Raised awareness helps safeguard protected species

Before migratory birds arrive every October, Yuan Wenbin and his pals from the Kangshan Reclamation Farm patrol team in Yugan county, Jiangxi province, distribute leaflets to educate local farmers on the importance of not harming these birds.

In recent years, a large number of migratory birds have wintered near the reclamation farm not far from Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake. Last year the number climbed to more than 100,000, according to Wu Minyao, executive head of the reclamation farm.

Initially, local villagers were concerned that the birds would damage their rice fields, prompting them to set off firecrackers or use harmful methods to scare the birds away.

Yuan and his team intervened, educating farmers on safer alternatives.

For example, during the day, farmers can set up long bamboo poles with reflective tape in their fields to deter birds. At night, they can use flashlights to scare them away.

Farmers gradually developed the awareness of protecting migratory birds, and they no longer harm them in the fields, Yuan said.

As the captain of a local ecological protection patrol team, the 54-year-old and his teammates are responsible for safeguarding the farm and its surrounding environment, which provides a habitat for finless porpoises and migratory birds in winter.

"When the wintering season for migratory birds begins in mid-October, we become busier. We split into two groups and patrol the nearby bird habitats every morning at 7 am, monitoring the number and species of birds. We also patrol at night," Yuan said.

In 2021, fishing was completely banned in Poyang Lake. However, Yuan has encountered individuals suspected of illegal fishing.

"One time, I saw a group of about a dozen people fishing near the finless porpoise habitat. They drove off in off-road vehicles and were very confrontational," he recalled.

With just one or two teammates with him, he attempted to stop them and took a photo of their license plates. However, they threatened him, forcing him to delete the picture.

"After I deleted the photo, they left. As soon as they were far enough away, we called the police," he said.

Yuan often faces such incidents, which is a significant reason his family is concerned about his safety and well-being while continuing his patrol work. Despite their worries, he has never considered leaving the team since joining it in 2017.

"I grew up here. In my childhood, the water in nearby Daming Lake was clear, with visibility up to 2 meters underwater. Over time, the water quality severely declined, and ditches became foul-smelling. It wasn't until the past decade that the water quality began to improve," Yuan said. "Now it's much better."

Jiangxi province initiated a project in the early 1980s aimed at comprehensive management of the entire basin in the province, including Poyang Lake.

Following a severe flood in 1998, the local government implemented measures such as afforestation, returning farmland to forests and restoring lakes, gradually bringing back the natural ecosystem that had been damaged by earlier reclamation and farming practices.

In 2018, Jiangxi made significant strides in advancing its 10 Major Actions Plan for the ecological management of Poyang Lake Basin.

Yuan's decision to join the patrol team was also influenced by his concern for the finless porpoises of the lake.

In February 2017, while on patrol, he and volunteers discovered an injured finless porpoise with large anchor hooks embedded in its back before it swam away.

Despite a weeklong search and rescue operation involving nearly 100 people, including local officials and volunteers, they were unable to find the porpoise. "It was highly unlikely that it survived," Yuan said.

This rescue operation strengthened his resolve to join the patrol team "to protect the local ecological environment", he added.

"Now, more migratory birds are arriving at Chaqizhou farmlands, and our workload is increasing. The government has provided us with vehicles and boats for patrolling in the past years, but it's still not enough.

"In the future, I hope that there can be more support to further improve the local ecological environment," he said.