Nigeria Times

By Wang Yinxin, Lin Yuan, People’s Daily

Jiangjun Mountain, located in Shaxian district, Sanming city, southeast China’s Fujian province, has been particularly bustling these days. 

Wei Fasong, a forest owner in Jiai village, Shaxian district, makes his way to the mountain every week to check on the growth of Chinese herbal medicine such as Dioscorea nipponica and Siberia landpick that he has planted under the trees for three years, anticipating the upcoming harvest.

“We can now make a fortune without cutting down trees. The average annual income per mu (about 667 square meters) can reach at least 1,000 yuan ($140),” said Wei.

Bao Xingkun, head of a state-owned forest farm in Shaxian district, is also a frequenter to the mountain. His farm has set up a demonstration forest featuring stereoscopic planting on the mountain. During the journey up the mountain, visitors can come across precious broad-leaved trees such as Phoebe bournei and Ormosia hosiei, and higher up, they will be greeted by a lush plantation of artificial Chinese fir trees reaching 10 meters in height.

“We plant herbs at the foot of the mountain, trees at the top, and intercrop valuable tree species in between. Through this science-based stereoscopic planting approach, our trees grow better. We can greatly improve the utilization of the forest space, and our income is ten times more than that of simple tree planting,” Bao explained. 

On the mountain, Zhang Min, general manager of a travel agency, was leading tourists on a tour. His company has leveraged the sound local natural environment to set up a rehabilitation resort on the mountain. 

“Throughout this summer vacation, the resort has been fully booked every week. Guests stay in forest cabins and enjoy healthy cuisine. They appreciate the sound ecological environment here,” said Zhang.

The effective ecological management of Jiangjun Mountain well exemplifies Fujian’s commitment to maximizing the value of forestry ecological products in recent years.

In 2023, the forest coverage in Fujian accounted for 65.12 percent of the province’s total area. However, in the past, the majority of local forest farmers lived in poverty, and the province was plagued with issues such as rampant and illegal logging. In 2002, Fujian took the lead in China to implement a collective forest tenure reform, shifting from cutting trees to growing them, making barren mountains green and thriving again. Moreover, a variety of ecological products have been developed, turning green mountains into a source of wealth.

Thanks to these environmental protection efforts, local residents have a wider range of options for generating income. A broader variety of forestry ecological products has been introduced by local authorities, creating more ways to recognize the value of forest ecosystems.

For instance, the farming practices in Yanping district, Nanping city, have undergone a remarkable shift from disorderly to well-organized in recent years. Thanks to the exceptional forest ecology, Yanping district has experienced a boom in green industries specializing in milk, flowers, and bamboo. In 2023, the lily cultivation area in the district expanded to 8,500 mu, with an output value of 600 million yuan. Meanwhile, the annual output value of the dairy industry hit 2 billion yuan.

Besides, Nanping has set up a service platform to promote innovation in green industries, which has proved to be effective in helping companies overcome technological challenges and maximize ecological benefits. 

For example, Xingda Bamboo Industry Co., Ltd., located in Shaowu, Nanping city, had long struggled with the perishability of bamboo building materials. After posting its needs on the platform, the company soon connected with experts at Wuyi University and Nanjing Forestry University who specialize in relevant technologies. 

“After more than two months of trials, we made great progress,” said Wu Minda, head of the company. “Once the new technology is applied to production, our output value is expected to increase tenfold.”

There are also breakthroughs outside the woods. For instance, a unique carbon voucher is highly valued by Changkou village, Gaotang township, Jiangle county, Sanming city. In 2022, Changkou village used this carbon voucher to trade the carbon reduction obtained from its 3,197 mu of ecological public welfare forest over a five-year period. Each of the 1,000+ villagers received 150 yuan from this exchange. “We can even make money by selling air!” said villager Sun Guiying.

“In recent years, based on the strictest ecological protection policies, Fujian has developed green forestry industries, diversified forestry products, and increased their added value. In 2023, we achieved a total forestry output value of 765.1 billion yuan,” said Lin Xudong, deputy head of the Fujian Provincial Forestry Bureau.

By Wen Cheng

Five nominated sites of the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase II) were included as a serial extension of the property of the same name already listed on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The decision was made during the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India.

The newly admitted five sites were an estuarine wetland in Chongming, Shanghai; the Yellow River estuary in Dongying, Shandong province; a wetland area in Cangzhou, Hebei province; a national-level nature reserve in Dalian, Liaoning province as well as the Yalu River estuary in Dandong, Liaoning.

The Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China is located in the world’s largest intertidal wetland, serving as an important habitat for migratory birds along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. 

This migration route stretches from Siberia-Alaska, passing East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia before reaching all the way to Oceania. Spanning 22 countries, it’s the flyway with the richest bird diversity and the highest proportion of endangered species in the world. It provides indispensable breeding grounds, resting places, and wintering grounds for tens of millions of waterbirds.

Since the application to inscribe the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China on the World Heritage List was made, the populations of several endangered bird species that use this region for seasonal stopover or breeding have remained stable or increased. 

In particular, species such as the Siberian crane, oriental white stork, black-headed Gull, and Chinese crested tern, which heavily depend on habitats within China during certain stages of their life cycle, have almost doubled in numbers during this period.

The Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China is located in a region along the Chinese coast that is economically developed and densely populated. It is surrounded by vast farmland and fish ponds, emerging towns, busy international waterways, and significant green energy infrastructure. It can be said that this is a World Heritage Site where humans and wildlife live side by side, and where the connection between humans and birds is palpable.

In 2021, a project aiming to restore bird habitats conducted in the first phase of the migratory bird sanctuaries in Yancheng, east China’s Jiangsu province was listed as one of the “100+ Biodiversity Positive Practices and Actions Around the World” together with other 18 initiatives at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15).

In 2022, the 2nd Cycle of UNESCO World Heritage & Sustainable Tourism Programme – Chinese Pilot Studies was launched in Badou village located in the Tiaozini wetland of Phase I sanctuaries in Yancheng. Badou village was thus recognized as a base for coordinated world natural heritage conservation and community development.

The Phase I sanctuaries in Yancheng are currently leveraging ecological governance, study tours, and sustainable agriculture to organically integrate the ecological system within the heritage site and the socio-ecological system outside of it. This, in turn, will promote harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, based on the foundation of sustainable socio-economic development. 

The Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China will likely become a platform for shaping a new paradigm in the relationship between humans and nature.

Traditionally, most natural heritage sites were located in the upper reaches of water systems, where the inhabitants primarily played the role of guardians. However, the Phase I sanctuaries in Yancheng and the three estuary-type heritage sites included in the second phase of the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China are all situated at the terminus of water systems.

Water systems are like veins, and freely flying birds are like cells. They closely connect heritage sites with surrounding farmland, fish ponds, and towns. From an ecological perspective, even those strictly protected core areas form an organic “community of life” with the broader systems upstream of heritage sites.

In this kind of relationship, heritage conservation is not just the responsibility of a small group of “guardians,” but rather an obligation of the broader community in the region – ideally, it should also become a way of life for the people. This means that more people will have the opportunity and necessity to participate in the conservation of heritage sites. 

The pilot and demonstration projects already initiated in Yancheng will provide valuable experiences for other regions.

How can people effectively manage the ecosystems around them, like protecting and managing the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China, by utilizing their own wisdom and proactivity? When we can successfully address this question, we will be able to tackle many global ecological issues. The Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China provides us with a unique platform for such practical endeavors.

(Wen Cheng is a member of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration’s World Heritage Expert Committee. He has been offering technical support for the application to inscribe the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China on the World Heritage List since 2016.)

The Brazilian government has mobilized military aircraft in an urgent response to severe wildfires sweeping across São Paulo state. With a state of emergency declared in 45 municipalities, dense smoke has disrupted daily life, including flight cancellations and road closures. The fires, exacerbated by prolonged drought, have claimed the lives of two factory workers and caused significant damage to farmland.

Military efforts include deploying a KC-390 Embraer aircraft for water drops, though operations have been hindered by thick smoke. São Paulo is facing its worst wildfire outbreak in decades, prompting the government to allocate funds to assist farmers impacted by the fires. The situation has been described as unprecedented, with many areas plunged into darkness by the smoke.