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Improving Local Practices in Southwest China, Part III: Resource Management Techniques in Jiuzhaigou National Park

October 28, 2009 in On the Road by Alex E | No comments

WildChina recently embarked on a series of initiatives to improve local practices in rural areas in southwest China. This is the final section of the three part series examining efforts to improve life for those in rural areas and the technologies that enable a better standard of living.

Jiuzhaigou National Park sits in the rugged West of Sichuan at 2000 meters elevation on the edge of Tibet. This cluster of virgin mixed forests is home to several endangered animals; giant pandas and golden snub-nosed monkeys traverse amongst the limestone cliffs and the effervescent blue lakes. Despite its natural beauty, Jiuzhaigou has had a tenuous history. It was discovered in the early 1970s, and hurt by large-scale logging efforts. Jiuzhaigou was declared a national park in 1978, and the park’s ecological restoration began.

Leaves turn magificent colors over a crystal lake

Leaves turn magnificent colors over a crystal lake in Autumn

Jiuzhaigou established a formal relationship with Yosemite National Park in 2006 to promote international cooperation that benefits both parks.

WildChina accompanied the Yosemite team on their first official sister park visit to Jiuzhaigou in 2009. On this trip, Yosemite preservationists completed a four day survey trek through Jiuzhaigou valley. Through these trips and related efforts, the sister parks aim to share resource management techniques and cooperate to preserve natural biodiversity. Read the rest of this entry »

Improving Local Practices in Southwest China, Part II: Bio-toilets in Sichuan Province

October 27, 2009 in On the Road, Sichuan-Earthquake by Alex E | No comments

WildChina recently embarked on a series of initiatives to improve local practices in rural areas in southwest China. This is the second of a three part series examining efforts to improve life for those in rural areas and the technologies that enable a better standard of living.

At the upper reaches of the Minjiang river and the edge of the Tibetan plateau sits Shenxi village, the remote home to a group of Chinese villagers. Shenxi village, an hour hike from the nearest paved road, seems a world apart from the rest of civilization. However, the activities of this town profoundly influence the rest of Sichuan province and surrounding areas. Shenxi village sits atop the Sichuan water basin, which stores water runoff from the Himalayas and supplies vital water to Sichuan and regions downriver.

Water cleanliness is a persistent issue for China’s water lifelines that carry snowmelt from the Himalayas eastward to the Pacific Ocean, from which one quarter of China’s population drinks contaminated water every day, according to the United Nations (PDF). These issues with water cleanliness are often the result of unsanitary conditions and practices in human settlements that border major rivers.

Seperated by only a mountain from the epicenter of last year’s earthquake, Shenxi village was devastated by the damage it inflicted. Aside from the toll on human life, many of the buildings in Shenxi collapsed outright and those still standing suffered heavy damage. Villagers who returned to Shenxi village after the earthquake rebuilt their homes with the limited resources available, and the result was a village that lacked adequate sanitation. WildChina recently completed a three day project building bio-friendly toilets in this area.

Students and Villager in front of completed toilet

Students and Villager in front of completed toilet

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Improving Local Practices in Southwest China, Part I: Developing a Model Village for Sustainable Peri-Urban Development in Anlong, Sichuan

October 26, 2009 in On the Road, Sichuan-Earthquake by Alex G | No comments

WildChina recently embarked on a series of initiatives to improve local practices in areas that we visit. This is the first of a three-part series examining efforts to improve life for those in rural Southwest China, and the technologies that enable a better standard of living.

Imagine a beautiful, rural, riverside village that serves as a living relic of China’s traditional agricultural history. Then imagine the trash and pollution that clouts this image – unmanaged sewage, outdated farming practices, and unsanitary living conditions, to name a few.

In China’s poor rural communities, scenes like this are all too common. However, organizations such as the Chengdu Urban Rivers Association (CURA), a Sichuan-based NGO, are working to change this by building sustainable development practices in these communities from the ground up. In one such community, CURA hopes to make a model of sustainable development that can be applied to similar rural areas of China. WildChina recently had the exciting opportunity to bring a group of school children from Beijing to engage in this endeavor, specifically to conduct water testing as well as improve water and sanitation technologies.

 

A student cleans a new eco-toilet facility, built by students on WildChina's service learning trip to Anlong in Sichuan province.

A new eco-toilet facility, built by students on WildChina's service learning trip to Anlong, Sichuan province.

Located along the banks of the Zou Ma River (one of the Fu-Nan Rivers) near Chengdu, Anlong was once a community plagued by severe water pollution as a result of livestock, chemical fertilizer, and more. Although efforts in the mid-1990s cleaned up the rivers to some degree, the Fu-Nan Rivers Comprehensive Revitalization Project was not entirely effective. As such, communities like Anlong still needed help to rid themselves of pollution and contamination.

CURA has been working with the Anlong community to develop sustainable practices for farming, sanitation, and development. 

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China’s World Heritage

October 23, 2009 in Travel Tips, WildChina Experts, WildChina on the Web by Anita | No comments

China has 38 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a designation that can sometimes be both a blessing and a curse to these cultural and natural areas due to the influx of tourists. So how can we ensure responsible travel in these sites? WildChina Founder Mei Zhang and The Nature Conservancy (TNC)’s Lulu Zhou tackled this issue on air today during Let’s Travel!, a weekly, global radio talk show hosted by New York-based Susan Raphael.  

First Bend of Yangtze River, Yunnan

First Bend of Yangtze River, Yunnan

Lulu, who oversees sustainable tourism and environmental education projects in Yunnan’s Three Parallel Rivers World Heritage Site, pointed out a major difference between protected areas  in the U.S. and China: whereas in the U.S., no communities reside inside national parks, in China, it’s a different story. In the Three Parallel Rivers area (named after a mountainous region in southwest China where three of Asia’s mightiest rivers, the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween, run parallel), almost 300,000 people reside in the site, with 36,000 people within the core zone. Since relocation of these communities isn’t an option, it’s key to engage the communities themselves in conservation work to help preserve the site. 

Mei agreed, noting that a change in mindset and an education process are required. At WildChina, we hire and train local guides for our journeys, who benefit directly by providing high-end, sustainable travel services. This training allows us to practice green travel, particularly in hiking trips – for instance, we emphasize responsible outdoor practices, such as Leave No Trace, where travelers “pack it in, pack it out.”

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WildChina on Let’s Travel! Radio (Oct. 22, 12 pm EST)

October 22, 2009 in In the News, WildChina Experts by Anita | No comments

You’ve read our blog – now hear us on the radio! On Thursday, Oct. 22, from 12:00 – 1:00 pm EST in the U.S., tune into Let’s Travel!, a weekly, global radio talk show hosted by New York-based Susan Raphael (visit NY Talk Radio.net for live streaming). This week’s show features WildChina Founder Mei Zhang and The Nature Conservancy’s Lulu Zhou on the topic of responsible travel in China, with discussion on some of our favorite areas: Yunnan and Sichuan.

Let’s Travel! focuses on the world of travel and culture. Through a partnership with the United Nations Foundation’s World Heritage Alliance, which supports World Heritage conservation and sustainable tourism, Let’s Travel! broadcasts a monthly segment on World Heritage.

There will be an encore broadcast of the show on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 6:00 pm EST. Check back here for the podcast!

WildChina on the Web: Responsible Travel and Beijing Since the Olympics

August 11, 2009 in In the News by Emma | No comments

WildChina was recently mentioned in two articles about China, which we’d like to share here.

We hope you enjoy these pieces! If you’re interested in talking to individuals at WildChina about travel in China or responsible travel, please contact emma dot starks (at) wildchina dot com

Happy travels!

What We’re Reading: NatGeo in Shangri-La

April 17, 2009 in In the News by Anita | No comments

Yunnan continues to be an inspiration for interesting commentary, with National Geographic’s May 2009 issue featuring a piece on Shangri-la (Zhongdian). Mark Jenkins explores this “complicated” and “confounding” Tibetan town in southwest China and the competing visions for its future. Will tourism and development invariably lead this area to lose all of its mythical and spiritual qualities?

As Jenkins notes, “tourism saved the place” after the Chinese government banned commercial logging in 1998; but that, in turn, has led to the commercialization of Tibetan culture. This trend — seen in many other hidden gems in the developing world — is certainly troubling. But as travelers, that doesn’t automatically mean we should stop visiting such places, which still have a lot to teach us about traditional lifestyles and choices.

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Want to Travel Responsibly? Here’s How

November 17, 2008 in Travel Tips, What We're Reading, WildChina Travel Guide by Emma | No comments

One of my colleagues and I recently gave a presentation at Nokia’s Beijing office on ways to travel responsibly. While all of the case studies and real-life examples were taken from WildChina’s current practices, I did some web research to find quick tips that travelers can use on their own. There’s definitely a TON of information out there, so I thought I’d share my top tips from my favorite sites.

Ultimate Guide to Sustainable Travel, National Geographic Traveler

This was by far one of the most insightful and well-written pieces I found on the internet. It highlights 50 things travelers should do to minimize the negative impacts of travel, and benefit the communities they visit.  From their post:

“43. Respect Local Cultures

“Treating others the way you wish to be treated is the basic premise of responsible travel,” says Sherry Schwarz, editor and publisher, Transitions Abroad magazine and, director of the Abroad View Foundation. “It sounds simple, because it is simple: When we travel, we are visiting the homes of our global neighbors, getting to know them, and experiencing how they live.”

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