First of all, I would like to thank the CBCGDF for the invitation and Deputy Secretary-General Ma Yong for the introduction. To correct, I am not a famous ecologist, I am just an ordinary scientific researcher who studies animal ecology. Now that the forest has been cut down and the entire ecosystem has changed, the animals living here can no longer survive, or they are too sporadic or too single; in other word, after grapes are planted, the stability of the ecosystem there has deteriorated, and in the end, for example, in the future, only birds or animals that eat grapes will stay, with no other animals able to inhabit or survive there. This is something worth considering for us and those engaged in animal ecology research.
Of course, (for what happened to Yangguan Forest Area, Dunhuang, Gansu Province), first of all, after hearing this, I was very sad and very sorry. Why? Because I used to work there 30 years ago, near Dunhuang City and Anxi County (now Guazhou). I did not expect the damage to be so serious. Just after hearing the introductions by Lawyer Gao and Teacher Yu Shunli, I will talk about my personal opinion on this matter.
First, I think that when everyone assesses this matter, in addition to assessing (this kind of) damage or change, as well as the impact on the current ecosystem and its value, I strongly recommend another point, namely what are the potential risks and adverse effects of the destruction of the ecosystem on the value and function of the future ecosystem? In the western desert, unlike in the south with huge biodiversity, even if a tree is cut down in a forest, it may not have much impact on the entire ecosystem. However, in the northwest desert area, especially the Yangguan Forest Area we are discussing now, the impact of cutting a tree may be immeasurable because of the fragility of the ecosystem in this area, because any kind of small change in any one component of the ecosystem in these areas, or over-utilization, is very likely to cause the collapse of the regional ecosystem. In addition, assuming that we will no longer grow grapes in the future, we want to restore the past ecosystem and its service functions. This restoration process will take a long time and may not be fully restored. Therefore, this is what we must consider.
Second, in addition to preventing wind and fixing sand, this forest area may have played an important role in all aspects of human survival in our entire region, such as climate regulation and water conservation (you may not realize it yet). Therefore, we must see the value of this forest area now and the ecological value it may provide to humans living in this area in the future. Because if the future ecological value is not considered, then I think the impact assessment of this kind of deforestation is inappropriate.
Recently, reports on the "Severe Deforestation of More than Ten Thousand Mu of Public Welfare Shelter Forest in Dunhuang Yangguan Forest Area" aroused widespread public concern. Therefore, the Research Department of the CBCGDF held symposiums to discuss the deforestation case (online and offline) 9:30 am (Beijing time) on January 22 and invited experts in environmental law, environmental experts, the case attorney, environmental reporter, and the whole event was broadcast on Baijiahao, Weibo and Weishi platforms. This time, Professor Liu Dingzhen from the School of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University was invited to attend the meeting.
译/Cindy Yang
Original Chinese article
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Pkhgcdj9RS3oeds6yN3WXQ
https://www.paypal.me/CBCGDFChina
http://www.cbcgdf.org/English/ConfirmDonaTion/0.html