04 August 2008

Ruoergai Wetlands Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China: In order to solve environmental problems, you first need to understand them. The expertise of UNV volunteers studying China's wetlands is helping to preserve biodiversity.

In Sichuan Province, for example, the Ruoergai wetlands nature reserve is the home of many rare species such as the black-necked crane and the white-tailed eagle. But the area is under threat from desertification.

Chinese national UNV volunteer Liu Lei has spent more than two years at Ruoergai examining the problem, finding that the key cause of desertification was overgrazing by yaks and cattle. Mr. Liu estimates that there are 1.5 million livestock in an area that can only sustain a third of that number, and the solutions attempted so far were not working. Combining the nature reserve with fenced-off pasture was making the problem worse, since cattle were easily getting past the barriers and damaging the natural habitats.

After surveying the numbers of rare birds and animals, Mr. Lui saw that some simple measures could be taken to help them. Building small dams in the man-made ditches around Ruoergai could help recover the black-necked crane's peatland habitat, for example.

Mr. Liu began his conservation duties with UNV during 2005 translating for international UNV volunteer experts and training local nature reserve staff on conservation, field survey and computer skills. From 2008, his work shifted towards project management, which requires a variety of skills.

"I have to design different activities focusing on different problems," Mr. Liu explains. "We not only hire experts to do assessments but also advocate conservation to the public. The other UNV volunteers involved and myself write reports for local governments and partners to give our ideas and recommendations."

The Wetland Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use in China programme runs in four other Chinese provinces and has involved five national and four international UNV volunteer conservation specialists. Running in partnership with UNDP, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the State Forestry Administration of China, it aims to collect information on marsh ecosystems and strengthen relations between local governments, NGOs and the media on environmental issues.

To assist in this work, local volunteers are essential. Mr. Liu's team has enlisted local people from organizations such as the Sichuan branch of WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) to help with surveys and data collection. "They are mostly college students with energy and passion," says Liu Lei. "It's great to have them and let them engage in it. We also get volunteers through the local nature reserve staff and the local school. They are really ordinary people such as farmers, herdsmen, teachers and students who are contributing to the conservation causes near their hometowns."

Liu Lei himself showed a special volunteer spirit in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake in May 2008. He immediately set out for the disaster zone to assist international agencies such as the Red Cross – his 'Earthquake Diary' can be seen here (UNV China site opens in new window).

But it is with environmental work that his passions lie. "I'm happy that after a long process, mistakes in nature reserve and wetland conservation are being recognized and, step by step, exchanged for ecological methods," says Mr. Liu. The local authorities really seem to appreciate our contribution."