Wetlands in Hubei: More than Scenery

Text by Wang Xunqian,Wang Tong ＆ Zhao Hui Edited by Bai Ning

Spring in Dajiu Lake (Photo by Pan Jianxiang) 大九湖之春（潘建翔 攝）

Chinese mergansers in the Jingmen Zhanghe National Wetland Park 荊門漳河國家濕地公園里，中華秋沙鴨展翅飛翔

Wetlands,often reputed as the “Earth’s kidneys,” have important ecological functions such as water conservation,water purification,biodiversity preservation,runoff storage,climate regulation,and carbon sequestration.As a precious natural resource,it is one of the three major ecosystems of the earth along with forests and oceans.

Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and dotted with rivers and lakes,Hubei is known as the “Province of a Thousand Lakes.” Numerous rivers and lakes meet here and nurture the region’s multitudinous wetlands covering a total area of approximately 1,450,200 hectares.The province has four wetlands of international importance,eight nationally important wetlands,46 provincially significant wetlands,72 wetland reserves(communities),66 national wetland parks,and 38 provincial wetland parks.

On the 25th “World Wetland Day,” we explored various wetlands along the Yangtze River and admired the achievements made by wetland-protection efforts.

濕地，被譽為“地球之腎”，具有涵養(yǎng)水源、凈化水質、維護生物多樣性、蓄洪防旱、調(diào)節(jié)氣候和固碳等重要生態(tài)功能，與森林、海洋并稱為地球三大生態(tài)系統(tǒng)，是寶貴的自然資源。

湖北，地處長江中游，境內(nèi)河流縱橫、湖泊密布，素有“千湖之省”美譽，眾多江河湖泊孕育了湖北濕地大省地位，濕地總面積達2175.3萬畝，全省已建成國際重要濕地4處、國家重要濕地8 處、省級重要濕地46 處，建立濕地保護區(qū)（小區(qū)）72 個、國家濕地公園66 個、省級濕地公園38 個。

值第25 個“世界濕地日”之際，我們走進長江各處濕地，感受濕地保護所取得的成就。

首先，我們來到海拔近2000 米的神農(nóng)架大九湖濕地。

湖面上，薄霧如輕紗一般在冬日暖陽中漸漸散去，雄渾的山巒頂著藍天白云倒映水中……隆冬來到這里，仿佛置身一幅潑墨山水畫中，感覺就一個字：美！

然而，這份美來之不易。20 世紀60年代，林木采伐砍光了這里的參天古木，大九湖變成高山牧場。1986年至1992年間，人們又把這里開墾成人工草場，興建梅花鹿場、細毛羊場。 后來，當?shù)厝擞謬焯?，引水出山，在大九湖建起萬畝高山反季節(jié)蔬菜基地。

可是，這些所謂的產(chǎn)業(yè)并沒有帶來很好的收益，而大九湖濕地生態(tài)系統(tǒng)遭受破壞，濕地功能退化，生物多樣性減少。

幡然醒悟后，政府下決心保護并修復大九湖濕地。省委、省政府現(xiàn)場辦公，實施生態(tài)移民搬遷，把1400 多名大九湖村民搬到20 公里外的坪阡村。經(jīng)過持續(xù)的保護與修復，大九湖7 萬畝濕地、草甸及灌木叢回歸自然，生機盎然。2006年9月，大九湖成為全國第四個、華中地區(qū)首個中國國家級濕地公園；2013年10月，躋身國際重要濕地名錄。

湖北省林業(yè)局濕地保護中心主任王少明說，大九湖只是湖北省濕地保護修復的縮影，像大九湖這樣被“搶救”回來的濕地不少。

在武漢東湖國家濕地公園內(nèi)，我們騎行在東湖綠道上，觀鳥賞花，領略田園風光，好不愜意。濕地科普展示區(qū)，小朋友認真觀察閱讀各種展示牌，從中了解大自然的奧秘，陶冶情操，流連忘返。

武漢大大小小的天然或人工濕地不勝枚舉，其中濕地自然保護區(qū)5 個，國家濕地公園6 個，省級濕地公園4 個。濕地保護好了，鳥類也越來越多了。近年，武漢鳥類新記錄不斷刷新，每年都有新鳥類被觀測到。2020年，武漢新發(fā)現(xiàn)7 種鳥，包括赭紅尾鴝、小杓鷸、叉尾太陽鳥、遠東葦鶯、鷗嘴噪鷗、紅嘴巨燕鷗和黑浮鷗，后4 種鳥也是全省首次發(fā)現(xiàn)。這些鳥既不是候鳥也不是留鳥，是將武漢作為中途驛站的旅鳥。

近日，觀鳥愛好者發(fā)布一張青頭潛鴨在東湖現(xiàn)身的照片，在武漢觀鳥群炸開了鍋。

這種青頭潛鴨，全球僅存1000只左右，比大熊貓數(shù)量還少，被世界自然保護聯(lián)盟列為極度瀕危物種。近幾年，青頭潛鴨被觀察到在武漢府河濕地安家落戶，生兒育女，武漢因此被確認為全球已知青頭潛鴨的最南繁殖地。目前，武漢共觀察記錄到青頭潛鴨308 只。為進一步加大濕地保護，武漢市將對8 公頃以下的有保護價值濕地建設成小微濕地。

We first visited the Dajiu Lake Wetlands in Shennongjia,which is located at 2,000 meters above sea level.

It was a winter’s day,and a breathtakingly beautiful landscape unfolded before our eyes.The veillike mist on the lake was dissipating in the warm winter sun,revealing majestic mountains under the blue sky and white clouds,whose reflection sparkled on the glistening water.

However,this beauty did not come easily.In the 1960s,logging destroyed the ancient towering trees and turned Dajiu Lake into a mountain pasture.From 1986 to 1992,people reclaimed this area for artificial pastures,where sika deer and fine-wool sheep farms were built.Later,the locals reclaimed crop fields from the lakes,channeled water out of the mountains,and built an off-season vegetable cultivation base of some 667 hectares around Dajiu Lake.

However,instead of the area profiting from these industries,the ecosystem of the Dajiu Lake Wetlands was damaged,causing land degradation as well as compromising biodiversity.

After recognizing the issue,the government was determined to protect and restore the Dajiu Lake Wetlands.The provincial party committee and the provincial government implemented ecological migration and moved more than 1,400 Dajiu Lake residents to Pingqian Village,20 kilometers away.After continued protection and restoration,some 4,667 hectares of wetlands,meadows,and bushes were restored,filling the region with life and vitality.In September 2006,Dajiu Lake became the fourth nationally recognized wetland park in China,the first one in Central China.In October 2013,it was listed as an internationally significant wetland.

Director of the Wetland Protection Center of the Provincial Forestry Bureau,Wang Shaoming,commented that Dajiu Lake is just one example of the wetland protection and restoration efforts in Hubei Province,and there are many more.

While cycling on the East Lake Greenway in the National Wetland Park of Wuhan East Lake,one can watch birds and enjoy flowers,savor the enchanting natural scenery.Children can be seen lingering in the exhibition area of wetland science,reading the various display signs and learning about the mysteries of nature.

Wuhan,the capital city of Hubei Province,boasts numerous natural and constructed wetlands,including five wetland reserves,six national wetland parks,and four provincial wetland parks.When the wetlands are preserved,more birds will come,with new species of birds being observed with each passing year.Last year alone,seven species of birds were newly discovered in Wuhan,including the black redstart,little curlew,fork-tailed sunbird,Manchurian reed warbler,gull-billed tern,Caspian tern,and black tern.The last four were discovered for the first time in the province.These birds are neither migratory birds nor resident birds,but are migrant birds stopping briefly at Wuhan as a midway stop.

生態(tài)環(huán)境好不好，鳥兒會用腳投票。在湖北龍感湖國家級自然保護區(qū)，專家們開展了越冬水鳥調(diào)查，觀測到水鳥14 萬多只，創(chuàng)歷史紀錄。之所以有這么多鳥光顧，是因為這里濕地生態(tài)恢復，生物多樣性得到保護，形成完整的生態(tài)鏈，為候鳥提供了充足的食物來源。

綠水青山就是金山銀山。濕地更是無限風光，成了人們競相出游的勝地，給當?shù)厝藗儙碓丛床粩嗟氖杖搿?/p>

經(jīng)過幾年發(fā)展，距大九湖國家濕地公園20 公里開外的坪阡鎮(zhèn)，已建設成為神農(nóng)架旅游小鎮(zhèn)，從大九湖搬遷出來的絕大部分村民，從事旅游餐飲住宿等相關行業(yè)，人在家中坐，財從天上來。覃萬梅就是個典型，她用拆遷補償款在坪阡鎮(zhèn)蓋起4 層小樓，辦起餐館，已發(fā)展3 家連鎖店，僅員工就有100 多人，年均毛收入500 萬元。

據(jù)統(tǒng)計，坪阡鎮(zhèn)每年接待中外游客約60萬人，旅游綜合收入達1.7億多元，占全鎮(zhèn)經(jīng)濟總收入七成以上，人均旅游業(yè)收入過萬。

如大九湖一樣，全省各地濕地生態(tài)紅利不斷釋放。各地濕地公園通過合理利用濕地自然和人文資源，有效促進了生態(tài)旅游等產(chǎn)業(yè)的發(fā)展，為群眾創(chuàng)造大量就業(yè)機會，更為人們帶來看得見摸得著的獲得感、幸福感。

The Shishou National Elk Wetlands 石首麋鹿國家重要濕地

Recently,a photo of a Baer’s pochard in East Lake was posted by a bird enthusiast,causing a sensation in Wuhan’s bird-watching group.

With a population of only around 1,000 worldwide,the Baer’s pochard is listed as a critically endangered species by IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature).It is even rarer than the giant panda.In recent years,Baer’s pochards have been observed settling and breeding in the Fuhe Wetlands of Wuhan,becoming the southernmost breeding place for the bird on earth.Thus far,a total of 308 Baer’s pochards have been observed and recorded in Wuhan.To further strengthen wetland protection,Wuhan City will create “mini-wetlands” in places with conservation value and of less than 8 hectares.

Is the ecological environment good in one place? The birds will tell.In the National Nature Reserve of Longgan Lake,an expert survey of overwintering waterbirds has observed more than 140,000 waterbirds-a historical record.The reason for the abundance of birds in the region is wetland protection and restoration.The efforts have preserved biodiversity and formed a complete ecological chain,and provided a sufficient food source for migratory birds.

The translucent waters and green mountains are a cornucopia of treasures.The beauty and vitality of the wetlands have also attracted tourists and brought steady income to the local people.

After years of development,Pingqian Town has become a tourist town in Shennongjia.Most of the villagers that relocated from Dajiu Lake are engaged in tourism,food service,accommodations,and other related industries.They can make a living from their own home now.A perfect example is Qin Wanmei,who had a 4-story house built with the compensation she received after she agreed to relocate to Pingqian Town,where she opened a restaurant.Since then,she has started three chain stores with more than 100 employees and average annual gross revenue of 5 million yuan.

Statistically speaking,Pingqian Town receives approximately 600,000 domestic and foreign tourists each year,with total tourism revenue of more than 170 million yuan,accounting for more than 70 percent of the town’s total economic income.The per capita income brought by tourism is over 10,000 yuan.

Dajiu Lake is just one example among many.The benefits brought by the wetlands can be found throughout the province.When natural resources are used rationally and ecotourism is developed effectively,wetlands can create a large number of employment opportunities for local people and bring along prosperity and well-being.

Due to Hubei’s outstanding achievements in wetland protection and restoration,an announcement was made on June 26,2019 by the 57th Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands that its capital city Wuhan will be the host city for the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the convention.It would be the very first time for this international conference on wetland ecological protection to be held in China.

(Translation: Lu Qiongyao)

鑒于湖北的濕地地位和保護所取得的卓越成績，2019年6月26日，《濕地公約》第57 次常委會公布了將在中國武漢舉辦第14 屆締約方大會的決議。這是中國首次召開這一國際性濕地生態(tài)保護盛會。

The Qingshan Mountain National Wetland Park in Chongyang 崇陽青山國家濕地公園