Gaoligong, the "World Species Gene Bank" Hidden in the Southwest Border

Gaoligong Mountain stands tall and majestically for more than 600 kilometers from north to south in the southwest of my country. There are 34 biodiversity hotspots in the world, and Gaoligong Mountain connects three of them: the southwest mountains of China, the eastern Himalayas, and the Indo-Myanmar region. This mountain range is home to about 17% of my country's higher plants, about 30% of mammals, and more than 35% of birds, and is known as the "world's species gene bank."

Deep in the dense forests of Gaoligong Mountain, there is the first new species of the gibbon family named by Chinese scientists - the Gaoligong white-browed gibbon, the Gongshan takin known as the "six-unlike divine beast", the red-bellied tragopan dressed in "pearl-colored clothes", the chestnut-throated bee-eater, one of the most beautiful birds in China, and the world's largest cuckoo king and the world's largest artificial Taiwania bald cypress forest per unit volume... These are just a small part of the thousands of species distributed in Gaoligong Mountain. Their unique biological characteristics prove to the world the magnificence and magic of biodiversity.

Aerial photography of Gaoligong Mountain

In 1983, the Yunnan Provincial People's Government approved the establishment of Gaoligong Mountain Provincial Nature Reserve, and in 1986, it was upgraded to a national nature reserve with the approval of the State Council. In recent years, relevant departments and cities and prefectures in Yunnan have solved the problem of isolated and fragmented wildlife habitats by building biological corridors, strengthening monitoring and research, strengthening the rescue of extremely small populations of species, and exploring community co-management, and multiple measures have been taken to better protect the biodiversity here.

Today, the forest coverage rate of Gaoligong Mountain is constantly increasing. Data shows that the forest coverage rate of Gaoligong Mountain has increased from 82.3% before the establishment of the reserve to 93.7% now. The ecological environment quality is constantly improving, the habitat of wild animals is constantly expanding, and the population is increasing year by year. After years of continuous monitoring, there are no new artificial facilities in the reserve, and some historical sites such as ancient temples and ancient roads are well preserved.

Aerial photography of the rhododendron tree in Gaoligong Mountain

New species are constantly being discovered, and the population of flagship species such as the Nujiang golden monkey is steadily increasing. In 2016, a new species, the Tengchong palm-spiked toad, was discovered. In 2017, new records of the red serow and the sky-walking gibbon were found in my country. In 2018, the first clouded leopard activity was captured. In 2019, a new species, the Tengchong tooth-spiked toad, was discovered. In 2020, three new species, the top fruit tree, the Chinese double fan fern, and the Indo-Burmese stone butterfly, were discovered. At present, the habitat range of the Nujiang golden monkey in the reserve is constantly expanding, and the population is increasing year by year, from about 100 when it was discovered in 2011 to about 250 at present, and two new distribution areas have been added.

Ecological protection and community development achieve win-win results, and people and nature coexist harmoniously. In recent years, bird watching ecotourism has become popular. There are more than 20 "bird ponds" and more than 60 "bird guides" in Baihualing Village. The catering, homestay, guide, passenger transport and other industrial chains formed by bird watching activities have increased the income of local farmers. In recent years, Gaoligong Mountain National Nature Reserve has also effectively integrated ecological protection with rural revitalization by hiring more than 2,800 people from the surrounding areas of the reserve as forest rangers. With the increase in villagers' income, they no longer go into the mountains to destroy forests and open up wasteland, and "bird hunters" have become "bird protectors."

Protecting Gaoligong Mountain is protecting the home of mankind. This is the consensus of many people living near the reserve. In the past, poaching and logging were prominent problems. Now that people's living standards are constantly improving, fewer and fewer people enter the reserve. Villagers have gone from living off the mountain to protecting it, presenting a harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

Review expert: Gao Zhiling, Professor of College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University

China Association for Science and Technology Department of Science Popularization

Xinhuanet

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