"Folk power" under wildlife protection: become the defender of "protection without disturbance"

Source: CCTV

Sun Xiaohong, who is filming in the wild

CCTV news (reporter Wang Lili) from the north to the south.

From all over the country to Yunnan Dehong.

They are nature and ecology photographers, and they have a common goal: to come to China's Hornbill Valley to photograph wild birds, which will arouse more people's "resonance" about bird conservation.

This "animal kingdom" has several other names – "Museum of Living Birds" and "Treasure Trove of Animal and Plant Genes". It is understood that 716 species of birds have been observed and photographed in Dehong, close to 50% of the number of bird species in the country.

In July, dehong prefecture in Yunnan Province is in the rainy season, and the high mountain 70 kilometers from Yingjiang County, Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, hides the national first-class protected wild animal - hornbills. Deep in a dense rainforest, COP15 reporters from all over the country waited for more than two hours before finally seeing the male corolla crease helmet hornbills that replenished their nests.

Wading through mountains and waters, eating and sleeping in the wind, and making friends with birds and beasts in the mountains and forests have been the norm of Sun Xiaohong's life for 7 years. Every year, he spends half of his time shooting in the wild, and his footprints have traveled through the landscapes and rivers of Dehong, Yunnan.

Sun Xiaohong has many identities, but his favorite is the "natural ecological photographer". As the province with the richest wildlife resources in China, Sun Xiaohong first met the hornbill 7 years ago, and on the recommendation of a friend, he came to Yingjiang County, spent two weeks crouching in the forest, pressing the shutter tens of thousands of times, and a group of "two-horned hornbills" images were loaded into the lens.

At this point, as one of the rarest birds in China with a small population, the news of the discovery of hornbill breeding in China's Hornbill Valley shocked home and abroad, and for the first time, it was announced through video records.

Why are hornbills so precious?

Sun Xiaohong said that in history, some areas in southern China have frequently seen hornbills, but they have faced the dilemma of extinction in the past decade. Hornbills are named for their lifelong "monogamous" fidelity, such as the two-horned hornbill and the creased hornbill, which currently have stable breeding spots in Yingjiang.

Photographing birds requires not only enough patience and perseverance, but also understanding the weather and the habits of birds. In this way, in the 7 years of follow-up time, he photographed many national first-class protected wild animals. With the release of pictures through various channels, more and more people know Yingjiang and know about hornbills.

There are many, many people like Sun Xiaohong, who are not professionals, but with a passion, they have become experts in wildlife conservation.

Zheng Shanhe, although a middle school Chinese teacher, became the discoverer of the largest population of the Faye's langur in the country.

Ban Dingying, a former TV reporter, is now the president of the Bird Watching Association of Yingjiang County, Yunnan. In the interview, he said that as a large bird and the flagship species in the tropical rainforest, the hornbill can become a measure of whether the ecological environment is healthy, and as long as the local ecological environment where the hornbill breeds must be well protected.

In addition, with the strengthening of government protection, yingjiang county has also recorded 42 species of national first-level protected wild animals such as river terns, gray peacock pheasants, clouded leopards, and gray-bellied horned pheasants in Yingjiang County.

It has to be mentioned that in recent years, the awareness of protection in the whole society has been continuously enhanced, and more and more non-governmental forces have participated in the protection of wild animals. Sun Xiaohong said that now, the ecological photographers who often wait for the shooting have become the "defenders" of China's Hornbill Valley homeland, so that the image can become a bridge of communication and protection. In addition, no matter where they go, they will promote the protection of birds to photography enthusiasts and local people, and whenever they find vandalism, they will report it to the government department as soon as possible.

Local officials said that relying on the rich bird resources, adopting the model of "government + association + cooperative", building characteristic villages for bird watching, standardizing bird monitoring points, stipulating ecological recuperation periods, carrying out transnational joint protection of birds, holding "International Bird Watching Festival", and forming a "bird watching tourism" environment in the county. Encourage the masses to volunteer at bird monitoring points, engage in catering, accommodation and other services, be "bird guides", eat "bird meals", and earn "bird money".