China Philanthropy Times: An interview outline on ZHOU Jinfeng on Northbound Wild Elephant
2021/6/11 15:39:00 本站

i. It is known that nature reserves can be divided into ecological reserves, biological reserves and natural heritage reserves. Xishuangbanna is a vast area, and it needs to preserve the subtropical forest ecosystem as well as many rare wildlife, plants and animals. In your opinion, as a vast protected area, is there a contradiction between the protection of the forest ecosystem and the protection of certain wild animals? Can it be balanced?

Zhou Jinfeng: The classification of nature reserves is artificial and facilitates management. There's only one type of nature reserve, and that is to protect nature. Protecting flora and fauna is collective, there's no contradiction. Protecting nature includes the ecosystem, to protect the species diversity and genetic diversity of an ecosystem, its nature is to protect biodiversity. And we humans, in the process of managing protected areas, have made many misappropriations. For example, single-mindedly planting or protecting trees, look at Yunnan's elephant problem. The experts in the protected area also said that the grasses had become less because the protection of trees is done too well. This means the protection is not done well. If the protection is done well, not only do we need to protect the tropical forest, but we also guarantee the diversity of grasses. Protecting these will naturally protect species diversity, the elephants' habitat. It doesn't matter how many species in an area protect species diversity, but to protect the native species. This is closely related to the conservation area, and there is no contradiction at all. To protect the forest system is a mistake in itself. It is ridiculous to remove grasses to protect the forest. What we protect is nature, it is our mission. And that includes the species and the ecosystem and must be remembered at all times.

 

ii. Right now, what are the criteria for evaluating such comprehensive nature reserves as Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve? What are the indicators of animal parts and biodiversity?

Zhou Jinfeng: As for how a protected area like Xishuangbanna is evaluated, we have five criteria for biodiversity conservation, which are biodiversity survey, evaluation, adaptation (including climate change adaptation), compensation and restoration. It's the only way we evaluate an area for now.

 

iii. According to reports, ever since the creation of Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, the number of wild Asian elephants has grown from 179 in the 1980s to more than 250 herds today. Some experts say that the struggle for space and the migration of elephants is a natural phenomenon. If it is a natural phenomenon, can this migration be interpreted as a reasonable phenomenon?

Zhou Jinfeng: There are more trees, less grass, and elephants don't have enough food. Similar problems exist in wetlands around the Bohai Sea. Local authorized guidelines and so-called indicators have "protected" the wetlands that the birds can't hunt in the wetlands, forcing them to hunt outside, leading to poisoning endangered birds, being bombarded by fishpond owners, and going on for years. Elephants are just another example. It is important to consider how much water should be preserved in the wetlands surrounding the Bohai Sea and whether natural vegetation and reeds should be cut, not on a whim, but according to the five criteria of biodiversity.

 

iv. If animal migration is a natural phenomenon, it is the response of a species adapting to changes in the ecological environment. From this perspective, does establishing nature reserves harm animals' development, limiting their spontaneous movement?

Zhou Jinfeng: Elephant migration is a natural phenomenon. There is no problem with that. The proliferation of elephant living areas is also an essential part of biodiversity conservation, which is why we propose Elephant National Parks, which will turn these countries and provinces into large national park systems, gradually creating corridors for animals to migrate. Existing problems with the reserve itself include the loss of grass, excessive trees, and further encroachment of rubber trees suggest problems with the reserve and the migration of elephants themselves. The number of elephants in the protected areas in Xishuangbanna has not increased since its establishment, but the total number of elephants in China has increased to the Pu'er area. The increase in Pu'er is a good thing, it can be seen as the expansion of Pu'er elephants. In fact, the number of Pu'er elephants is minimal. 

In total, the number of elephants in the traditional protected areas has not increased, but this source of food within the habitat has decreased. So elephants have moved north to Pu'er and established a relatively long-term stable habitat due to a past expansion of the traditional protected area, caused by a lack of habitat rather than simply an entire protected area, primarily an increase in population.

Elephants themselves need to exist in the broader area, a significant achievement in conserving biodiversity in our country. Not only is it quantitative, but it is also a positive thing to do in maintaining biodiversity. This migration is particularly commendable for its remarkable success in conserving biodiversity, compared with the recent Northeastern tiger incident and sent to isolation centers after getting captured anesthetic guns. In short, our overall actions are correct and have been highly praised by experts worldwide.

 

v. What else do you think about the construction of nature reserves?

Zhou Jinfeng: This time, we respect wild elephants' wild and natural characteristics, let them move, and actively protect the lives and property of the people and avoid conflicts between humans and elephants, giving them plenty of space and freedom. Through this incident, we have also proposed that we should consider and develop the Biodiversity Conservation in Our Neighborhood (BCON ) in terms of extending biodiversity conservation from the core to the surrounding areas. To protect the whole ecosystem, ensure the safety and living of man and nature, and achieve harmonious man and nature. Neighborhood biodiversity conservation will be a significant development in the future, through which the elephant's migration and later response can develop experience and results.

Many people are thinking about getting elephants back, and we think it is right to get them back. But it's not the best solution, the solution is to help them find short and long-term habitats when they migrate, we will also build Yunnan Elephant National Park, which can cover a wider area. Establishing a neighborhood biodiversity conservation system is a great attempt and the right direction for our biodiversity conservation.

 It's like our city greening, no insects and no trees are harmed, but what about the birds? We should build a harmonious coexistence between man and nature, instead of killing everything we feel wrong about, only leaving what we think is good, this can never succeed. On the contrary, it can lead to the pollution of chemicals, leading to an unhealthy ecology.

Excessive "ecological construction" of the human perspective can be counterproductive and often responsible for ecological damage. For example, we have built many water sceneries in the northern cities, but we have made water seepage prevention underneath them, which goes against the natural properties of these bodies as wetlands. Including excessive weed eradication is also a problem. This is not only in our cities and around our protected areas but also internationally, such as the large-scale reduction of insect observation in German protected areas and the use of pesticides. Our knowledge of protected areas, our knowledge of biodiversity and ecology must be improved.

 

Translator/Syying

 

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