Early this year Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden launched a major initiative aimed at halting the decline of forest biodiversity in South China. The great biodiversity of tropical forests is being steadily eroded across the world, with species extinctions believed to occur every day. This region is no exception, and the South China Biodiversity Study, a collaborative project with academic and Government organisations in China, is a many stranded attempt to minimise the loss.
The coastal tropical forests of South China, in the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, are among the richest biomes in the country, but are also among the most devastated. As in western Europe, centuries of intensive human impact have reduced natural forests to scattered fragments, which continue to supply food, fuel and oil resources. In recent decades many forests have been set aside as nature reserves. But managing these to avoid further biodiversity loss requires information, and much of this - even basic information on current species inventories - is missing or out of date. As a result the regional distribution of most species is poorly documented, with repercussions even in such better-studied localities as Hong Kong, where environmental impact assessment is incomplete without a knowledge of the regional status of species.
Some projects are already underway to improve the availability of relevant information in China - the Forestry Department, for example, is organising a National Terrestrial Wildlife Resources Survey, while members of the Biodiversity Working Group (of the China Council on International Cooperation in Environment and Development) have set up a national database of existing records of vertebrate and plant species. The KFBG Study seeks to complement and support such existing efforts. In the first phase (1998-1999) team of ecologists from KFBG, joined by experts from Chinese academic institutions and from the Chinese Government, will be visiting sites in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, to learn about the current distribution and status of fauna and flora, and to explore ways to improve effectiveness and communication among conservationists. On the basis of this preliminary work the project will subsequently focus on selected sites and issues of high priority. By considering the perspective of the local people, as done over the decades the Kadoories in their commitment to disadvantaged communities in Asia, it is hoped that conflicts between humans and nature will be resolved.
The success of the South China Biodiversity Study will depend on its ability to provide people responsible for conservation with the motivation, knowledge and experience they require to minimise biodiversity loss. Already many readers of Porcupine! have offered their support and expertise to this endeavour, and we look forward to proceeding in this profound spirit of cooperation.
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