Protection Efforts for Birds in SW China Province

A natural reserve for birds has been developed in Weishan Yi and Hui Autonomous County in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The 3,000-meter high Wenfeng Mountain, in the eastern part of the county, contains the ancient Longqing Pass.

At an elevation of 2,700 meters, the pass was a major border thoroughfare for business people when going to Myanmar and India from China from the 3rd century B.C. to the beginning of this century.

The pass has also become an important channel for migratory birds flying to the south from the north.

Every autumn, flocks of birds fly across the pass. In thick fog, a number of birds fly into rocks or trees, injuring or killing themselves.

According to an old Chinese tale, a pair of phoenix -- "King of Birds" died and were buried near the pass. Afterwards, many birds have flown to the mountain and have taken their own lives to sympathize with their king.

From the tale, local residents named the mountain "Niaodiaoshan ", which means a place of mourning for birds.

Some 3,000 people from the Yi ethnic groups live in villages in the mountainous area near the pass. In the past, thousands of bird hunters from the villages would climb to the pass to capture the wounded birds or hunt the migratory birds every autumn.

Yang Jianbo, director of the forestry zone and bird-protection station in Weishan, said that more than 1,000 birds might be killed by a single bird hunter and a total of 20,000 birds were killed every migratory season.

According to Yang, the birds can provide enough food for the ethnic people to last the whole year. Some of them could even sell the birds in markets.

The pass was notorious for killing birds in the past years, he said.

A survey conducted by ornithologists show that the birds killed here cover more than 100 species, from which around 10 kinds are under State-level protection.

Li Youping, who used to be a bird hunter, started to catch birds with his father and brother when he was eight years old.

He recalled that at sun set, people in his village lit fires to lure the birds toward the light.

Birds began to fly towards the fires, many birds heading into the fire or being killed by bamboo poles by the villagers. Thousands of birds died in such scenes.

The birds now live without fear of being killed thanks to the efforts made by local government, Li said.

Ten years ago, the county government issued bird protection laws to strictly ban bird-hunting. Bird-hunting tools were seized and a special supervision team is sent to the pass in autumn.

Since 1985, Li Youping has been in charge of the protection of 2,000 mu (approximately 133.3 hectares) of forest as well as the birds in the forest.

To date, Li has invested 200,000 yuan (approximately US$24,000) to plant trees in the forest area near the pass where the birds were killed.

"The bird catchers including me have become bird protectors," Li said.

Like Li, the ethnic villagers living near the pass have planted trees to turn the mountain into a greener and safer home for birds.

Experts contribute the deaths of the birds in foggy autumn nights to the poor visibility of the birds.

When seeing fire, the birds would determinedly fly into fire for light, the experts explained.

Every autumn, the villagers still light small fires, not for killing birds, but to guide the migratory birds.

Moreover, the local forestry department is using electric lights, which is safer and brighter, for the birds in autumn.

A team of forest police patrolled the hill day and night to protect the birds. The county government and department of forestry have jointly carried out a series of education programs to increase the ethnic villagers' knowledge of birds.

More and more birds are flying across the pass freely and safely, Li said, adding that he is grateful that the pass has turned into a bird protection reserve and scenic spot.

As a result, a bird sightseeing site has been developed, attracting many domestic and foreign tourists.

In 1997, more than 40 birds experts from Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand came to the pass to carry out scientific research and surveys.

Statistics from the provincial forestry department of Yunnan show that bird-killing was banned in about 60 mountainous areas across the province.

The province has also set up abundant natural reserves for bird protection.

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