[Editor’s note:] From March 25th to 28th, 2017, the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) Asia-Pacific Chapter Meeting 2017 was held at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) in Yunnan Province. The meeting focused on the past, present, and future of biodiversity in the Asian tropics, with four major themes: patterns and processes of biodiversity; biogeography and evolution of Southeast Asian biodiversity; addressing the threats to Southeast Asian biodiversity; and sustainable production and use of natural resources.

The Secretary-General of CBCGDF Dr. Zhou Jinfeng was invited to give a keynote speech entitled “Community Based Approach Towards the Conservation of China’s Biodiversity”. The content of this speech is hereby shared in full. This is the Part I.

Community Based Approach towards The Conservation of China’s Biodiversity

• China Biodiversity and its Conservation.

Problems on Biodiversity in China.

China is among the 12 mega-biodiversity countries in the world. Forest cover accounts for 20.36% of the total land area, while the stock volume of forest plantations may be the largest in the world, harboring abundant and diverse wildlife.

• The Current situation of threatened Fauna and flora in China is relatively high

• Threatened Invertebrate (critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable species) has a percentage of 34%,

• Threatened Vertebrates accounting for 35.9%

• According to surveys, 3767 species of flora in china are threatened which is 10.9% of higher plants in China.

• Another major problem is the loss of genetic resources

China NGOs Approach To Solving the problems.

To ensure the proper conservation of China’s biodiversity, there have been lots of NGOs who have dedicated their time towards the conservation of these threatened species. One of these NGOs is China Biodiversity Conservation and Green development Foundation (CBCGDF).

The CBCGDF is a 32 years old Organisation which originated from the China Milu Deer Foundation After the reintroduction of milu back to china as a gift from the Duke of Bedford in 1985.

Other than Conserving milu deer, this organization is aimed at ensuring the proper conservation of biodiversity, Environmental protection, and sustainable green development.

The approach applied in conservation is strictly based on the community.

The community play a very large role in biodiversity conservation. The the work of NGOs in local community the people tend to benefit from it in every way. Jobs are provided for the people in the process, alternate form of income are also provided, there is also a conservation of their culture and traditions, and educative programs are also introduced in the local community as well to increase the awareness.

The CBCGDF works based on 8 major areas and each of these areas includes

• CCAfa,

• Volunteers Efforts,

• Environmental Public interest Litigation (EPIL)

• Traditional Culture Conservation,

• international Collaboration,

• Initiatives, meetings and Callings,

• Green Development,

• Ecology and Poverty Alleviation.

• China/Community Conservation Area for Something at Somewhere (CCAfa)

Created by the CBCGDF, the CCAfa program is a fast, effective low cost approach that brings together a wide range of participants for the identification, establishment and management of protected areas, Drivers for the establishment of CCAfas can come from an array of interested individuals and groups including

• local government,

• social organizations and clubs,

• NGOs and

• members of the general public (also including Volunteers).

The object of protection within the CCAfa program includes

• Species (animals, and plants),

• Ecological systems,

• Cultural heritage, etc.

So far 47 Community Conservation Areas (CCAfa) programs have been establish since the program was initiated in April 2016. This show how fast and efficient the CBCGDF is towards ensuring the conservation of not just Chinese Biodiversity but global biodiversity.

Some of Our CCAfa Programs Includes

• Community Conservation Area for Great Bustards

• Community conservation Area for Waterfowls at Tangshan

• Community Conservation Area for Snow Leopard,

• Community Conservation Area for Old Magu Village

• Community Conservation area for Acer pentaphyllum

• Community conservation Area for Sand martins

• Community conservation Area for Ili Pikas

• Community Conservation Area for Longlin at Xishuangbanna

• Volunteers Efforts

The CBCGDF has had lots of volunteers working tirelessly towards the biodiversity conservation. Their love for nature, the environment and our ecosystem has brought a lot of break through over the years.

You may have heard the story about a HK young rich man named Li Jiahe eating pangolin meals on his business trip to Guangzhou. This was discovered by the CBCGDF wildlife volunteers. This story was a very hot topic of discussion on the internet.

We’re working hard to save pangolins, and we have developed a strategy of four steps earlier this year. This approach shows how strategic and reliable this organization is towards the conservation of endangered species. These strategic steps developed includes the following;
STEP 1: CBCGDF volunteers fight to curb pangolin consumption.

1. CBCGDF volunteers found people who consumed pangolins for food by analyzing cyber footprints. Currently three people were discovered and successfully identified: a Hongkong young man, who ate pangolin with government officials on his business trip to Guangxi and hit the headline; a Shenzhen young lady who ate pangolins and showed off on her social media; and a Fujian man who ate the animal.

2. CBCGDF supported patrol-based monitoring volunteers at pangolin strongholds and customs. When live pangolins were found by the customs, we urged to send them back to where they were from. For those pangolins with unidentified origins, we sent them to rescue centers.

STEP 2: To help police to find active pangolin vendors and serial criminal. 

1. Take prompt actions. For example, when “officials eat pangolins” were identified, we send an official letter to the Chairman of Guangxi Province and ask him to investigate and take action. To further finding out the truth, more CBCGDF volunteers were sent to Guangxi soon after. We assisted local policemen to arrest two vendors selling two pangolins, with one alive and one killed, which uncover the serious problems of illegal poaching and selling chain of pangolins nowadays. The above two stories are widely spreaded.

2. Aims to collating seizure data and trade information, we have applied for disclosure of government information of the storage and use of pangolins in China, collected numeric data from Chinese government officials, customs and other organizations, and have issued a report called A data overview of the pangolin: When is the end of the overuse of pangolin? in July 2016.

STEP 3: To encourage public participation, promote public awareness, and bring Environmental Public Interest Litigations (EPIL) towards violating pharmaceutical companies and restaurants.

1. We have conducted research into four of the largest Chinese medicinal materials market and seven drugstores, based on which we have issued a report about the medicinal use of pangolins.  We aim to reduce the demand for pangolins which is necessary to address the main threat to their survival, poaching and illegal trade driven by demand for pangolin meat and scales.

2. Most people don’t know it is illegal to eat pangolins. We are working on raising public awareness about reducing the consumption of pangolins through social media such as Wechat and Sinablog; we delivered speeches at schools and in local communities. We are also planning propagandas for the profile of pangolins and the need for their conservation to children in elementary and secondary schools. As Dr Zhou always says, we’re from the people, by the people, and for the people. With united efforts and supports from the general public, we’re confident that the pangolin species can survive.

3. Protecting pangolins’ strongholds: We are preparing to set up China Conservation Areas (CCAfa) for pangolins in Jiangxi, Anhui, and Hunan Provinces where Chinese pangolins are distributed, so as to organize and convene all the non-governmental forces of China, such as local volunteers from all walks of life and experts in some special fields, to conduct targeted, prompt and sustained approaches to protect pangolins all over China. Meanwhile, we will cooperate with the administrators of established natural reserves to protect, rescue and rehabilitate pangolins. We also plan to do genetic research to learn more about pangolins.

4. In late Feb 2017, the CBCGDF volunteers find two national projects on large-sized pangolin breeding. Are they legal? Volunteers were sent to the breeding sites for investigation. We’re also thinking about an environmental public interest litigation against one of the country’s leading TCM pharmacies.

(source: CBCGDF)

(source: weebly.com)

(source: XTBG)