global natural ecosystems.

Data map: Hoh Xil scenery.

Photo courtesy of the Authority

China News Agency reporter: In 2019, the Chinese government issued the "Guiding Opinions on Establishing a Natural Reserve System with National Parks as the Main Body". All parts of China are exploring the construction of a natural reserve system and related measures. What kind of demonstration effect can Hoh Xil play? ?

Mao Jianghui:

As of 2019, China has 11,800 natural protected areas in 15 categories, covering 18% of China's land area.

After years of hard work, nature reserves have played a huge role in protecting natural resources and natural relics, maintaining the stability of the ecosystem, and inheriting cultural values, but they have also exposed problems such as imperfect top-level design, unsmooth system management, and unclear property responsibilities.

　　After the "Guiding Opinions" was issued, the past 15 types of nature reserves with different names, management practices, and monitoring standards were reclassified into three categories: national parks, nature reserves, and natural parks.

In recent years, all parts of China have been merging and integrating the original nature reserves in order to achieve stricter and more efficient protection.

Constructing a natural reserve system with national parks as the main body, Hoh Xil's exploration can play a multi-faceted role model for China and the world.

　　For example, the Sanjiangyuan National Park Administration is determined to be the sole management body of the Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve, and it will coordinate the powers and responsibilities of natural resources, water conservancy, tourism, earthquake, meteorology and other departments, shift from decentralized management to vertical management, and formulate unified standards and monitoring systems. Avoid inter-organizational constraints and improve protection efficiency.

After centralized management, the reserve can share the scientific research, monitoring, and management capabilities of the national park, attract more social organizations, ecological managers and volunteers, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation; it will also help broaden funding channels and absorb various social donations. Converge with national transfer payments and provincial government matching funds to form a larger flow of funds to provide protection for protection.

　　The assessment system before unified management is aimed at a single type of ecosystem and separately assesses mountains, lakes, land, and animal and plant resources.

Now, adhering to the concept of "collaborative protection of mountains, waters, lakes, grasses, smoothies, and sand systems", a set of scientific and reasonable monitoring and evaluation standards have been formulated for the integrity of the Hoh Xil natural ecosystem, focusing on the interrelationships between ecosystems.

(over)

　　Expert profile:

　　Mao Jianghui, Director of the Institute of Ecological Environment, Qinghai Academy of Social Sciences, and Director of the Training Center, Associate Researcher in Economics, Senior Registered Geographic Information System Application Engineer. His research directions are environmental planning, green development, natural reserve system and ecological culture.

Up to now, more than 1.2 million characters of various scientific research results have been completed.

Among them, he published 1 monograph, participated in the completion of 3 national social science fund projects, undertook 9 provincial social science fund projects and commissioned projects, undertook 2 provincial think tank projects, and published 18 academic papers (4 of which were CSSCI Papers), compile 3 textbooks.

Won 1 second prize and 3 third prizes for outstanding achievements in philosophy and social sciences of Qinghai Province.