Final Report - Asian Development Bank

continuing communication among stakeholders to improve management of the system as a whole and
there is a need for a more formal venue for interaction of individuals, groups, and agencies.
40. For example, professional managers and scientists at nature reserves do not have adequate
interaction with colleagues at other Qinling nature reserves. Similarly, researchers often interact with a
single nature reserve to carry out a given project, but seldom extend their results to other nature reserves.
Tourism, land management, and water resource agencies are stakeholders in Qinling resource
management but there is no formal venue for exchange and discussion of their contributions. Village,
township, and county leaders have limited opportunities to interact with resource managers in the Qinling
except where Nature Reserve Managers have received training and project level support to do so. For a
few NR’s such as Taibaishan, Zhouzhi and Foping significant and ongoing benefits to both eh NR and
local communities is reported however the lack of sustained operational funding after Project completion
is eroding many of the management gains.
(b) From Reforestation to Habitat Restoration two species of exotic larch were planted in monocultures
in the Qinling beginning in the 1950s and accelerating in the 1980s. In addition to introducing
exotic species that are ecologically inappropriate to the Qinling, these plantations have also formed dense
stands of trees with little or no under-storey vegetation. WWF has begun a program to plant indigenous
bamboo species beneath the larch canopies for restoration of foraging habitat of the Giant Panda. This
program is hampered by the institutional restriction against felling of trees on the Qinling (NFPP) and in
protected areas (State Council regulation on activities permitted in nature reserves). These institutional
barriers prohibit removal of unwanted, inappropriate trees that were planted during an era when
introduction of exotics was seen as a fast means of establishing forest cover and wood supply and when
exotic species were not viewed as an ecological threat. Retaining such trees precludes efficient planting
of indigenous bamboos that are preferred by the Qinling flagship species, giant Panda, and would
contribute directly to continued recovery of Panda populations in the Qinling Mountains.
(c) Adaptive management and Learning. Recent programs for land conversion e.g., Natural Forest
Protection Program (NFPP) and Steep Land Conversion Program (SLCP), have not received adequate
monitoring to determine their ecological or socio-economic effectiveness. Natural forests have not been
studied after the logging ban of NFPP in 1998 to assess recovery rates or ecological aspects of forest and
vegetation recovery. Use of timber by villages in and around protected areas has not been assessed.
Comparative analyses of remote sensing data have not been undertaken to assess NFPP impacts on total
forest cover.
41. SLCP was applied to 6,000-8,000 km 2 of the Qinling and the program continues through 2007.
No monitoring has been undertaken to quantify effectiveness in terms of vegetation cover, tree survival,
or outcomes in terms of farm economics.
(d) Species Recovery. The captive populations of Crested Ibis have grown to unmanageable levels at the
Yang County (over 200 birds) and Zhouzhi County (over 220 birds) breeding centers. Maintenance of
such large numbers of captive birds of any species is ill advised, particularly in the era of SARS and avian
influenza. China’s increasing network of wetland nature reserves provides a wealth of potentially suitable
release sites for some of the captive birds. PRC is planning a release program as is IUCN-SSC through
its Stork, Ibis and Spoonbill Specialist Group. Japan is also developing a release program at Sado Island
based on recent successes in natural reproduction of captive birds (young fledged from nests built and
tended by captive adult birds). Nature reserves in Russia and the Koreas have also expressed interest to
participate in a release program.
42. Similar to the giant Panda the Crested Ibis program has successfully bred and reared captive
birds to te point that some breeding centers are financially unable to grow further due to the cost of forage
or food. To date limited release of birds has been undertaken and even this is poorly monitored. There has