Explaining "harmony and symbiosis" in the name of the Yangtze River: guarding the "smiling angel" porpoise

Jiang Meng is giving a speech. Photo by Shen Ran

Nanjing, October 25 (China News Network) (Reporter Zhu Xiaoying) They are high-level social animals living in the Yangtze River, can cooperate in fishing, they have a round and rolling body, their upturned mouths seem to be smiling, they are Yangtze River porpoises. On the 25th, at the 2021 Nanjing Peace Forum held in Nanjing, Jiang Meng, secretary general of the Nanjing Finless Porpoise Conservation Association, explained "harmony and symbiosis" from the perspective of the protection of aquatic biological resources in the Yangtze River: spare no effort to protect the "smiling angel" finless porpoise.

Jiang Meng introduced that as an endemic species in China, the Yangtze River finless porpoise is only distributed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Poyang Lake, Dongting Lake. Affected by human activities, their population has plummeted from more than 2,700 in the 1990s to 1,012 today, and they have been classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

"As the flagship species in the Yangtze River, the finless porpoise is at the top of the ecological food chain of the Yangtze River, and its number can intuitively reflect the health of the Yangtze River ecosystem, which is of great significance, so protecting the porpoise is to protect the ecological environment of the Yangtze River, that is, to protect our own human beings." Jiang Meng said.

Jiang Meng introduced that in order to protect the porpoise, in recent years, Nanjing from the government to the private sector has put into many actions, from law enforcement personnel to ordinary volunteers are involved.

According to incomplete statistics, in the past 8 years, nearly 10,000 people in Nanjing have directly or indirectly participated in the protection of the Yangtze River finless porpoise, and more than 4,000 finless porpoise protection volunteers alone have reached more than 4,000. Nanjing has organized the "Ning Xiao Porpoise" volunteer service team to absorb fishermen who have changed production to become monitors of the Yangtze River porpoise, so that "fishermen" can be transformed into "dolphin protectors"; provide various porpoise protection and rescue clues to the protected areas; provide illegal clues to the public security organs and fishery law enforcement departments that endanger the ecological environment of the Yangtze River, and jointly protect the aquatic biological resources and environment of the Yangtze River.

Jiang Meng introduced that thanks to the efforts of all sectors of society over the years, the protection of the Yangtze River finless porpoise in Nanjing has achieved initial results: its population has increased from about 30 in 2014 to more than 50 today, and in the Nanjing Drum Tower Riverside Scenery Belt, Yuzui Park and other places, people can watch the cute finless porpoise playing and swimming in the water.

"We live on the same earth, and man and nature are a community of life. The story of Nanjing's protection of the Yangtze River finless porpoise provides a successful case and experience for how to carry out endangered species protection in the city, and how to coordinate urban development and environmental protection. Jiang Meng said that he sincerely hopes that the rare "water elf" finless porpoise can become an international "smile ambassador", hoping to bring its "smile" to every corner of the world. (End)

Source: China News Network