Changbai nature reserve initiative sparks debate
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E-mail Xinhua, September 16, 2013
"I suggest that a secretariat be established within the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve with clear-cut finance guarantees to prepare for the establishment of the alliance. In the beginning, it would be better to zero in on a specific focus, such as a sub-alliance for protected mountain regions, otherwise it runs the risk of being short-lived," said Wang.
Professor Chung-II Choi, former Chair of the UNESCO/MAB Program International Coordinating Council Committee, said he had high hopes that the alliance would be successful, suggesting that Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve should first establish alliances with neighboring countries, such as Mongolia, Russia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea and Japan, and then possibly expand the alliance to South Asia.
"Finance will be a major problem but there are many solutions. Membership, contributions and government support can be used to guarantee the program's finances," said Choi.
Dr. Natarajan Ishwaran, visiting professor with the International Center on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage under the auspices of UNESCO, regarded the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve initiative as a good starting point to beef up local management of protected areas.
"Local rules and regulations within the framework of national and international laws and their effective enforcement are critical to the conservation of protected areas. Local government engagement and support are indispensable for success," he said.
"Very often we found that local staff had great ideas for solving things, but that doesn't get transmitted to international agencies," he said.
VALUE OF CHANGBAI INITIATIVE
Many delegates are pleased to see the management bureau of Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve aiming high in ecological protection.
"Changbai Mountain is a treasure of the East Asian region. It hasn't been changed much by human activities, therefore we may keep it as a starting point for conservation and expand gradually," said Choi.
Xu Zhihong, chairman of the Chinese National Committee of MAB Program, said he saw the need to press ahead with the alliance because of tangible realistic needs.
"We really need a platform to share the lessons and experiences of international peers and see how to improve our own work to benefit not just the Chinese but people across the world," he said.
Xu said one of the challenges for conservation in China is a conflict between ecological preservation and economic and social well-being.
"Most Chinese government officials will put economic development first and associate development of protected areas with construction of mega-infrastructure. That is partly because our protected areas have been inhabited by the Chinese, and ethnic groups in particular, for centuries or even thousands of years. Local dwellers need to develop along with the reserves," he said.
Unlike developed countries, where most nature reserves are run by experts with special ecological knowledge, China's more than 300 reserves are mainly run by government officials who lack ecological knowledge and have to deal with multi-channel management from a variety of higher-ups ranging from forestry, environmental protection, agriculture and aquaculture authorities, Xu said.
Conservation of protected areas is a long-term undertaking, and institutional and financial support from the government is required to secure its stable development. However, many local nature reserves have to provide for themselves and their administrators tend to be transferred at the end of their tenures, he added.
"I think China's top leaders are well-aware of the significance of ecological protection, but it's a different story when it comes to officials at the grassroots level. If the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve initiative can make a breakthrough in facilitating cooperation in protected areas management, it's quite valuable in my view," said Xu.
As John MacKinnon noted at the forum, many of the problems facing China also exist in protected areas across the world. These problems include the failure to address underlying causes of biodiversity loss, the failure to utilize indigenous knowledge and interest, and the failure to train mid-level workers.
Dr. Ishwaran said there are 2,500 areas similar to Changbai Mountain in China and at least tens of thousands in the world, and people and local governments in these areas should communicate with one another more, rather than just international organizations talking among themselves.
Likening the conservation of protected areas to an American football game, Dr. Ishwaran said ecologists and nature reserve management should not always be on the defensive if they want to improve conservation.
"Decentralization is the global trend and more power has been given to regions. Local governments will matter more in the global conservation of protected areas. If you want a perfect situation in which to do something, it's not going to happen," he said.
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