An enormous fire two months ago in China's Zhalung Nature Reserve, a major wetland protection project in the country and in the world, drawing the public's attention again to the protection of nature reserves in China.

The fire started on March 19, lasted one week, and engulfed more than 6,667 hectares of wetland.

It was the third time in five years that Zhalung wetland had such a big fire. In August 2001, the wetland caught fire, incurring 8 million yuan (US$967,351.9) in economic loss. During the four years between the two fires, the wetland, however, has suffered fires of smaller scales repeatedly.

The fires, which were unexpected for a wetland, were ascribed to lack of water.

Located in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Zhalung Nature Reserve, covering a total area of 210,000 hectares, is the first one of its kind in China targeted at protection of wetland and cranes. The number of cranes in the nature reserve once amounted to more than 400, including six of the 15 kinds of cranes in the world.

The wetland has witnessed the drying up of most of its lakes and marshes and frequent wild fires due to water shortage and continuous drought in the region, leading to the deterioration of plants in the reserve, said Li Changyou, director of the Administration of Zhalung Nature Reserve.

The deteriorated ecological condition has in turn affected the food resources for and living conditions of cranes.

In recent years, dozens of reservoirs have been built on the upper reaches of the rivers that flow to the wetland. Most river water has been dammed and diverted in a bid to meet demand from local residents and industrial production. This resulted in the cutoff of water supply for the wetland, said Ye Ping, director of the research center of environment and society of Harbin University of Science and Technology based in the provincial capital.

Local people competed with cranes not only for water but also basic food for the birds, including fish, shrimp and reeds.

Currently, about 4,000 people live at the core of the Zhalung Nature Reserve, said Li Changyou. He said that in 2003, the State approved a plan to move the local residents out of the core area. But the plan failed to be carried out because of short supplies of money.

"It is true we are scrambling for food along with the cranes, but there is no choice for us but to fish for food and sell reed for money ", Zang Jinping, a local farmer said. "We have no other way to make a living."

The average annual per-capita income of the local residents is only about 1,000 yuan (US$120.9). Zang said, "We are also eager to move out of the region as early as possible."

The conflict between the cranes and local residents in Zhalung to some extent reflects a common problem in some of China's nature reserves, Ye Ping said.

According to latest statistics from the State Forestry Administration (SFA), by the end of 2004, the number of nature reserves in China reached more than 2,100, some of which have humans living in them. "It is crucial to make the residents and nature coexist harmoniously," Ye said.

Covering 190,000 ha. and designated as state nature reserve in 1984, east Dongting Lake Nature Reserve in central China's Hunan Province, was praised as the cradle of rare birds and fishes. The total bird species in the reserve number about 293 and that of fishes 114. Of the birds, seven species are under first-level state protection in China.

But the number of rare birds in the reserve declined drastically over the past few years, because of illegal fishing and overgrazing.

According to a survey conducted by SFA in the first two months of last year, the number of birds in Dongting Lake stood at 130,000, a dramatic decline from 500,000 over the same period of the previous year.

Some of the nature reserves in China not only feed local residents but also serve as their way of making fortunes, Ye Ping said, citing that some scenic spots demarcated in nature reserves have helped demolish the environment.

Ye said the steps, pathways and catering services built for tourists in these scenic spots, have led to gradual ecological deterioration, which will result in irreversible damage to the environment and the extinction of rare animals.

Coping with the conflict between local residents and the nature is a critical issue in the protection of nature reserves, said Zou Hongfei, deputy director of Wild Animal Research School of China's northeast Forest University. "Yet it doesn't mean that people living in the natural reserves can do nothing but harm to nature." Zou said that local governments could recruit local residents as special staff to encourage them to join in the conservation of nature reserves. In this way, they will become aware of protecting the environment and benefiting from it.

Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve in southwest China's Sichuan Province, known for its beautiful natural scenery, has set a good example in resettling local residents properly.

To mitigate the pressure of increasing residents, the Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve Administration first moved residents out of the reserve and resettled them near the protection area. Then the administration hired the residents, who used to be hunters or farmers, as tour guides.

Statistics from the Nature Reserve show the annual per-capita income in Jiuzhaigou climbed from 4,000 yuan (about US$483.7) in 1998 to 14,700 yuan (about US$1,777.5) in 2002, since local residents joined in the conservation efforts of the reserve and found jobs there.

While contributing a lot to the protection of the nature reserve, local residents have benefited from the booming tourism and improving environment, said Xiang Yuanchun, director of Jiuzhaigou Natural Reserve Administration.

Li Changyou said the provincial government of Heilongjiang was planning to replenish water to the Zhalung wetland to improve the living condition of cranes and other rare animals in the reserve. He suggested local residents should move out of the reserve and at the same time, should be allowed to retain ownership of reed ponds there and sell reeds to make a living. Meanwhile, local government should help the residents find jobs outside, Li added.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2005)