24 Aug
2006 - A symbol of peace, black-necked cranes
have been revered by Tibetan Buddhists for centuries.
Legend has it that previous incarnations of the
Dalai Lama were carried from monastery to monastery
on the backs of these holy birds.
A rare species endemic to the
Tibetan Plateau, the cranes have also achieved
something of an iconic status in the tiny village
of Hamagu, on the edge of the Napahai wetland
in Shangri-la County in China’s northwest Yunnan
Province. Here, villagers are tying their fortunes
to the cranes’ popularity as they are becoming
more and more of a tourist attraction. But those
small fortunes will depend on how well the bird’s
habitat is protected.
The Napahai wetlands, where
black-necked cranes feed and breed, are under
tremendous pressure as their fragile wetland habitat
is facing increasing pollution, shrinking freshwater
sources, over-grazing by local livestock that
destroys vegetation, and questionable zoning policies
in the area, which can lead to unsustainable development
and further habitat destruction.
“If the habitat is destroyed,
the birds may stop coming,” said Liu Yunhua, Director
of WWF China’s Education Programme. “This would
no doubt be a loss, not just for nature but for
the local communities who live nearby.”
Once abundant in parts of China,
Bhutan and India, black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis)
numbers have dwindled in recent decades, and,
as a result, have been listed on the IUCN red
list of endangered species. It is estimated that
there are only 5,000–6,000 cranes left in the
wild. The wetlands of Bhutan and southern Tibet
are the wintering sites of these birds, while
northern Yunnan and the eastern part of Ladakh
in India serve as their breeding grounds.
‘When I was young, I remember
fields full of cranes as far as the eye could
see,” said Luosang Tsichum, an 82-year-old resident
from the Yunnan village of Hamagu.
“Now there are far fewer, but
they still play an important role in our village
because they help us regulate the farming season.
The cranes use Napahai as a winter feeding ground,
arriving just after the harvest. Then they leave
in the early spring, which helps us mark the beginning
of the planting season.”
However, not everyone has held
the crane with the same reverence. Another long-term
Hamagu resident, Zhishimila, paints a different
picture.
“As a child, we knew the birds
were valuable, which is why some of my friends
would catch them to be sold in the local markets.
They brought us a lot of money.”
Uncontrollable poaching certainly
did not help the crane’s survival rate, but Zhishimila
quickly points out that such practices died out
many years ago, largely because of a greater understanding
and respect for the birds.
Part of this understanding has
been brought about through work supported by WWF,
which has helped local communities to not only
appreciate the cranes, but also to realize how
the birds can support the village in building
more sustainable livelihoods.
The cranes, as it turns out,
can help the community beyond indicating the planting
season. The draw of the black-necked crane, especially
for both local and foreign ornithologists and
bird enthusiasts, has become a huge potential
source of alternative income for people like Zhishmila.
As more people flock to the area, a service industry
will be required to meet visitors’ needs.
Hamagu is one of the first villages
in the region to embark on a WWF-sponsored eco-tourism
programme, with birdwatching ranking as one of
the highest must-do activities on the agenda.
Bounded by Sichuan Province
to the north and Tibet to the west, the Shangri-la
region is rich in biodiversity. Surrounded by
snow-capped mountains, alpine meadows and montane
forests, the area is also home to endangered species
such as the snub-nosed monkey and snow leopard.
With elevations between 1500 and 5400m, the region
is characterized by deep valleys and tall mountains,
which have created extremely diverse climate,
soil, and vegetation patterns, and unique and
fragile ecosystems, such as high-altitude marshes,
lakes and wetlands where the cranes like to congregate.
Taking advantage of the natural
beauty, local villagers in Shangri-la are working
with WWF to develop community-led ecotourism projects
that will help conserve the habitat of the black-necked
crane, while at the same time provide direct financial
benefits for the local economy. The entire community
is involved, providing travelers with homestays
that include meals cooked by local families. Dance
evenings are also being organized, where villagers
show off the intricacies of their fancy footwork.
Parties are often strung out until the small hours.
“It’s amazing to see so many
people attracted by the cranes,” said Luosang.
“We are learning the value of the birds, not just
for ourselves but also for the outside world.”
But the cranes’ new-found status
in the tourist industry could also be its undoing.
Both Zhishimila and Luosang acknowledge that the
biggest threat to the birds’ existence isn’t poaching,
but a loss of natural habitat.
Over the last several decades,
China’s rapidly growing economy and population
have been the root causes of wetland and vegetation
degradation throughout the country. Planned hydropower
stations, dams, roads, bridges and tourism infrastructure,
such as hotels, are also potential threats to
the fragile ecosystem.
In Hamagu, locals fear that
the cranes will start to disappear again because
of this rapid urban and tourism development.
The area is certainly being
transformed into a desirable tourist destination,
helped in great measure by the opening of the
airport at Zhongdian in 1998. Tourist figures
for the area have increased from 40,000 in 1995
to just under two million by 2004. Ironically,
the reason most people come to Zhongdian (or Shangri-La
as it officially now known) is to experience natural
peace and tranquility.
This irony isn’t lost on the
residents from the surrounding villages. The 17
villages surrounding Napahai have come together
to form the Napahai Wetland Association, a forum
to discuss how best to protect the natural surroundings,
upon which the crane’s existence depends.
“This association is an important
part of empowerment process for villages like
Hamagu,” explained WWF’s Liu Yunhua. “It allows
them to make decisions on the future of their
own environment and to make an active difference
in conservation efforts, instead of simply taking
it all in from the sidelines. The black-necked
cranes are helping provide the association with
a focus, almost like a symbol from which inspiration
can be drawn.”
The association has already
begun to make inroads into the some of their planned
activities. Having identified pollution as a serious
problem that threatens the habitat of the black-necked
cranes, the villages are embarking on a series
of activities to address this problem. These include
a solid waste treatment initiative, organic farming
and outreach work with the residents of Zhongdian.
Such activities might not halt the unrelenting
development of the city, but raising the awareness
of people who live around the wetland will already
be a significant step forward.
“Here in Hamagu we’ve learned
to live in harmony with the cranes,” says Luosang.
“Our hope now is that our experience
can benefit others who like us, live in areas
vital to the survival of this species. We must
conserve their habitat so that future generations
can see these magnificent birds.”
* Alex Marston is a former Communications
Coordinator with WWF’s China Programme.
END NOTES:
• Results of a 2005–2006 black-necked
cranes survey wintering in the Napahai Wetland
Reserve — undertaken by WWF China's Conservation
Small Grants Fund project — counted 219 birds,
compared with 229 in 2004, 244 in 2003, and 292
in 2002.
• WWF China’s Education Programme
has been supporting community-initiated activities
in the Shangri-La region since 1996, building
trust with partners including village communities,
nature reserves, monasteries, a local NGO and
local authorities. In particular, the WWF China
Shangri-La Initiative is using education as a
means to empower local communities, such as in
Hamagu village, to manage their resources in a
sustainable manner. This goal is being achieved
by facilitating a learning process through community
action research projects to foster knowledge,
skills and attitudes of communities to sustainably
manage their local natural resources, traditional
culture and social infrastructure. The initiative
is also increasing the capacity and potential
of people and communities in the Shangri-La region
through the establishment of the Shangri-La Institute
for Sustainable Development, an institute that
is working to shape and initiate change towards
a sustainable future by connecting local actors
to tertiary and vocational education programmes.
• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
— signed in 1971 in the city of Ramsar, Iran —
is an intergovernmental treaty which provides
the framework for national action and international
cooperation for the conservation and wise use
of wetlands and their resources. There are currently
152 Contracting Parties to the Convention, with
1,611 wetland sites, totaling 145.2 million hectares,
designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of
Wetlands of International Importance.
• China presently has 30 sites
designated as Wetlands of International Importance,
with a surface area of close to three million
hectares. The Napahai wetland was listed as a
Ramsar site in the beginning of 2005.
By Alex Marston*
