Question: Quiet Coco Siri - Comprehensive protection keeps Coco Siri poached for 12 years
Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Shirley
Coco Xili, which means "green mountain beam" in Mongolian, is also known as "beautiful maiden". As the largest uninhabited area in China, Coco Xili is a beautiful and lonely land, a paradise for Tibetan antelopes and other unique wild animals of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
A herd of Tibetan antelopes photographed in the area of Lake Coco Siri Chonay on July 7, 2020. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Long
With the end of the large-scale relocation of Tibetan antelopes, Coco Siri survived a new calving season.
Tranquil animal park
In the 1980s, the sound of poaching guns broke the tranquility of Coco Ciri. After decades of perseverance and protection, Coco Ciri is now back at peace.
At dawn, Bu Zhou, director of the Coco Xili Management Office of the Yangtze River Source Park of the Sanjiangyuan National Park Administration, set off from Golmud and traveled along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway to begin another patrol work.
Pass through the frozen spring, arrive at the Sonandaj Protection Station, and then go to the Wudaoliang Protection Station. Along the way, the weather is still the unique "four seasons of the day" of the Qinghai-Tibet Line, with sudden clouds and sunny, sometimes rain and snow, and sometimes clear skies.
On both sides of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, herds of Tibetan antelopes and their cubs forage leisurely on the grasslands on the side of the road. In the vast world and the earth, you can see the figures of wild yaks, Tibetan hartebeests, Tibetan wild donkeys and so on from time to time.
Everything is quiet and peaceful.
The scene in front of him made Bu Zhou very emotional. "Wild animals such as Tibetan antelopes thrive calmly and leisurely, becoming a beautiful scenery on the Qinghai-Tibet Line." Bu Zhou told reporters that after arduous law enforcement crackdown and protection, there have been no poaching cases in the protected area since 2009.
Once a mad poaching spree
With a total area of 45,000 square kilometers and an average altitude of more than 4,600 meters, Coco Siri is known as the "forbidden area of life", but it is rich in minerals, wildlife and animal resources.
In the 1980s, the influx of illegal poachers dealt a devastating blow to Coco Siri. In just a few years, the number of Tibetan antelopes has plummeted from more than 200,000 to less than 20,000.
Tibetan antelope photographed in the Coco Siri Zoroagh Lake area on July 7, 2020. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xue Yubin
On January 18, 1994, sonandaj, then a 40-year-old "environmental defender", and four team members captured 20 poachers in Coco Siri, and were attacked by gangsters and heroically sacrificed while escorting them to the vicinity of Sun Lake.
In 1996, the "Coco Xili Provincial Nature Reserve" was established, and in 1997 it was upgraded to the "Coco Xili National Nature Reserve".
"In honor of Sonandaj, the first conservation station of the Coco Siri Reserve was named after him." Bu Zhou said.
Today, there are 6 ecological protection stations in Coco Xili, in addition to the well-known "Suo Station", there are also 5 protection stations of Frozen Spring, Wudaoliang, Tuotuo River, Zhuonai Lake and Kunan.
On July 6, 2020, Cho pei Tashi, the station manager of The Lake Zhuo Nai Conservation Station, repaired a vehicle in the Coco Siri area. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Long
"Starting in May every year, when a large number of Tibetan antelope are passing through the jurisdiction, our protection stations will do a short 'traffic control' to allow the Tibetan antelope to safely pass through the road to ensure that the Tibetan antelope are not disturbed or reduced by human activities during the migration and calfing and return." Dawa Dolma, a researcher at the Coco Siri Management Office, said.
Today, the tibetan antelope population in Coco Siri has increased from less than 20,000 to nearly 70,000.
"Not only are there more Tibetan antelopes than in the past, but there are also more brown bears, wolves, etc., and at the beginning of this year, the snow leopard activity was re-photographed in the Leopard Gorge on the shore of Kusai Lake." Bu Zhou said.
Continuous comprehensive protection
"In the new century, from the central to the local level, the pace of protecting the ecological environment has been accelerating, the intensity has been increasing, and the effect has gradually emerged." Bu Zhou said.
In 2016, the Coco Xili National Nature Reserve was transferred to Sanjiangyuan National Park as a whole, becoming an important part of Sanjiangyuan National Park and implementing the strictest protection and management.
Deng Haiping, a member of the Coco Xili Mountain Patrol, feeds Tibetan antelope cubs on December 6, 2020. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Yan
On October 1 of the same year, the Regulations on the Protection of Natural Heritage Sites in Qinghai Province came into effect, marking the legislative protection of Coco Xili. In July 2017, Coco Siri was successfully inscribed on the World Heritage List, becoming China's 51st World Heritage Site, filling the gap of no World Natural Heritage site on the Tibetan Plateau.
Over the years, large-scale, high-density and high-frequency special mountain patrols have been carried out uninterruptedly in Coco Siri, severely cracking down on all illegal activities in the protected area.
At the same time, we will continue to carry out special actions such as "inter-provincial joint patrol and law enforcement" and "crack down on illegal trade in wild animals", closely guard the safety of wild animal and plant resources in the Coco Xili Heritage Site, and consolidate the achievements of anti-poaching.
Coco Ciri, the "beautiful maiden", is restoring her eternal tranquility under full protection. (End)
Source: Xinhua News Agency