InJanuaryof2013,TongrenCityofficiallyappliedtobeconsideredaworldheritagesite.InOctoberof2013,FanjingwasaddedtoChina鈥檚tentativelistofnationalnaturalheritages.InFebruaryofthisyear,togetherwithUNESCO,ChinaformallysupportedtheapplicationofGuizhou鈥檚Mt.FanjingforWorldHeritagestatus.TheseapplicationsaimtoprotectMountFanjing鈥檚old-growthforestecosystemandrarefloraandfauna,whileatthesametimeexploitingitsecologicalproducts,promotingsustainablelocalsocio-economicdevelopment,andultimatelyachievingaproductivebalancebetweenprotectionanddevelopment.
ADiverseEcologicalEnvironment
MountFanjingisthetallestpeakontheslopesthatrunfromtheYunnanGuizhouPlateautothehillsofwesternHunan.Frombasetosummit,itstands2,000meterstallandisthetallestpeakintheWulingMountainRange.Onitsslopesgrow44differenttypesofforests,includingvastold-growthforests.Thestablebalanceoftheecologicalenvironmentallowsfortheconservationoffloraandfaunathatdatesbacktothe3rdand4thcenturies.Itisoneofthebest-protectedforestecosystemsonthesamelatitudeacrosstheglobe.
MountFanjingprotectstheworld鈥檚scarcesubtropicalprimaryecosystem,includingover6,000biologicalspecies鈥揳bout3,000plantspeciesand3,000orsoanimalspecies.Amongthese,manywildanimalshavereceivednationalprotection,likethegreysnub-nosedmoney,a.k.a.theonlychildoftheworld,whichisanendangeredspeciesonthevergeofextinctionandhasbeenplacedontheredlistofthreatenedspeciesandgivenagradeof鈥淓N鈥漛ytheInternationalUnionforConservationofNature(IUCN).MountFanjingistheonlyhomeofthegreysnub-nosedmonkey,accordingtothelatestresearch;thegreysnubnosedmonkeyinhabitsanareaofonly260squarekilometersintheheartoftheFanjingnaturereserve,andisactiveacrossanareathatisnobiggerthan400squarekilometers.
TheChineseDovetreeisaspeciespeculiartoChinaandanationalconservationpriority.OtherthanthosesporadicallydistributedthroughouttheFanjingnaturereserve,therearealso13ChineseDoveTreeforestswithatotalareaofabout80hectares.Today,thisareaboastsoneoftheworld鈥檚highestconcentrationsofwildlife.
Otherthansnub-nosedmonkeysandChinesedovetrees,Fanjingnaturereserveisalsohometoanumberofancientandrarefloraandfauna,suchasMaidenhairTrees,a.k.a.GinkgoBiloba,TulipPoplars,andChineseYews.Theabundanceofthesebiologicalresourceshaveenormousscientificandacademicvalue;itformsanidealpracticegroundforeducationandresearchinthefieldsofbiology,ecology,genetics,meteorology,geology,andforestry.Inrecentyears,scholarsandexpertsfromresearchinstitutesanduniversitiesfromallovertheworldhaveconductedstudiesandresearchinthenaturereserve.
Inaddition,MountFanjingistheprimaryriversourcefortheTongrenregion;itisthewatershedofmajorYangtzeRivertributaries,suchastheWujiangRiverandtheRuanjiangRiver,thusmakingitanimportantareaforwaterconservation.TheFanjingnaturereserveservesasalargenaturalreservoir,providingover10,000cubicmetersofwatertothelocalJinjiang,Yinjiang,andSongjiangrivers.
StrengtheningBiologicalResourceManagement
In1956,theMinistryofForestrystartedtobanloggingonMountFanjingintheinterestofmanagingandconservingitsnationalforests,puttinganendtothedestructionofthecoreareaofMountFanjingbythesurroundingareas.In1978,theMinistrysetupthenaturereserveandestablishedmanagingorganizations,thusputtingtheMountFanjingnaturereserveontheroadtosustainabilityandsystematicprotection.In1986,itwaspromotedtoanationalnaturereserve,markingitoneof17firstnationalnaturereserves.
Sincetheestablishmentofthereserve,theworkingpolicyof鈥渟cientificinvestigationassupport,managementandprotectionasthefoundation,andcoordinateddevelopmentoflocalcommunitiesasaguarantee鈥漢asbeenineffect.ThishasincludeduncoveringFanjingnaturereserve鈥檚biologicalresourcebackgroundthroughconductingback-groundsurveysofbiologicalresourcesandinvestigationsontheexteriorecologyofsnub-nosedmonkeys,andhasprovidedthefoundationsfortheprotectionandmanagementofbiologicaldiversityandreasonableresourceexploitation.
Inordertoscientificallymanageandprotectthenaturalresources,thereservehascollaboratedwithnationalandforeigninstitutesofhigherlearningandresearchtostudythegeologicallandforms,lichen,moss,macrofungi,ferns,herbage,woodyplants,forestvegetation,soilcreatures,arachnids,fish,amphibiansandreptiles,bird,andmammals,whichhashadsubstantialscientificpayoffs.Atthesametime,over200infraredcameraplatformshavebeeninstalledindifferenthabitatsandaltitudesthroughouttheparktoobserveanimalactivityandtheeffectsoftourismonwildlife,aswellasprovideyear-roundmonitoringofepidemicsalongtheperipheryofthereserve.
InordertobettergatheranddisseminateinformationaboutMountFanjing鈥檚naturalresourcesandecosystem,insidethereserveisanexhibitioncenter,awildliferescuecenter,andscientificinformationplaques.Inaddition,alongtheforestpathoftheecotourismarea,therearedisplaypanelsthatprovideinformationaboutthefloraandfauna,ecologyandconservation,andtouristscanwanderaroundinthebignaturaloxygenbarandlearn.
ReconcilingtheDevelopment/ConservationParadox
TheMountFanjingnaturereservehasimplementedcommunityco-management,wherebymanypartiesparticipateintheprocessofpolicyformulation,implementation,andevaluationoftheconservationmanagementplan.Afteryearsofcommunityco-managementwork,theyhaveaccumulatedparticularexperienceandproposedtheideaofa鈥渂igneighborhood.鈥漈hisintendstonotonlydeveloprelationsofcommunityco-managementamongthetownsandvillagegroups,butalsoexpandtheneighborhoodtoallsectorsrelatedtotheproductiveactivitiesofthecommunityresidents,inordertobuildallroundsupportforconstructionwithinthereserve.
Coordinatingthedevelopmentoflocalcommunitiesandthereserve,andcommunityco-managementareaguaranteeofperfectingtheworkofthereserve.TheMountFanjingperipheryishometo13,000peopleinsevenvillagesacrossthethreecountiesofJiangkouCounty,YinjiangTujiaandMiaoAutonomousCounty,andSongtaoMiaoAutonomousCountyoveratotalareaof434squarekilometers.NearbyvillagershavelivedtogetherwithMountFanjingforgenerations.Theyrelyonhunting,trapping,collectingChinesemedicinalmaterials,andmoderateloggingtosurvive.Themajorproblemswithinthecommunitystemfromeconomicincomebeinghighlytiedtoagriculturalproduction,thegenerallylowstandardsforresourceexploitation,thescarcityofeconomicforests,poortransportationandinfrastructure,andthehiddendangersofpoachingandnaturaldisasters.Thesefactorsputhugestrainsonlocaldevelopment;onlythroughimprovingtheirlivingconditionscanaharmoniousbalancebetweenpeopleandnaturebeachieved.
Financialsupportprovidedbythelocalgovernmentisverylimited.TheemploymentoflocalsbythetourismmanagementinMountFanjingprovidessomeincomerelieffortheresidents,whiletheremainingfundsprovidesubsidiesforthedevelopmentofremotecommunitiesandprovidethemwithinfrastructuresuchaswatercanals.Thereservemanagementbureauhasalsousedaspecialfundtodistribute1,000inductioncookersthroughouttheneighborhoodssurroundingthereserveinanefforttoreducetheconsumptionofforestresources;itprovided50,000-60,000Chinesefirseedlingsforreforestation,whichhasplayedaroleinresourcesustainability;andthroughvariouschannels,hasorganizedanddevelopedmultilevelandmultiformskilltraining(especiallyintheindustriesoffishandchickenfarming,cropfarming,cateringandservice)inordertodealwiththelaborsurplusofthesurroundingarea,raisetheincomeofvillageresidents,andreducetheirdependencyonforestresources.MountFanjinginTongrenofGuizhouProvinceisendowedwithstunningnaturalbeauty.Reconcilingtheparadoxofeconomicdevelopmentandenvironmentalprotectionstartswithresolvingtheissuesoffarmers鈥檒ivelihood.
MountFanjingisasacredBuddhistmountain.Historically,thereisatraditionofmakingpilgrimagestomountains.Earlyin1987,apilgrimagepathwasconstructedwithinthereserve,however,thejourneyupanddownthemountaintookatleastthreedays,therewasnorapidtransportationandpilgrimshadtoseekaccommodationalongthewaymakingobviousfootprintsonthepark.Toallowforspeedierpilgrimagesandreducetheirimpactontheenvironment,in2002thelocalgovernmentproposedconstructingacablecar.Butwoulditsconstructionhavedestructiveeffectsontheenvironment?Toanswerthisquestion,theStateFor-estryAdministrationheldanexpertroundtable,andsentexpertsintothefieldtoinvestigate.Intheend,onlyafteritwasdeterminedthattheenvironmentwouldnotbedisturbed,wasthecablecarbuilt.
In2009,thecablecarwasputintouse;touristscouldnowascendthemountainin15minutes.Thecablewayisabovethetopofthetreesandthereisnopassagebelowtheropeway.Therefore,therewasnoneedtofelltreesandithashadalmostnoeffectonthegrowthofthetrees.Thetraditionalpilgrimagepathhasbeenrefurbishedsothatpilgrimscanstillclimbthemountainbyfoot.Everythirty-minutewalkingdistancethereisarestingpointwheretouristscanbuywaterandsnacks.Allofthestaffandpersonnelarehiredfromthelocalcommunities.Therearenohotelsorrestaurantsinthescenicareaandallofthefacilitiesarebuiltoutsidethearea.Atnight,thewholeFanjingnaturereservescenicregionisquietanddark,thepurposeistoallowtheplantsandanimalsachancetorestandrecuperate,andallownaturetorehabilitate.
In2015,theFanjingnaturereservewasnameda鈥淣ationalForestOxygenBar.鈥滻n2005,itgreetedlessthan50,000touristsayear,by2015thatnumberwasmultipliedtenfold.Thishasprovidedthelocalcommunitieswithmanyemploymentopportunities,hoistingtheeconomicdevelopmentofthesurroundingareasandbringinggreaterprosperitytothelocalpeople.Inaddition,thepopulationofsnub-nosedmonkeysinsidethereservehasgrown,theFanjingshanFirTreehasbeenrestoredtoitsoriginalstatewhenthereservewasfirstestablishedandtheChineseDovetreeshavespreadandgrowndenser.Otherrareandendangeredspecies,aswellastheprimitiveforestecosystems,havereceivedeffectiveprotection.C