Qinghai plays peacemaker between birds and power grids

Qinghai province has successfully reconciled power grids with bird conservation, thereby enhancing the local ecology in the process, says Wu Xiaojun, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, who is also Party secretary of Qinghai, at an open panel discussion in Beijing on Thursday.

Birds like nesting on trees. But in a high-altitude place like the Sanjiangyuan (Three-River-Source) area in Qinghai, with an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters, birds do not find enough trees. Therefore, they often nest on telegraph poles or transmission towers, at a risk to their own lives and electricity distribution.

In the past, people often installed bird repellents to keep them away, but that did not always prove effective. In recent years, they have built nests for birds in safe areas on telegraph poles or transmission towers, so that no harm comes to them.

"In the Sanjiangyuan area, there are more than 5,000 such artificial nests. With people's help, the number and type of birds in the area have increased tremendously," says Wu.

Moreover, Qinghai's ecological environment has improved considerably. For example, the numbers of snow leopards and brown bears have exceeded 1,200 and 6,000 respectively. Przewalski's gazelle's number has increased from about 300 in 2007 to more than 3,400 now.

More than 146,000 people, who were herders in the past, have become ecological protectors to evaluate statistics of ecology in the local place.

"Since they are the closest to nature and animals, they know the best. Many of them now use their cameras and microphones to capture the most beautiful landscape and nature. Some of their photos have won international competitions, making them amateur photographers," says Wu.

"What they take photos of are often wild animals, but the photos also show the ecology and reflect the harmonious coexistence between humans and nature," says Wu.