Ruoergai Marshes

The Ruoergai Marshes transbounds the Sichuan and Gansu Provinces in the upper Yellow River on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau (3,400 to 3,900 m. altitude). They consist of approximately 10,000 square kilometres of peat bogs, sedge marshes, lakes and wet grasslands, interspersed with low hills and drier grasslands. Tibetan people, who are almost exclusively pastoralists with vast herds of sheep, yaks, horses and goats, inhabit the Ruoergai Plateau.

Ruoergai PNR, Gaihai Lake NNR, Shouqu PNR and intervening areas (approx. 5,000 square kilometres) form the largest contiguous area of high altitude peat bog remaining in China, and one of the largest areas in the world. The relative scarcity of high altitude peat bogs of this size ensures the global biodiversity significance of Ruoergai Marshes for diverse and endemic Himalayan flora, typical of montane peat bogs and alpine grassland. The marshes are also of high global significance as an important breeding area threatened bird species, especially for summering and breeding populations of black-necked cranes, Grus nigricollis. In summer, the population totals 600-900, with about 150-200 breeding pairs, making this the most important breeding and summering area for the species in the world. The marshes and associated rivers also support other significant species, including four rare and endemic fish, two rare or endemic amphibians and two threatened mammals.

ocioeconomics

From a socio-economic perspective, the Ruoergai Marshes represents the remote region of western China where traditional nomadic farming practices, principally livestock grazing, have enormous effects on the environment. Despite a relatively sparse population in this area (125,000 over 10,000 square kilometres), there is intense grazing. In recent decades, traditional nomadic pastoralism is being replaced with semi-nomadic and settled systems, which has increased effects on fragile environments such as grasslands and wetlands. Industrial and agricultural output is valued at US$15.6 million, of which animal husbandry comprises 50%. The annual per capita income is around US$72 to 96.

Threats

The threats to the globally significant migratory birds of the Ruoergai Marshes arise fromdisturbance due to over-grazing in the marshlands of the three protected areas (the birds simultaneously utilize all three areas, nesting in one location, but feeding in another). There is no threat from hunting/poaching or over-fishing as Tibetan people do not eat birds or fish, nor from pollution, due to the very low human population densities. At the wider landscape scale, threats to the rare and endemic alpine plant species also result from over-grazing, which restricts their distribution in the wider landscape to small, isolated patches, inaccessible to grazing animals, where risks of extinction are correspondingly high. Barriers for effective biodiversity conservation are similar to those at Sanjiang Plain (no demonstration tools for community involvement; lack of an integrated and coordinated approach, etc.).

Action

The Government of China has initiated a number of baseline measures. These include:
* Major social/rural development schemes, designed to settle nomads, fence pasture and improve grasslands, to be undertaken by the provincial authorities over the next decade;
* Enhanced management of protected areas to provide infrastructure and improve staff capacities;
* Expansion of the current reserve network to include additional important areas for nesting cranes; and
* Continued shelterbelt planting for soil conservation and dune stabilization to combat the threat of desertification (not directly impacting wetlands).

These measures alone will not ensure the conservation of globally significant biodiversity - for example, land management within protected areas is no different from areas outside. The measures undertaken by this project will demonstrate an alternative approach to securing social and economic benefits (for example, reducing the reliance on fencing and settlement of nomads), while ensuring biodiversity conservation.

References

* http://www.wetland-gef-cpr98.org/wetland_english/pro_sites_02/ruoergai_introdution.htm