Flocks of migratory birds use farmland and ponds as "canteens", causing crop yields to be reduced or even harvested; rare animals, elk, stay in villages for months, nibble on and trample on crops...
In recent years, with the implementation of environmental governance and animal protection measures, the ecological conservation function of Dongting Lake area has continued to recover, and the scale of wildlife populations has expanded. But with it, wild animals frequently enter the countryside and forage in farmland, fish ponds and orchards, causing disturbance to the lives and production of local people.
Wild animals walk into the village to enter the house "meeting meal"
When the reporter of "Xinhua Viewpoint" interviewed in the Dongting Lake District in late autumn and early winter, it was the peak period for migratory birds in the north to fly south.
In Yuanjiang City, Yiyang City, Datong Lake District, Yiyang City, and Hanshou County, on the banks of West Dongting Lake, the reporter saw that birds in the vast wilderness and wetlands were flocking, and they foraged and frolicked freely, including many birds that were included in the "List of Wild Animals under National Key Protection" and the "List of Terrestrial Wild Animals with Important Ecological, Scientific and Social Value Protected by the State", such as cormorants, egrets, and cygnets, and they could often see white cranes and gray cranes.
Migratory birds at Jihu Lake in Yuanjiang City on October 24, 2021. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Zhenhai
The reporter found that many intensive fish ponds in the lake area were strictly covered with a layer of nets, and "dummies" dressed in cloth were erected next to the farmland. In some ponds where valuable aquatic products such as turtles are farmed, people ride bicycles or motorcycles to prevent wild water birds from "robbing".
Wild water birds are regarded by farmers in the lake area as "natural enemies" of planting and breeding. "There are too many birds in the Lake District and too much to eat! Some farmers' shrimp fry and crab fry worth hundreds of thousands of yuan were eaten by the birds in a few days, and everyone was scared! Liu Kehuan, president of the West Dongting Lake Wetland Conservation Association, said that his family's 60-acre fish pond has also laid a large net.
Local farmers say flocks of birds "over the top" on a large scale, sometimes for several minutes. In particular, a large number of cormorants and the like flew from the sky, covering the sky like floating clouds. Birds forage in fields and ponds, "enjoying" crops and farmed aquatic products. After the birds pass, crops and aquatic products are often lost heavily.
At the Pearl Breeding Professional Cooperative in Wuzhu Mountain Village, Yanwanghu Town, Hanshou County, the reporter saw a group of cormorants staying in the fish pond to feed. Dai Pengfei, head of the cooperative, was very helpless about this: "Cormorants are numerous and sensitive by nature, and if they are not careful, the fry and some small turtles are eaten cleanly, sometimes losing thousands of yuan a day." ”
The grassroots government in the lake area often receives complaints from local people about "wild birds opening ponds" and "emptying fish fry". Guo Jianming, director of the forestry station in Nandashan Town, Yuanjiang City, said that sometimes a dozen phone calls a day are received to "report damage."
Guo Jianming and others said that during the harvest season, in the farmland of Dadongkou Village in Nandashan Town, a large area of egrets and cormorants can often be seen in Wuyangyang. They are not afraid of people, even the rumbling agricultural machinery can not be scared away, and even firecrackers are not very effective. Hu Xiaoyang, a villager in Dadongkou Village, said that some wild birds love to eat rapeseed, corn and shrimp seedlings, "Planting a hill field sometimes has to sow seeds several times, and it is difficult to wait for the seedlings to grow, and the birds have come several times, and the yield will be lost by more than half." ”
In addition to birds, other wild animals such as elk also infest agricultural production in the Dongting Lake area from time to time.
Chen Juxiang, a large planter in the Xinglong Management Area of the Reed Farm in Yuanjiang City, said that elk are rare wild animals protected by the state, and people must not harm them. More than 30 elk have been "lai" in the village for more than a month, and their 15 acres of crops have been nibbled by elk, pheasants and hares.
On October 24, 2021, an elk foraged in Shuanggang Village, Nandashan Town, Yuanjiang City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Zhenhai
Xiong Lixian, director of the Forest Disease and Pest Control and Protection Station in Yuanjiang City, said that an elk once stayed in several local villages for 18 months, and its weight grew from about 60 kilograms to about 300 kilograms after "eating and drinking in the sea." Local farmers took many "photos" of the elk, and in the picture, the elk was tall and mighty, trampling and nibbling on the farmland.
The contradiction between agricultural production and wildlife activities has gradually become prominent
In recent years, the news of wild animals "going out of the mountains", "entering the village" and "entering the city" has appeared frequently. This not only reflects the strong protection measures for wild animals on the mainland and the increasingly good ecological environment, but also reflects the saturation of local wild animals to a certain extent. The Dongting Lake area is rich in products, birds and animals are gathered, and the contradiction between people and animals for land is gradually becoming prominent.
Many people and cadres in Dongting Lake District introduced that in the past, when the protection of wild animals was not effective, they were driven by interests or appetites, and in the southern season of migratory birds, some people carried shotguns, held slingshots to hit birds, or opened nets to catch birds in the migratory birds' habitats, and even used bait with pesticides to poison birds, and the number of wild water birds in the lake area was far less than now.
Today, the concept of wildlife conservation is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, the law is strictly enforced, and the hunters disappear. In particular, after the promulgation of the Yangtze River fishing ban and the implementation of stricter ecological protection measures, the ecological functions of wetlands in the lake area have been rapidly restored, and wild water birds have gradually increased.
Taking the West Dongting Lake Nature Reserve as an example, the population of wild waterbirds has increased significantly. The number of bird species in the reserve has been observed to have increased from 205 to 226 in recent years. In recent years, the number of wild waterbirds in the reserve has remained stable at about 30,000.
It is reported that at present, most of the animals that "fight and rob houses" in the Dongting Lake area are protected by law and strictly prohibited from hunting and killing, and agricultural losses caused by their foraging in the lake area occur frequently.
Imposition photo: Respondents describe farmland damage. The interviewee provided a picture, and the cartographer Chen Zhenhai
According to data provided by various places in Dongting Lake District, from 2019 to 2021, the damaged area of wild animals such as egrets, swans and elk in Yuanjiang City totaled 341,000 mu, with a loss amount of 67.3 million yuan; the area of terrestrial wild animals (wild boars, badgers, bears, birds) in Changde City in 2020 was about 317,000 mu, and the economic loss was estimated at 37.354 million yuan; it is also understood that the agricultural production in Yiyang City, Yueyang City and other lake areas also suffered great losses.
There is a way for people and wildlife to live in harmony
The cadres and people of Dongting Lake District interviewed generally said that the large increase in wild animals has strongly confirmed that the ecological environment of Dongting Lake District has improved, and we should unswervingly continue to implement strict protection policies. At the same time, confront the challenge of increasing conflicts between humans and wildlife.
Zhuang Zhi, deputy director of the Yuanjiang Wetland Protection and Development Affairs Center, Wang Long, director of the Yuanjiang Municipal Administration Office of the South Dongting Lake Nature Reserve, and others believe that the key to the harmonious coexistence of people and wild animals in the vast Dongting Lake area lies in "each settling down" and "living in peace."
Some experts say that most wild animals are not "willing" to live with humans and compete for food, and some of the current "bird and beast invasion" phenomena reflect to a certain extent that the survival needs of wild animals cannot be well met. It is recommended to increase investment from the state to the locality, increase the protection of the food source of elk and migratory birds, and enrich the food source of the outer lake; those living spaces that originally belong to birds and animals, such as nature reserves and natural lakes, should strictly restrict human activities, and return water surfaces and wetlands to birds and animals.
Industry experts recommend:
-- Promoting ecological balance with biodiversity.
Some farmers in the lake area have found that placing artificial birds of prey in the field, or using Bluetooth speakers to simulate birds of prey, can produce a certain bird repellent effect.
Some experts said that at present, some local biodiversity is in the early stage of restoration, and it is necessary to strengthen the monitoring of wildlife activities and carry out scientific regulation in a timely manner. For wild protected animals with large local populations and suitable for migration, ex situ conservation can be appropriately carried out; the flagship species at the top of the bird and animal food chain, such as the eagle falcon, can also be targeted to protect or cultivate flagship species at the top of the bird and animal food chain, so as to promote ecological balance with biodiversity.
-- Promoting the use of reasonable technical prevention measures.
The reporter saw that in recent years, some new production facilities in the Dongting Lake Area have installed solar ultrasonic bird repellents, and the effect of bird repellent in a small area is good; there are also some farms, fisheries and orchards that install flash gyro sticks and bright paper small windmills, which do not harm wild water birds and also play a role in protecting agricultural production.
Some grassroots cadres and masses suggested that the technical prevention measures that have emerged at present should be studied, and those that directly endanger the survival of wild birds should be strictly prohibited, while reasonable technical prevention methods are worth supporting and promoting.
-- Establish and improve an operational compensation mechanism.
In 2015, the Xidongting Lake National Nature Reserve Administration carried out a bird damage compensation work to compensate for bird damage to farmland in and around the reserve. Peng Pingbo, a wildlife protection expert who participated in the whole process, said that the compensation effect was not ideal. "When farmers compare, it is very easy to cause contradictions. At present, there are few successful bird damage compensation arrangements in China, and it is necessary to explore the formulation of relatively unified policies. ”
Cao Liangbing, director of the Yuanjiang Wetland Conservation and Development Affairs Center, suggested that the compensation mechanism for wetland ecological benefits and the compensation for wildlife harm should be further improved, and relevant laws and regulations should be formulated; it is recommended that the national and provincial levels increase financial compensation, or establish special funds to maintain the balance between biodiversity and sustainable economic and social development in the lake area. (Reporters Su Xiaozhou, Ruan Weihuan, Tan Chang)