Why do rare animals appear frequently (in-depth observation)
In Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, the Asian elephants that moved northward and returned south last year live in a tropical rain forest.
The journey of this group of Asian elephants to the north and their return has attracted much attention. The pictures of people caring and caring for the elephants and the safety of the elephants are heartwarming.
In the Siberian Tiger and Leopard National Park, the latest monitoring shows that my country's first wild Siberian tiger "Wandashan No. 1" that was successfully rescued and released into nature is living well in the wild and is gradually adapting to the environment of its release.
On the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, batches of Tibetan antelopes traveled through the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and the Qinghai-Tibet Highway animal passage to Zhuonai Lake in Hoh Xil, the birthplace, to start a migration journey.
Nowadays, more and more precious and endangered wild animals are coming into the public view all over the country.
Why do rare animals appear frequently, and what is the current status of the protection of precious and endangered wild animals in my country?
How to further strengthen protection?
The reporter interviewed relevant departments and experts.
More and more rare animals appear frequently, showing the beauty of nature and ecology
In the hinterland of the Bawangling area of Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park, on a tall pen-tube banyan tree, a female Hainan gibbon is squatting, holding a newborn ape in her arms.
"The cub is in the mother's arms. It's alright." Through the telescope, Zheng Haiqiang, a member of the gibbon monitoring team, captured such a scene.
The young ape that Zheng Haiqiang misses was just born in January this year.
In recent years, such good news has come frequently: in August 2020, the young ape "Pingping" was born, and at the beginning of last year, "Ape Sea" and "Ape Nan" were born one after another. This year, the group has added new members.
Since the construction of Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park started in 2019, the population of Hainan gibbons has grown for three consecutive years, from less than 10 in the 1980s, to 36 in 5 groups.
As one of the countries with the richest species of wild animals in the world, my country has more than 7,300 vertebrate species and 130,000 named insects.
In recent years, through habitat protection, rescue breeding and other measures, wildlife protection has achieved remarkable results.
From the tropical rain forest to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, from the coast of the East China Sea to the hinterland of the southwest, more and more rare animals have appeared frequently, showing the beauty of nature and ecology.
The population is constantly increasing.
The "Smile Angel" Yangtze finless porpoise is back.
On May 26, volunteers took pictures of finless porpoises giving birth in the waters of Yangzizhou in the Nanchang section of the Ganjiang River. In the video, adult finless porpoises swim around the cubs and play against the waves.
"There used to be only three finless porpoises here, but now there are nearly 20." Yu Huigong, director of the Natural Education and Volunteer Committee of the Jiangxi Wildlife Conservation Association, said that in order to ensure the safe delivery of finless porpoises, the local government set up a guard team to guard them day and night.
The latest monitoring found that the number of finless porpoises in Poyang Lake has exceeded 700.
The distribution is getting wider and wider.
Xiao Dongxian, a forest ranger in Shangqing Town, Longhu Mountain Scenic Area, Yingtan City, Jiangxi Province, goes down the stone ladder to the Luxi River every day to check the ecological environment of the river.
In Yingtan, after the Chinese mergansers first appeared in the Luxi River more than 10 years ago, their habitats have been expanding.
"At most, more than 140 birds were photographed, accounting for about 10% of the global population." Xiao Dong said, "Chinese merganser ducks have high requirements for the quality of the ecological environment of their habitats. Only by protecting the green waters and green mountains can they be well received." Rare visitor'."
New species and new record species appear one after another.
On May 22, the Biodiversity Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences released the 2022 edition of the Catalogue of Biological Species in China, which included 138,293 species and subspecies, and updated the "family" of biological species.
"The list of biological species in China has grown very rapidly, nearly tripling in the past 15 years," said Ma Ping, deputy director and secretary-general of the Biodiversity Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Last year, a total of 95 species of vertebrates were newly published in China, including 80 new species and 15 newly recorded species in the country. The distribution of new species involved 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, of which 32 were in Yunnan.
In recent years, my country has taken biodiversity conservation as an important part of ecological civilization construction and incorporated it into national and local economic and social development plans. Biodiversity conservation has continued to achieve new results:
The wild giant panda population has increased from 1,114 in the 1970s and 1980s to 1,864; the wild population of Asian elephants has increased from about 180 in 1985 to about 300; the crested ibis has only 7 left when it was discovered in 1981, The wild population has grown to more than 6,000; the wild population of Tibetan antelope has recovered from less than 70,000 in the late 1990s to more than 300,000; the monitoring of pangolin activity in many places has gradually recovered the Chinese pangolin population.
"The population of more than 100 kinds of rare and endangered wild animals, such as crested ibis, Asian elephants, and Tibetan antelopes, has basically reversed the trend of continuous decline, showing a steady and rising development trend." Department of Wildlife Conservation, State Forestry and Grassland Administration The person in charge of the relevant department said.
The nature reserve system has effectively protected 85% of the national key protected wild animal populations
In the Siberian Tiger and Leopard National Park, a sturdy Siberian tiger shakes its head and moves vigorously. Black bears, sika deer, etc. are foraging for food. It is very lively in the primitive forest... The integrated monitoring system of "Heaven, Earth and Sky" records this moving scene. Scenes.
Day and night monitoring by ground infrared cameras, remote sensing satellite observations in the sky, aerial drone cruises... In the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, real-time monitoring of large-scale coverage has been obtained, and more than 20,000 tiger and leopard monitoring images have been obtained.
"At present, the ecology in the park continues to improve, and the population of tigers and leopards has grown steadily. Since the national park was piloted in 2017, 10 new tiger cubs have been monitored, and the wild population has reached about 50; 7 new leopard cubs have been added, and the wild population has reached 50. The number is about 60," said Zhao Li, director of the Siberian Tiger and Leopard National Park Administration.
The beautiful nature reserve is a paradise for wild animals to live and grow freely.
"Strengthening habitat protection and establishing natural reserves provides a natural environment for wild animals to live on. It is the most important, economical and effective measure to protect biodiversity." Jiang Zhigang, former executive deputy director of the National Endangered Species Science Committee express.
In recent years, my country has made great efforts to establish a system of nature reserves with national parks as the main body, and officially established the first batch of national parks such as Sanjiangyuan and giant pandas. It covers 18% of the land area, effectively protecting 90% of the vegetation types and terrestrial ecosystems, and 85% of the national key protected wild animal populations.
At the same time, my country took the lead in proposing and implementing the ecological protection red line system internationally, and the preliminarily delineated national ecological protection red line area is no less than 25% of the land area, which effectively protects precious and endangered species and their habitats.
In November last year, a team of experts from the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center found traces of the reintroduced giant panda "Little Walnut" in the wild at an altitude of more than 1,360 meters in Dujiangyan, Sichuan.
By analyzing the collected feces and the images captured by the infrared camera, it was found that the "small walnut" had a round body and a good living condition in the wild.
"Rejuvenating small local populations and increasing genetic diversity are the ultimate goals of ex situ conservation and reintroduction of giant pandas. We have released 11 giant pandas for training and 9 survived in the wild." China Giant Panda Conservation Research Li Desheng, deputy director of the center, said.
"Flagship species such as giant panda and Siberian tiger, 'umbrella species', are representative species of regional ecological protection. Protecting their living environment benefits not only this species, but the entire ecosystem." Wildlife, Northeast Forestry University Zhang Wei, a professor at the School of Natural Reserves and Nature Reserves, said that in nature reserves, more and more wild animal populations are growing steadily.
Rescue breeding of endangered species through ex situ conservation provides survival opportunities for many species that may become extinct.
"When the population of species is extremely low, it is difficult to reproduce naturally, or the original habitat is destroyed or even no longer exists, ex situ conservation becomes an important means of protecting species." Jiang Zhigang said.
According to the person in charge of the relevant department of the Wildlife Protection Department of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, at present, my country has built a number of rescue and breeding institutions such as wildlife rescue centers and wildlife gene banks, breeding more than 400 kinds of precious and endangered wild animals, which have been successfully released. Species such as giant panda, crested ibis, forest musk deer, and black langur have re-established wild populations of Przewalski's horses and elk that once disappeared in the wild.
The Ministry of Ecology and Environment started the construction of a national biodiversity observation network in 2011, and obtained more than 700,000 observation data every year, and based on this, a biodiversity conservation and supervision database was constructed.
"These first-hand data reflect the changes in species diversity in key areas, and provide technical support for assessing the status and threatening factors of biodiversity conservation, and formulating policy measures." Introduced by Nagai Shin.
Protect wild animals with the strictest rule of law and strictest law enforcement
The "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Destruction of Wildlife Resources" came into force on April 9 this year.
Recently, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court applied this legal interpretation and concluded a case of illegal acquisition, transportation and sale of pangolin scales. Zhang and other 6 people who reselling pangolin scales worth more than 7 million yuan were charged with the crime of endangering precious and endangered wild animals. Sentenced to imprisonment ranging from ten to two years and a fine.
Illegal trade is one of the major endangering factors for wildlife.
In 2016, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration took the lead in establishing an inter-ministerial joint meeting system to combat illegal trade in wild animals and plants.
At present, the number of member units has expanded from 22 at the time of its initial establishment to 27.
my country uses the strictest rule of law and the strictest law enforcement to protect precious and endangered wild animals.
Wildlife Protection Law, Forest Law, Grassland Law, Environmental Protection Law, Yangtze River Protection Law, Biosafety Law... Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, my country has promulgated and revised more than 20 biodiversity-related laws and regulations, covering wildlife and important ecosystem protection, biosecurity and other fields.
"Our country has formed a wildlife protection normative system with the Wildlife Protection Law as the core, with the registration system of key protected wildlife, the habitat protection and hunting sanctuary (period) system, and the strict supervision system of the whole process of operation and utilization as the main content. It has played an important role," said Shi Kun, a professor at the School of Ecology and Nature Conservation at Beijing Forestry University.
Since 2017, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and other departments have continued to carry out the special action to strengthen the supervision of the "Green Shield" nature reserve to protect the habitat of wild animals.
Biodiversity protection is included in the scope of the central ecological environmental protection inspector.
"A number of hard moves have consolidated the responsibilities of governments and departments at all levels, basically reversed the trend of encroaching on and destroying the ecological environment of nature reserves, and formed a high-pressure situation against illegal and criminal acts that destroy biodiversity." Jing Xin said.
The protection of biodiversity cannot be separated from the active participation of the whole society.
Since 2016, with the support of the State Forestry and Grass Administration, the China Wildlife Conservation Association has organized volunteers to carry out "flying protection operations" every year.
Up to now, more than 15,000 activities have been carried out, more than 100,000 volunteers have participated, and more than 132,000 wild birds have been rescued.
In recent years, the departments of ecological environment, forestry and grass have continued to carry out thematic popular science publicity activities to promote the introduction of biodiversity conservation knowledge into classrooms, communities and institutions.
The whole society's awareness of ecological and environmental protection has been significantly enhanced, and the protection of wild animals and plants and the "refusal to eat game" have become common practice.
In the mobile app "Blue Map" developed by the Public Environmental Research Center, an environmental protection social organization, netizens actively participated in taking photos of biodiversity and shared more than 300,000 species photos in total.
"The 'Blue Map' has the function of intelligent map recognition. You can identify birds, insects, beasts, etc. by taking a photo, so as to attract people's interest in biodiversity, and then participate in conservation actions." Ma Ma, director of the Public Environmental Research Center Army said.
Further strengthen the protection of precious and endangered wild animals and realize the harmonious coexistence of man and nature
"In view of the complexity of topography and the unbalanced regional economic development, as well as the uniqueness and diversity of biota, some precious and endangered wild animals in my country are still at a relatively high level of threat." Jiang Zhigang said that protecting and saving endangered species is still A long way to go.
"my country's wild animals have a wide variety of habitat types, and most of the distribution areas are remote. Some species have not yet escaped the danger of extinction and are in an endangered state. The restoration of wild animal habitats and the construction of ecological corridors still need to be vigorously promoted." The person in charge of the relevant department of the Plant Protection Department said.
Strengthening wildlife protection requires comprehensive and detailed scientific data to support.
Shi Kun suggested to increase investment in scientific research, increase the investigation and monitoring of species resources, and further scientifically assess the status of the population.
Jing Xin said that it is necessary to continue to promote the construction of a wildlife monitoring network, carry out background surveys of wildlife, and incorporate relevant data into the national biodiversity conservation and supervision database.
The relevant person in charge of the State Forestry and Grass Administration stated that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the construction of national parks and other natural reserves and wildlife protection projects will be implemented, and 48 critically endangered wild animals such as giant pandas, Siberian tigers, and Chinese pangolins will be implemented. Continue to implement rescue protection, delineate and strictly protect important habitats, connect ecological corridors, and increase the area of important habitats by 10%.
This year, a new batch of national parks will be established in areas with important ecological locations and good ecological functions, such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Yellow River Basin, and the Yangtze River Basin.
"We must do a good job of planning for each national park, and implement differentiated management and control. Key areas of the ecosystem, ecologically sensitive areas and areas with the most biodiversity are included in the core protected areas." President of the National Park Research Institute At the same time, local residents should be encouraged and attracted to participate in the protection and management of national parks, Tang Xiaoping said.
Experts pointed out that the number of wild animal populations is constantly recovering, the local population of wild boars and other species is too large, and human-animal conflicts are gradually emerging. This problem needs to be solved.
"The protection of wild animals should not be at the expense of harming the interests of local residents." Jiang Zhigang said that it is necessary to increase financial transfer payments, improve the ecological compensation mechanism and the compensation mechanism for wildlife damage, so that local residents can benefit from wildlife protection. , attract them to actively participate, and truly realize the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.
Zhang Wei said that the protection of wild animals cannot be "one size fits all", and it is necessary to take into account the multiple functions of wild animals as renewable resources for economic and social development.
For commercial use, reasonable regulations should be carried out, supervision should be strengthened, and the illegal hunting of wild populations as artificial populations should be cracked down.
The relevant person in charge of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration said that the protection will be further strengthened to ensure the safety of precious and endangered species and habitats, strict law enforcement and supervision, and severe crackdown on illegal and criminal acts.
At the same time, extensive publicity and education were carried out to guide the public to consciously resist illegal acts and support the protection work, so as to form a good situation of joint protection by all sectors of society.
Sharing nature under the blue sky (reporter's notes)
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Biodiversity is related to human well-being and is an important foundation for human survival and development."
Human survival and development are inseparable from a healthy ecosystem.
Wild animals are an indispensable part of the ecosystem. In addition to playing an important role in the ecosystem, wild animals also have precious cultural and social values. Many zodiac animals, the national treasure giant panda, etc. are endowed with unique cultures. connotation and symbolism.
In the fields of medicine and natural science, wild animals play an irreplaceable role.
With the advancement of technology, the potential value of wild animals will become more prominent.
To protect wild animals is to protect human beings.
Ecological prosperity is civilization prosperity.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has made unprecedented efforts to promote the construction of ecological civilization. Conservation has undergone historic, turning and overall changes, and biodiversity conservation has achieved remarkable results that have attracted worldwide attention.
The population of many precious and endangered wild animals has increased, and many species that have not been seen for many years have reappeared in people's sight.
At present, the declining trend of global biodiversity has not been fundamentally curbed.
Like many parts of the world, habitat loss and degradation, climate change and other factors still threaten the survival of some wild animals in my country.
Under the blue sky, sharing nature.
To protect wild animals, we must continue to work hard.
It is necessary to speed up the establishment of a natural reserve system with national parks as the main body, effectively protect wildlife habitats and migration channels; continuously improve relevant laws and regulations, strictly supervise, severely crack down on illegal and criminal acts of indiscriminate hunting, and cut off the chain of illegal interests.
The public should also take action, starting from the small things around them, actively protecting wild animals and their habitats, and protecting biodiversity.
Ecological governance, the road is long and the road is long, and the road is coming.
Working together, we will be able to build biodiversity, the foundation of sustainable human development, more and more firmly, and promote the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.
Our reporter Kou Jiangze