Wildlife Conservation Society

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WCS in China

China has some of the highest biodiversity and varied landscapes in the world. Unfortunately, China is also faced with unprecedented species loss, including many species exclusive to China, resulting from over-exploitation and economic development within the last few decades. WCS began its conservation work in China in the early 1980s with Dr. George Schaller’s studies in Sichuan and Tibet on the Giant Panda and upland ungulates. Since that time, the WCS China Program has developed a systematic framework and extended Dr. Schaller’s work to a range of initiatives, ranging from key species conservation to conservation awareness and education and landscape level planning. Now there are offices in Beijing ,Shanghai and Lhasa. Haerbin office will be set up soon.

The Human Aspect

China holds the largest human population in the world, with considerable people still at a low level of standard of living. With this population still growing and now expanding into what were remote places, these factors inevitably lead to the over-use to wildlife and habitat fragmentation and loss. Given the close relationship between wildlife and human beings who share the same land, conservation will not only need strong government assistance, but it will also need the direct involvement of local communities.

Threats

The wildlife and biodiversity in China are now faced with enormous threats, mostly from human activities. In spite of the protection policies and laws currently in place, poaching and illegal use of wildlife are still common in many places. In western China for example, wild animals such as the chiru are illegally killed for the purpose of wool, meat, or products used in medicine. In the habitat of Tiger, many ungulates are hunted which reducing tiger food largely, and also tiger itself is also a target for hunting. In other part of China, reptiles, amphibians and migrant birds are slaughtered for the food markets and Traditional Chinese Medicine, and many species are becoming endangered or locally extinct. Large amount of wetlands, rangelands, forests and other wild lands have been exploited for farming, fishery, construction, etc. then resulting in wildlife populations becoming separated, scattered, or even driven locally extinct.

Mission

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s International Conservation program saves wildlife and wild lands by understanding and resolving critical problems that threaten key species and large, wild ecosystems around the world.

WCS Strategies

• Site-based conservation
• Research
• Training and education
• New conservation models
• Informing policymakers
• Linking zoo-based and field based conservation

WCS Activities

WCS China has developed a substantial, widespread and effective conservation network as well as an enthusiastic and experienced team, with initiatives extending to species and biodiversity conservation, social awareness, environmental education, wildlife trade investigations, and landscape level planning.

Species Program

WCS China is focusing on threatened landscapes and endangered species in western China, northeastern China and other key sites, such as chiru, argali, tiger, Chinese alligator and Przewalski’s gazelle.

• WCS began work on the Chiru in 1985, and is the first one to bring to light the slaughter of this species for the expensive shatoosh (its fine fur). Based on WCS recommendations, the Chinese Government established the Chang Tang Nature Reserve in 1993 and over 20 years established total 8 nature reserves in Tibet, Xinjiang and Qianghai. Since 2005, WCS has carried out several surveys in Kunlun of Xinjiang and Qiangtang in Tibet, and also training program, and has helped the local government to establish a reserve in protecting the chiru’s calving grounds in the West Kunlun Mountains and provided funds for monitoring and enforcement. Further survey and research in partnership with the Tibet and Xinjiang Forestry Bureaus, the Plateau Institute, the Peking University, among others also revealed that the migratory routes of Tibetan antelopes – the animals move back and forth between Tibet and Xinjiang and between Tibet and Qinghai, and this has led to cooperative efforts between these regions in protection.
• The Marco Polo sheep is the flagship of the Pamirs’ wildlife whose range cross China, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. WCS China has been conducting survey, research and conservation on this species. In 2006, together with Wildlife Conservation Department of SFA, held the “International Workshop of Pamir Wildlife Conservation”, and is working to promote transboundary cooperation on Marco Polo sheep across their entire range.
• WCS China began Amur tiger surveys and conservation efforts in 1998 in northeastern China with the cooperation of Chinese and Russian governments. These studies have illustrated clearly the endangered status of this species with total less than 20 individuals in China. With support from WCS, the Hunchun nature reserve was set up in Jilin province. WCS has also established 8 monitoring stations in Heilongjiang. In the region, WCS has been the most active NGO and carried out field surveys, scientific studies, removal snares, training and education.
• Przewalski’s gazelle used to be widely distributed throughout Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, and Qinghai in the early 20 century. Because of poaching and habitat loss, this species’ population has decreased dramatically to approximately 300 individuals and its distribution is now limited to a few areas around Qinghai Lake. WCS, in cooperation with the Qinghai Forestry bureau, has initiated a recovery project for this endangered species.
• The Chinese alligator is the most endangered of the world’s 23 crocodile species. The survey supported by WCS shows that the status of the Chinese alligator’s remnant wild population was critically threatened with only 130-150 individuals remaining. WCS has initiated a reintroduction project for this species with the State Forestry Administration in Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. In 2005, WCS transported 12 US-born Chinese alligators back to China and will release 3 of them together with another about 7 from Zhejiang Yinjiabian Nature Reserve to Chongming Island in Shanghai in 2007.
• Shanghai Giant Soft-shelled turtle, one of the largest freshwater turtle species, was previously distributed in the lower reaches of Yangtze River, and Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi and the Honghe River in northern Vietnam. According to current research, this species is extinct in wild. The three remaining individuals are kept in captivity, in which 2 are in China. WCS cooperating with Fishery Bureau of Ministry of Agriculture and departments of Zoos, is developing the breeding program. At the same time, WCS will look for individuals that may still remain in parts of Yunnan, Guangxi and Guangdong where Rafetus swinhoei was previously distributed.
• Yellow-headed box turtle is the rare turtle species endemic to Anhui Province. Due to the high price of the turtle in pet market, illegal hunting has causes dramatically decreasing both in population and range in wild. It is estimated the current total area of this species is less than 120 km2. It is in critically endangered and nearly extinct in the wild. However, there may be about 500 individuals in private hands of turtle lovers. With financial support and planning of WCS, a breeding program will be established in the Anhui Chinese Alligator Breeding Center. The International Centre for the Conservation of Turtles (ICCT) will provide the turtle source and WCS will also try to get more from private hands for the breeding program. Some local researchers have carried out several surveys to Yellow-headed box turtle in the wild and no individual was found.

Wildlife Trade Program:

Wildlife trade is one of the major drivers that is threatening wildlife in China and surrounding countries. WCS China has initiated a number of wildlife trade surveys over the latest 10 years, including on seahorse, tortoise, and saiga antelope. WCS has actively promoted conservation awareness with the traditional Chinese medicine community on wildlife conservation. WCS also plans to conduct review on legislation system for wildlife conservation and management.

Education Program:

WCS has been holding a series of education programs to reduce the use of wildlife for both traditional medicine and food, with the target crowd ranging from school students to common consumers. At present, WCS is focusing attention on school and university students for wildlife protection awareness and education, and has adopted effective ways to spread the message of the need for conservation in Xinjiang, Shanghai, Sichuan and Jilin Province. The WCS education project has also established a network of over 100 Wildlife Conservation Model Schools.

Contacts

Beijing: XIE, Yan
Director, China Program
yxie@wcs.org
010 64807289

Shanghai: Eve Li
eveli@wcs.org
021 62232361

For more information, see www.wcschina.org

www.chinabiodiversity.com

Wildlife Conservation Society
Asia Program
International Conservation
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Bronx, N.Y. 10460 USA
www.wcs.org