Guest guest Posted November 14, 2000 Report Share Posted November 14, 2000 More nature reserves established in Beijing So far, 14 nature reserves have been established in suburban Beijing, covering a total of 49,000 hectares, Beijing Daily reported yesterday. The number of green spaces in the city has also increased, and forest coverage rate has been increased to 42 per cent. The efforts have made the number of bird species increase from 118 in 1981 to the present 400. According to the municipal government, there will be 46 nature reserves by 2010, covering 190,300 hectares. --------------------- Monkey king finds human friends KUNMING: Kensong, a lone Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, is currently living a happy life under the meticulous care of local residents on Mount Laojunshan in Lijiang County, in Southwest China's Yunnan Province. After being banished by his fellow monkeys, Kensong, once king of a troop of monkeys, now cherishes his time enjoying the love of surrounding people. Usually, banished monkey kings have to live a lonely life far from their own kind and suffer from starvation and illness until death, according to a zoologist with an animal research institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province. Endemic to Yunnan and a rare kind of three snub-nosed monkey species on the planet, the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey is under first-class State protection. Statistics show there are about 600 to 800 living in alpine forest areas in northwestern parts of the province. Kensong's name was given to him by his protector and best friend, Li Jinxian, a 38-year-old tractor driver based at Qulong Inn on Mount Laojunshan. The area could soon be protected as either a natural reserve or a scenic area. " Kensong means Orient Patron Saint in our ethnic language, " Li said, sitting on a huge rock in the centre of the inn park. Although lonely, the king-like Kensong looks around with an air of authority. Kensong first appeared when the inn was set up in 1997, Li recalled. He often hid in trees near the inn, but scuttled off if somebody approached. " He is interested in things which make rumbling sounds, such as my tractor, " Li said. Whenever Li's tractor travels along forest roads, Kensong is chasing it from tree to tree. Later, a diesel generator was installed in a log cabin at the inn. Kensong instantly fell in love with it and watched the machine every night. To prevent the monkey from being injured by the machine, Li nailed up the windows and door to the cabin with battens. But Kensong destroyed the battens and insisted on staying with the machine. In the end, Li had to use thick sticks to block the cabin off from Kensong's reach. Being out of reach of the diesel generator, Kensong now stays overnight under the tractor. " Kensong returns to live in the forest for a couple of days several times a month, " Li said, adding he had no intention of recapturing his kingship. Every group of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys has a king. Other monkeys are mates and offspring of the king. When a young male monkey in the group grows up to have enough ability to challenge the king, a life-and-death fight takes place between the incumbent and the young challenger. The winner of the fight is king and the loser is dislodged from the group to lead a vagrant life. Having lost his fight, Kensong is lucky to have concern and love from human friends. Li has become his most trusted companion. Kensong always finds comfort on Li's back and will come to lean against him searching for peanuts in his pockets or to just have a rest. Wu, another friend of Kensong, is a store keeper at the inn. Every morning, when Wu opens his door, Kensong is always the first customer. Kensong does not leave until he obtains a handful of peanuts. When strangers come near Kensong, he often threatens them. But if the visitors are girls in colourful dresses Kensong is friendly and goes into a daze for a while. " He has become more and more snobbish, " Li joked. Kensong now seldom stays overnight under Li's tractor and, instead, chooses jeeps or luxury cars. " He is also piggish, " Li added with smile. Kensong constantly sneaks into kitchens for cookies. This has caused considerable worry for Li and other people. " It's said that a Yunnan snub-nosed monkey will die if they have too much salt. " Although Kensong has some shortcomings and bad manners, people in the mountains are taking care of him. Li Shiliang, director of the county's forestry bureau, visited Kensong recently and decided to distribute 300 yuan (US$36) per month to cover Kensong's living costs. However some environmentalists are worried that such " care " from humans could have negative effect on the endangered animals. " I feel the care is too much and will tame the once-wild monkey, " said Xi Zhinong, an environmentalist based in Yunnan Province. " It might encourage more Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys to become our pets. " According to Xi, the environment of Mount Laojunshan is suffering from human influences, such as logging and tourism. " Taking care of a lone monkey is OK, " he said. " But what's really important for the area, and for the monkeys, is to keep the forest clean and silent and to allow the monkeys to be alone. " Xinhua - China Daily 11/14/2000 Copyright© by China Daily ------------------------ SHANGHAI - Recycling fee charged Shanghai last Friday started charging foam and plastic food container producers 0.03 yuan for each container as a recycling fee. The fee, which should bring in several million yuan every year, will be used to set up a recycling system. A total of 800,000 foam plastic containers are used every day in Shanghai, a major factor leading to pollution. --------------------- Yunnan set to become green giant Southwest China's Yunnan Province, which is hosting the ongoing China Green Food Exposition 2000, is determined to build itself into a " green power " in the near future. By the end of 1998, the province had invested 3.6 billion yuan (US$400 million) in 126 projects making use of 18 different types of biological resources, said Vice-Governor Huang Bingsheng, in a recent interview with China Daily. A " green " food industry, whereby agricultural products are grown without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, has taken shape in the province, developing biological resources native to the region such as tobacco, tea and sugar. The provincial government plans to establish a " green food valley " in the capital city of Kunming. With the help of famous universities such as Zhejiang University and China Agricultural University, the valley is expected to become an important base of the green food industry in China. China's green food enterprises have produced at least 10 million tons of goods and reported sales of more than US$200 million in foreign countries, according to recent Ministry of Agriculture statistics. And experts said China's green food market is far from being saturated. Huge market potential has lured Yunnan, as well as other provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions into the competition. The green food industry is regarded as a key part of the reform of China's rural economic structure. Compared with other places, the industry is not very developed in Yunnan. China had 742 enterprises that have been registered to sell 1,360 green agricultural products by the end of 1996. 11/14/2000 Author: WU JIACHUN, China Daily staff Copyright© by China Daily -------------------------------- From hunt to harvest: The Lopa's journey LHASA: Ninety-nine-year-old Dongniang, former headman of the Lopa ethnic group in the Tibet Autonomous Region, cannot help but wax nostalgic whenever he picks up the axe, bow and arrows he used to carry as a youth. " In the early years of my life, I used them in fights between tribes and to get what I need from nature. Now, they are just ornaments of my house, " he remembers. There are roughly 2,600 people who claim membership in the ancient Lopa ethnic group. Most of them live in the Nanyigou region of Mainling County at the foot of the Himalayas. Democratic reform was introduced into Nanyigou in 1960, shortly after the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951. After the reforms took hold, local government allocated land, livestock and iron production tools to the Lopa people. Dongniang and his family now live in a wooden building surrounded by pine and cypress trees. They own a truck they use to transport goods. " After the democratic reform, I got 33 cattle, 70 sheep and five horses, " he recalls. He was also elected as a member of the Mainling County Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and was made an adviser to help local government maintain social order. Dongniang describes the times: " When I was young, I killed many animals, and I also killed human beings. " Hunting and revenge were his primary pursuits when he was young. After settling down in Nanyigou, Dongniang and his followers lived by hunting in nearby mountainous areas, exchanging their kills for daily necessities. Since the implementation of reform and opening up, more and more Lopa people have been putting down their hunting rifles in favour of farming tools. Recent economic changes in the inland area have caused Dongniang to become concerned with construction in his hometown. He has put forward many proposals, such as building two villages in the Nanyi River valley. Xinhua 11/14/2000 Author: Copyright© by China Daily http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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