Qinghai Province - Qinghai Lake 青海湖

Encompassing 4,340 square kilometers, Qinghai Lake is the largest inland salt-water lake in China, with a storage of over 77.8 billion cubic meters of water. The elevation of the lake surface is 3,193.92 meters, the deepest being 27 meters. The perimeter of the lake totals more than 360 kilometers. However, a lower water level, the deterioration of grassland vegetation and desertification are said to be threatening the lake. The numbers of fish and birds are also dwindling. The decline of water level is mainly because of over-evaporation, but efforts have been increased to develop water-saving irrigation systems in the lake. Fish in the lake have been protected since the early 1990s, and bird habitats have been well preserved too. A comprehensive plan to improve the situation has been worked out by the Qinghai Animal Husbandry Bureau, which will cost 400 million yuan (US $ 48.2 million), but the provincial government has been unable to carry it out de to lack of cash. The provincial government is also making the most of the central government’s western development strategy to replant grass and trees in Qinghai where farmland is in a poor condition, including the land around Qinghai Lake. According to the central government’s policy, all mountainous fields whose slopes have a gradient of more than 25 degrees are not allowed to be cultivated and instead must be replanted with grass or trees. The government gives some food subsidies to farmers who used to plant on these slopes. This will definitely help to revive the endangered environment at Qinghai Lake.

The Birds Islands 鸟岛

More and more birds are flying to settle at Qinghai Lake, one of the highest inland lakes in China, thanks to the protection efforts of local government. Encompassing 4,340 square kilometers, Qinghai Lake is also China’s biggest salt-water lake. Located in Northwest China’s Qinghai Province, it is famous for the two islands at its northeast point: Cormorant Island and Egg Island. The two islands have plenty of floating grass and various schools of fish, offering rich food sources for birds. The islands have become a paradise for diversified groups of birds and have been dubbed “Bird Islands.” Each March and April, when ice covering the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau stars to melt, over 20 kinds of migrating birds fly to the Bird Islands to breed. During the months, flocks of birds cover the whole sky over the islands and bird eggs can be found everywhere. The visitor can hear the warbles of birds from miles away. These have become a world famous symbol of the plateau. To protect this paradise for birds and support calls for ecological protection, China set up the Qinghai Lake Natural Protection Zone at the end of 1997. Meanwhile, the state has designated the Bird Islands and Spring Bay of the Qinghai Lake as core protection zones. Inspection officials and management employees often patrol the lake, improving local residents’ awareness of protection laws and spreading knowledge about animal protection to visitors. They are making considerable efforts to call on people to love and protect the birds. At the same time, they have built special fences and cement slots around the island area, to prevent wolves, foxes, and other flesh eaters from disrupting the birds’ nest building egg laying and breeding. As a result, more birds and more species are coming to the islands for breeding.

The 23rd International Ornithological Congress Held in Beijing 第23届世界鸟类大会在北京举行

There are more than 9,000 kinds of birds in the world, of which China boasts 1,329 kinds of birds, ranking it the fifth trailing Brazil, Indonesia, Peru, and Colombia in the world, accounting for nearly one eighth占世界的八分之一. Chinese omithologists have successfully protected endangered species like the carbots tragopan, discovered a number of precious fossils of Mesozoic birds and made important discoveries on the relic gull and Saunder’s gull. The First International Ornithology Congress was held in 1884. The 23rd International Ornithological Congress was held in Beijing on August 12 to 16, 2002. More than 800 ornithologists from around the world, including 100 from China, published their papers at the congress. A total of 40 presentations were scheduled for the convention, where ornithologists discussed topics such as the migration and conservation of cranes and storks, the impact of global climate change on birds and mating patterns and ecology. The 2002 International Crane Workshop, the International Pheasant Workshop and the 9th International Grouse Symposium were also held during the convention. China became the host of the international ornithological congress thanks to the outstanding achievements of Chinese ornithologists and the variety of birds in China.

Cranes鹤, considered the sign of good luck, dignity and a long life, fall into 15 species and eight of these can be found in China. Five species in China including the black-necked crane, the red-crested crane, the white crane and the hoary-headed crane are listed as the most endangered birds on earth by the World Conservation Union. Statistics from the Chinese Ornithological Society showed the world has some 1,300 red-crested cranes, 1,000 of which live in China. Other main habitats are Japan, Russia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. Earlier in 2002 the northern part of Yunnan Province in Southwest China was declared the world’s largest habitat of the internationally endangered black-necked crane. According to a recent survey jointly organized by the International Crane Foundation and the Yunnan Provincial Department of Forestry, there are more than 2,500 black-necked cranes in five counties in Northern Yunnan Province, known as the “Kingdom of Flowers and Plants.” The black-necked crane is a rare bird that inhabits tablelands. Its tall and beautiful figure makes it valuable for bird-watching.

Post Congress Programmes

Nine itineraries were arranged for the participants of the 23rd International Ornithological Congress held in Beijing. Those 9 itineraries were as follows: Chongming Island in Shanghai上海崇明岛， Mipu in Hong Kong香港米埔, Xiaolongshan in Beijing北京小龙山, Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province云南省西双版纳, Wo’long in Sichuan Province四川省卧龙, Lhasa in Tibet西藏拉萨 and Zhalong in Heilongjiang Province黑龙生扎龙.

Reserve Guards Ecology

China’s largest nature reserve, at the headwaters of three major rivers, was set up at 4,000 meters above sea level in Qinghai Province on August 19, 2000. The reserve encompasses 318,000 square kilometers in an area called Sanjiangyuan. At the source of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers, the reserve has a concentrated bio-diversity. According to scientists, one-fourth of the water in the Yangtze River, China’s longest, half of that in the Yellow River, the second longest, and 15 per cent of that in the Lancang River comes from this area. The Yangtze and Yellow rivers go east through most of China, including areas where Chinese civilization began thousands of years ago. Both empty into the ocean. The Lancang River goes through Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and to some Southeast Asian countries, where it is called the Mekong River. In recent years, however, the region’s worsening natural environment has shrunk wetlands, lowered lake levels, and reduced water flows at the headwaters. Desertification has worsened, too, and the number of plants and animals is decreasing rapidly. Statistics indicate that more than 10 million hectares of grassland have turned to desert, consuming half of Qinghai’s usable grassland, while rats have damaged some 5.5 million hectares (12,500,000 acres) of grassland. Rapid desertification has caused serious soil erosion, with increasing amount of silt washing down to the lower portions of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers. This breakdown has hurt economic development and people’s livelihood in the middle and lower reaches of the three rivers. The nature reserve would protect the ecosystem, the highland swap and the natural habitat of unique wildlife in the region—while promoting sustainable economic development. The reserve also contributes to the central government’s strategy of developing the west.

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