Yunnan protects its wild side

Habitats protected

To conserve animal SESP, project developers were asked to involve animal habitats in their planning decisions by undertaking measures such as setting up ecological corridors, and building bridges and tunnels to facilitate the dispersal of animals.

One of the most iconic animals in the province, the green peafowl is listed as an endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, due to the rapid decline of its population, which stands at 600 in the province.

In December 2020, the Yunnan High People's Court ruled that the construction of a hydropower station on the Jiasa River should be suspended as it posed a possible threat to the habitat of green peafowl in the Konglonghe Nature Reserve in Shuangbai county, Chuxiong Yi autonomous prefecture.

The Yunnan case involving the green peafowl was the first such case of public interest litigation in China.

The Asian elephant, which is also under protection as a SESP, saw a "baby boom" in nearly every elephant herd during recent years, demonstrating the success of China's arduous protection efforts — especially important given that the population of the Asian elephant is showing a declining trend globally.

To elevate its conservation efforts, the province developed monitoring and early-warning systems for the giant creature by synchronizing information collected by methods such as infrared cameras, video monitoring and satellite positioning, and visualizing them on a specific mobile phone app installed on the phones of villagers living nearby.

Currently, there are 11 nature reserves for Asian elephants, covering an area of nearly 5,100 square kilometers, and the province has established around 800 hectares of "food stores" for elephants, said Wan Yong, director of the provincial forestry and grassland administration.

According to Wan, the Xishuangbanna Asian Elephant Rescue and Breeding Center has rescued 30 trapped, injured, or sick wild elephants in the past 20 years. China has also set up cooperative mechanisms, sharing conservation knowledge and technical training with neighboring countries such as Laos.