Conservation and Management of Nature Reserves in Jiangxi Province

Jiangxi Academy of Environmental Sciences

Hu Xiaohua

April 1, 2009

Outline

Natural conditions and biodiversity of Jiangxi ProvinceTypes and distribution of nature reservesManagement of nature reservesMain constraints affecting conservation and management of nature reserves Future planConclusion

Situated on the south bank of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River，between geographic coordinates of 113˚34’36’’-118˚28’58” ’E and 24˚29’14’’-30˚4′41” N, the middle latitude subtropical zoneEndowed with mild and humid climate (mean precipitation 1638.4 mm), which provides abundant hydrological resources and good conditions for assorted biological forms’ multiplying and growing.

1.Natural conditions and biodiversity

General slope gradient from south to the north, being high and more mountainous in the southern counties, with eastern, western and southern parts being mountains, forming a giant asymmetric basinwith the Poyang Lake plain as the low point.

Land area of 166900 km2,main landforms of hilly and mountainous lands, with mountainous land, hills, low hilly mounds and plains, and water covering 36%, 42%, 12% and 10% of the total area of the province.

5 major rivers (Gan, Fu, Xing, Rao and Xiu) originating from the boundary mountainous land and drain into the Poyang Lake from different directions.

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According to its geographic position and geomorphologic features, the province terrain can be divided into five sub- regions as follows:South middle/low mountainsNorth Yangtze River and Poyang Lake plainNortheast middle/low mountains and hillsNorthwest middle/low mountains and hillsMiddle hills.Forming an relatively independent and integrated ecosystem.

FloraAccording to the vegetation zoning in the China Vegetation (1980), the region belongs to the middle subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest zone. Due to 5 degrees of latitude of terrain and the influence of its complex topography, the vegetation is abundant and variable. The natural vegetation can be generally divided into 6 classes as follows:

- Evergreen broadleaf forest: typical zonal vegetation with assorted species, mainly distributed widely in the southern areas;

- Subtropical coniferous forest: main forest formations of mason pine (Pinus massoniana) and China fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata), widely distributed in the low mountains and hills;

- Bamboo forest: distributed widely in the hilly areas with elevation between 100~500m, typical species Phyllostachys pubescens, being the main fast-growth forest resource developed and utilized in the province and accounting for 97% of the total bamboo forest;

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- Subtropical barren mountain shrub-grass thicket: azonal secondary vegetation widely distributed in the gentle hilly areas, with main species including altoherbosa and medium grass of Gramineae family, with Pteridophytes being the secondary;

- Hygrophytic, hydrophytic and psammophytic vegetation: comprising meadow and grass/tree marsh vegetation, aquatic vegetation and lakeside sandy land vegetation, mainly distributed in the Poyang Lake plain;

- Introduced vegetation: mainly plant introduced for agricultural, horticultural or forestry use, with main species including timber forest of China fir, mason pine, wetland pine and bamboo, economic forest of oil- tea, tung oil, Chinese tallow tree, lacquer tree and tea tree, fruit tree and agricultural crops of paddy, mulberry, sweet potatoes, rapeseed, peanut, cotton, maize, lotus, medicinal herb and others.

Forest coverage rate of 60.3%, No.2 in China.

0. 00%10. 00%20. 00%30. 00%40. 00%50. 00%60. 00%70. 00%80. 00%90. 00%

100. 00%

Per cent age of l and i nnat i onal t ot al ( 1. 7%)

Per cent age of f or est i nnat i onal t ot al （5. 6%）

Flora diversity

Globally typical middle subtropical humid zone evergreen broadleaf forest ecosystem in the same latitude well preserved, total area 1.69 million ha, 10% of the provincial land area.5115 high-class vegetation species, 17% of China’s total.68 species listed in China Plant Red Data Book (1992).55 species listed in Name list of national key conservation wild plants(1999)

4 species listed for Class 1 provincial level protection, 27 for Class 2, 120 for Class 3.

http://www.rygz.net/dl/Photo/

Fauna diversity

Rich fauna resources, vertebrate species 845, 13.5% of the national total, including mammals 105, birds 420, reptiles 77, amphibians 40, fish 203, accounting for 21%, 34%, 20%, 14%, 5% , respectively of the national total; insect species 7100; 600 species listed in the Name list of beneficial, valuable wild animals for economic and scientificresearch purposes;. Rare and endangered species 200, with 98 listed in the CITES.19 of State Class1 protection level, 68 for Class 2 protection, accounting for 22.4%, 50% of the national total with the same protection level, respectively.Wintering migratory birds in Poyang Lake, 320 species, mainly Siberian white cranes (Grus lencogeranus ), Oriental white storks(Ciconia boyciana ), and whistling swans (Cygnus columbianus) of high conservation level, numbering 95%, 90%,and 70% respectively of the total in the world; totaling over 240 thousands in 2000.

Rich wetland resources21 wetland types, with an area of 3.65 million ha, accounting for 21.8% of the land area.Natural wetland area 1.166 million ha, accounting for 6.9% of the land area.Poyang Lake wetland: important wetland listed in the Convention on Wetlands of International Important Especially as Waterfowl Habitat signed in Ramsar of Iran; the largest fresh water wetland in China; water area of 0.395 million ha in normal flood season, while only 19700 ha in drought season.

Percentage of wetland

21. 80%

Wetland of Poyang Lake

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One of the provinces with richest biodiversity in China

Percentages of biodiversity of Jiangxi in China

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2. Types and distribution of nature reservesGeneral development status

Starting in 1975, developed to 171 nature reserves, forming protected areas of 1.135 million ha，accounting for 6.67% of total land area of the Province.

State level Provincial level

Municipal level County level Small natural

conservation districts

8 22 3 138 Over 5000

Types

Forest ecosystem

Wetland ecosystem

Wild fauna species

Wild flora species Total

123 20 21 7 171

Mainly natural ecosystems and wild species types, with forest ecosystem type being the dominant form, accounting for about 72% of the total, and occupying over 70% of the land area of the protected areas.

Distribution of nature reserves

Coverage of species under conservation

82%83%84%85%86%87%88%89%90%91%

Wi l d f aunaspeci es

Wi l d f l or aspeci es

Nat ur alecosyst em

Percentage of natural ecosystems and wild species under conservation in nature reserves

Jiangxi Jinggang Mountain National Nature Reserve

The globally most complete humid subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest

Moss communities

Ulmus Dutch Horseshoe

Taxus mairei Ginkgo biloba

Teinopalpus aureus

Tragopan caboti

Asian Barred Owlet

Middle subtropical broadleaf forest in Jiulian Mountain National Nature Reserve

Middle subtropical high mountain broadleaf and coniferous forest in Wuyi Mountain National Nature Reserve

Poyang Lake National Nature Reserve

Taohongling Sika (Cervus nippon kopsci) National Nature Reserve

Dongxiang Wild Paddy Nature Reserve—existing wild paddy in the highest latitude Class 1 State protection

level wild animal- Chinese Goosader in Yiyang Nature Reserve

3. Management of nature reserves

Increasing emphasis of the central government on conservation and management of nature reserves as consistent with its strategy of “scientific development” and “ecological civilization”;Management in a way as stipulated in Regulations of The People’s Republic of China on Nature Reserves (the State Council,1994 ):- a management system combining integrated management with separate departmental management for the management of nature reserves; environmental protection administration responsible for integrated management, and the competent departments of forestry, agriculture, mineral resources, etc. responsible for management of relevant nature reserves under their jurisdiction;- establishment, cancellation or adjustment of nature reserves basically in a way of “application and approval” ;

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- competent administrative departments of the nature reserves of provincial governments responsible for management of the national nature reserves; the competent administrative department of nature reserves in local governments responsible for the management of the local nature reserves;

- competent administrative departments of nature reserves shall set up a special administrative agency in each nature reserve, provide specialized technical staff responsible for the management of the nature reserves;

- expenses for management of the nature reserves shall be arranged by the local governments where the nature reserves are located. The state shall subsidize the management of national nature reserves appropriately;

- environmental protection administration have the right to conduct supervision and inspection on the management of all the nature reserves within their administrative division；competent administrative departments of nature reserves in governments have the right to conduct supervision and inspection on the management of the nature reserves they are responsible for.

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- Criteria for establishment of natural reservesIn the areas which meet one of the following requirements, a nature reserve shall be established：typical areas with representative natural ecosystems, and those similar areas where the natural ecosystems have been damaged to some extent, but can be restored through proper protection；areas with a natural concentrated distribution of rare and endangered wild animal or plant species；areas of special protection value, such as marine and coastal areas, islands, wetland, internal water bodies, forests, grassland and deserts；natural remains of scientific or cultural value, such as geological structures, fossil distribution areas, glaciers, volcanoes, and hot springs；natural regions requiring special protection by the approval of the State Council or provinces' governments.

Management of nature reserves in Jiangxi Province

Governmental strategy and policy: “ Development based on good ecology, green development”.Goal: “First class water quality, air quality, ecology, human living environment, and ecological conservation mechanism”.Actions: Promulgating A number of governmental suggestions on enhancing the construction of green and ecological Jiangxi(2007), kicking off 10 projects for ecological conservation for achieving the goal of nature reserve area reaching 8% of total land area and forest coverage rate of 63% by 2010.

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Legislation and regulations- Management Procedures of Jiangxi Province for Nature Reserves (1994);- Conservation and Management Measures of Jiangxi Province on Wild

Plants Resources (1994);- Regulation of Jiangxi Province on Conservation of Poyang Lake

Migratory Birds (1996);- Measures of Jiangxi Province on Implementing The Law of The People’s

Republic of China on Wild Animals Conservation (1997);- Regulation of Jiangxi Province on Conservation of Poyang Lake

Wetland (2003).

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Administrative agencies and staff- over 95% of the nature reserves managed by the Forest Department, less than 5% by the Agricultural Department.

- 12 nature reserves having independent administrative agencies; 80 nature reserves having non-independent agencies; 79 without administrative agencies;

- a total administrative staff of 5157, among which 858 (about 17%) are specialized technical staff.

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Baseline data collection on biodiversity- collection of baseline data on biodiversity of the Province

based on scientific survey findings during establishment, adjustment or upgrading conservation levels of nature reserves, and long year monitoring at some sites;

- establishment of monitoring stations at national nature reserves of Poyang Lake (since 1999), Jiulian Mt.(since 1981), Taohongling, Jinggang Mt.

- establishment of monitoring stations in 7 national nature reserves for monitoring of prevalent diseases and their foci.

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Scientific research and international exchange- scientific research in collaboration with over 50 universities and institutes mainly in 8 national nature reserves; study fields covering baseline survey and specific studies of wild animal populations and behaviors;

- publishment of scientific survey reports of 8 nature reserves; over 7 research projects won provincial awards for the scientific achievements;

- having exchanges with experts or officials of international organizations such as WB, GEF, IUCN, AWB and ICF from 30 different countries; establishing long term relations with over 10 international institutions or NGOs.

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Propaganda and education activities in communities in nature reserves

- propaganda activities like “Week of loving-birds”, “Propaganda month for wildlife conservation”, “International wetland day”…for enhancing public awareness;

- a number of education bases established by universities or relevant institutions in nature reserves of Poyang Lake, Jinggang Mt., Wuyi Mt., and Guan Mt.

4.Main constraints affecting conservation and management of natural reserves in Jiangxi

The area of nature reserves is small as compared with the national level ( 15% of land area), which is incompatible with its relatively richer biodiversity. Some fragile ecosystems in river source areas and some rare flora species are not covered by existing nature reserves.

Management capacity is generally weak, especially for the county level nature reserves (80% of the total).

Financial and technical input are limited.

5. Future planThe goals listed in The Development Plan for Jiangxi Province Forestry Nature Reserves

( 2008-2030) ( Forestry Administration of Jiangxi Provincial Government, 2008):

Year Number Area (ha) Percentage in total land area

Remark

2010 185 136×104 8.15% 11 national nature reserves, 30 provincial nature reserves, and 144 county/municipality level nature reserves.

2020 210 160×104 9.58% Cost for provincial level nature reserves construction will be covered by provincial government.

2030 250 200×104 11.98% All nature reserves are on the right track of management.

2008 171 113.5×104 6.67% Base year

6. Conclusion

Jiangxi is endowed with good natural resources, characteristic of rich biodiversity.

Over 85% of the wild flora and fauna species are preserved inside 171established nature reserves despite an underdeveloped economy of the Province.

Inadequate input and weak management capacity are main constraints limiting effective biodiversity conservation in the Province.

Effective implementation of relevant governmental plans may be one way of improving biodiversity conservation in the Province, but other walks’ effort might catalyze and accelerate the achievement of the goal —— a healthy ecosystem of

Jiangxi having Global positive externalities.

Thank you!