△ Wulipo Conservation Area
Yesterday, a message brushed the screen in the circle of friends.
On 28 July 2021, at the 44th World Heritage Conference held in Fuzhou, China, Chongqing Wulipo National Nature Reserve (hereinafter referred to as "Wulipo Nature Reserve") was successfully listed as a Shennongjia World Natural Heritage Site, becoming the third place in Chongqing to be included in the ranks of World Natural Heritage.
After 5 years, Wulipo Conservation Area successfully applied for heritage, what is the story behind it? How can it be protected in the future?
On July 29, at the press conference held by the Information Office of the Chongqing Municipal Government on the successful declaration of Chongqing Wulipo as a World Natural Heritage Site, upstream journalists found the answer.
△The scene of the press conference
How does it stand out?
It is home to virgin forests, alpine wetlands and rare and endangered animals
At present, there are three places in Chongqing that are among the Ranks of World Natural Heritage, namely Wulong Karst, Jinfoshan Karst and Wulipo Conservation Area, which has just been successfully declared.
This time, why is it the Wulipo Conservation Area, and how does it stand out?
In fact, primary forests, alpine wetlands, rare and endangered animals, ecology and protection, these are the best descriptions of the Wulipo Nature Reserve.
△ Cao Bangxing, secretary of the Wushan County Party Committee
"Here, golden eagles soar in the blue sky, forest musk runs in the forest, birds sing in the mountains, and red-bellied golden pheasants bloom and shine, which can be described as a real pure land." Cao Bangxing, secretary of the Wushan County Party Committee, introduced that the Chongqing Wulipo World Natural Heritage Site is located in the northeast of Wushan County, with a total area of 5782 hectares, a buffer zone area of 4378 hectares, a minimum altitude of 175 meters, and a maximum altitude of 2680 meters.
Wulipo was approved as a national nature reserve by the State Council in June 2013, with 3,000 hectares of primary forest, 300 hectares of native subalpine meadows, 26.6 hectares of spike fir communities, and alpine wetlands. There are 447 species of terrestrial wild vertebrates distributed, and 55 species of national first- and second-class key protected wild animals such as Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys and golden leopards are protected.
In addition, Wulipo is rich in fish resources because of its proximity to the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. Many ancient, endemic and endangered plants can also be found in Wulippo, including 3001 species of vascular plants, 2790 species of seed plants, and 211 species of ferns. It is worth mentioning that there are 34 rare and endangered animal species in Wulipo, Chongqing, including jackals, big spirit cats, white-crowned long-tailed pheasants, golden cats, clouded leopards, impala, etc., which are rare natural biological species gene banks in southwest China.
How long did it take to apply for the will?
It took 5 years to realize the "dream of applying for heritage"
Wulipo Nature Reserve lasted nearly 5 years, all the way through the thorns, and finally realized the "dream of applying for heritage".
As early as 2017, the application for heritage was officially launched. At that time, Wushan actively communicated with the relevant departments of the Hubei Provincial Government and the Shennongjia Forestry District Government, and received strong support.
In December 2018, the Shennongjia Forestry District Government and the Forestry Department of Hubei Province agreed to wulipo to declare the World Natural Heritage through the fine adjustment of the boundary of the Shennongjia World Natural Heritage Site.
In January 2019, chongqing Wulipo submitted the text of the application to the World Heritage Center. In March of the same year, according to the review requirements of the World Heritage Center, it was revised and improved in accordance with the relevant provisions of Annex 11 of the World Heritage Operation Guidelines. On 27 January 2020, the revised Report on Minor Adjustments to the Boundary of Hubei Shennongjia World Heritage Site (No. 1509) was submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and passed the integrity review.
In June 2021, the World Heritage Center published the World Heritage Assembly draft resolution and advisory assessment report, and the assessment agency IUCN (World Union for Conservation of Nature) believes that the inclusion of The Chongqing Wulipo National Nature Reserve will strengthen the protection of important corridors and habitats, enabling species to freely communicate and migrate between Shennongjia Forest in Hubei, karst forests in Wulipo Nature Reserve, wetlands and Daba Mountain of great botanical significance. The assessment report describes that wulipo national nature reserve is listed as a key bird area, and the boundary adjustment will display 34 rare and endangered animal species, which will bring positive results to the outstanding universal value of the protection of the heritage site and the improvement of the integrity of the heritage site, so it is recommended that it be approved.
Nearly 5 years of hard work finally borne fruit on July 28, 2021, and Wulipo Conservation Area was successfully listed as a Shennongjia World Natural Heritage Site.
How will it be protected in the future?
A joint protection mechanism has been established for the establishment of a heritage office
"Wulipo National Nature Reserve has become a World Natural Heritage Site, not the end of 'application for heritage', but the beginning of protection." Cao Bangxing said.
He said that at present, they have set up a heritage office, and with the Government of Shennongjia Forestry District of Hubei Province and the Government of Badong County, they have established the Alliance of Adjacent Nature Reserves in Western Hubei and Yudong, and established a linkage protection mechanism.
"We always put conservation first and maintain its authenticity and diversity." Cao Bangxing said that in order to strengthen protection, we will conscientiously implement the "Convention on the Protection of world cultural and natural heritage", continuously improve the ability and level of heritage protection, protect the biological species of Wulipo Nature Reserve, and leave valuable natural resource wealth for future generations.
△ Wang Shengbin, deputy director of the Chongqing Municipal Forestry Bureau
Wang Shengbin, deputy director of the Chongqing Municipal Forestry Bureau, said that in the future, a number of measures will be taken to strengthen the management of world natural heritage sites. Wushan County, where Wulipo is located, is a pilot area and county for the reform of the forest chief system, first of all, it will weave a dense protection network to achieve full coverage of the responsibility of the forest chief system, and use the "key minority" demonstration to drive the "vast majority" to form a strict management network of the World Natural Heritage Management Site.
At the same time, we will integrate and use the "one map" and "one set of numbers" of forest resource management, promote "mountain forest wisdom management", "mountain forest thin pipe" and "mountain forest crowd management", and strengthen the protection capacity of world natural heritage sites. It will also strengthen the capacity building of forestry administrative law enforcement, set up a mountain forest sheriff system according to local conditions, explore the working mechanism linking forestry administrative law enforcement and criminal justice, work together to crack down on illegal and criminal acts of destroying mountain forest resources, and effectively build a protective barrier for world natural heritage sites.
What is the significance of the successful application?
Better protect ecosystems and promote the development of tourism and related industries
At the 44th session of the World Heritage Conference, the IUCN believes that this adjustment will enhance the overall ecological connectivity of the Daba Mountain Heritage Site, better protect biodiversity and habitat, so that the original forest ecosystem and biodiversity of shennongjia Heritage Site can be importantly extended and supplemented, and the integrity of the entire heritage site will be enhanced and the universal value will be highlighted.
"The success of this 'heritage application' will help the districts and counties in the northeast chongqing area to take more scientific and effective measures to protect the genetic resource genes on which human beings depend for survival, save endangered species, protect threatened species, and maintain the integrity of the ecosystem in the northeast Chongqing area." Wang Shengbin, deputy director of the Chongqing Municipal Forestry Bureau, believes that Chongqing Wulipo, as the core area of the "application for heritage" of the boundary adjustment of the Shennongjia World Natural Heritage, has successfully opened up a "fast channel" for cooperation and exchanges between the northeast region of Chongqing and the Shennongjia region of Hubei province and the experience of learning, which can significantly enhance the ecological environmental protection capacity of the northeast region of Chongqing.
After the successful application, Wushan's popularity, reputation and brand influence will be further enhanced, which will help optimize the tourism elements as a whole, improve its tourism attractiveness, and promote the development of the tourism industry and related industries. At the same time, local governments should strengthen investment in environmental protection, focus on improving the level of ecological environmental protection, and truly realize that green water and green mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains.
Qin Dingbo, deputy director of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism, and a spokesman said that after the success of Chongqing's "application for heritage", they will develop a world natural heritage site study and tourism route, so that more citizens can understand heritage, protect heritage, and love heritage. And around the World Natural Heritage Sites to promote the construction of the Yangtze River Three Gorges International Golden Tourism Belt, polish the "Three Gorges Brand", and strengthen the "Three Gorges Tour". In addition, through the development of cultural and creative products of world natural heritage sites, we will further publicize the outstanding universal value of Chongqing's wulipo natural resources and provide tourists with a more complete world natural heritage experience.
Upstream journalist Li Jing