Nujiang succeeds in protecting wild animals and plants

Source: InKunming | 2021-02-25 | Editor:Christine

Takin in Dulong River basin. (Xinhua/Wang Bin)

Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province has abundant and unique biological resources, and the city and three counties of it are all national key ecological function areas. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, its forest coverage rate exceeded 78%, and the area protected by the ecological redline accounted for 61.81% of China’s total land area. The populations of endangered animals, such as Nujiang snub-nosed monkey and Mishmi Takin, were increasing gradually, making its protection rate of wildlife under state key protection reach 100%.

Fuhe Mountain in Lanping county, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture. (Photo provided by Bureau of Ecology and Environment of Nujiang Prefecture)

Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve and Yunling Nature Reserve are all in Nujiang Prefecture, covering an area of more than 400,000 hectares. There are more than 4,300 kinds of seed plants, 24 kinds of the first and second class national protected plants, 580 kinds of vertebrates and 67 kinds of animals that under the first and second class national protection in this prefecture. Its species of animals and birds account for more than half of that in Yunnan, and the amphibians and reptiles account for 1/5 and 1/3. Vegetation types, subtypes and communities account for 4/5, 1/2 and 2/5 of the province, respectively.

Scenery of Grand Canyon of Nujiang River. (Xinhua/Deng Ling)

According to the Ecological Environment Bureau of Nujiang Prefecture, Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve invested more than 3.7 million yuan to improve its biodiversity monitoring system during the the 13th Five-Year Plan period.

To further protect Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, the prefecture actively carried out 1,550 mu of vegetation restoration in the monkeys’ habitat and 810 mu of Ant Forest afforestation. It conducted joint patrols as well to speed up the establishment of a trans-regional protection system for Yunnan snub-nosed monkey.