The alligator has an economic value, as its organs are used in traditional
Chinese medicine. The construction of dams, farming, commercial enterprises
and deforestation have all encroached on its habitat. Altogether, only half a
dozen nature reserves now protect the species. Scientists have developed
artificial breeding programs. Finally, the highly concentrated population of
alligators has been dispersed, to increase prospects for genetic diversity.
The Asian elephant is distributed primarily in the tropical rain forests of
south and southwestern Yunnan Province. Its numbers are estimated to be
from 200 to 250. The main threat to Asian elephants is the decrease in size of
their natural habitat. Encroachment of agriculture and deforestation (including
illegal logging) has fragmented their habitat, and increased conflicts between
wild elephants and local farmers. The governmental response has been to
construct two nature reserves, build protection stations, and develop some
field monitoring programs.
Many NGOs have been active in the preservation of Asian elephants, as has
been the case with other endangered species too. In 2000, the International
Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) inaugurated an Asian Elephant Protection
Project with the Yunnan Forestry Bureau and the local government (Simao
Prefecture). The rural community capacity-building part of the project has
provided micro-credit loan assistance to the local communities, to encourage
farmers to seek alternative crops nearer villages, thereby reducing conflict
with elephants in the forest. The scientific research element of the project
led to creating man-made niter ponds in the forest, so that elephants would
not venture into villages for salt. Finally, the environmental education com-
ponent emphasized harmonious coexistence between humans and elephants.
The local government issued a ban on hunting elephants as a result of the
cooperative agreement.^43 This organization was successful in another area
where logging threatened elephant habitat. The NGO representative recounted
the case:
‘We learned that a local logging company was working in the range area of Asian
elephants ... they were not operating in the protected area. It was legal to cut trees
there, but nevertheless, it was important critical habitat. We asked the company for
its logging plan. Also, we gave them data on how many elephants there were there.
I wrote a letter to them as a specialist, and said if the natural habitat were destroyed,
it would cause more problems to the local community. I gave them copies of my
scientific papers and also copied the SFA. They stopped logging after four to five
months. (Because they’d reached their quota?) No, it was earlier than they had
planned.’^44These seven species are treasured not only in China but elsewhere in the
world. The efforts to increase their numbers and preserve, even restore, their
habitats is one sign of the importance of biological diversity conservation in
China. Activities of the national government, provincial and local
Current status of species and ecosystems 53