A member of staff looks at a feather during a class led by the Mangrove Action Project

SEAN GALLAGHER, FOR THE PULITZER CENTER, GUANGDONG PROVINCE

“Since the end of the second world war, we’ve lost about 50 percent of our mangroves worldwide. Which means, we’ve got about 13 million hectares left.” This was the sobering statistic that began my interview with Martin Keeley, education director for the Mangrove Action Project in China’s sweltering southern province of Guangdong last week.

I had arrived in the province via China’s most southern mainland city of Zhanjiang, to explore the mangroves of the Leizhou Peninsula, a jut of land extending from the mainland into the South China Sea. It is home to China’s largest mangrove reserve and is at the forefront of fighting the battle to protect the country’s remaining mangroves from multiple threats in the region.

Found in the form of swamps and forests in tropical and sub-tropical regions, mangroves are characterized by their ability to thrive in saline coastal areas. It is this unique characteristic that, until recently, has seen them flourish in places such as estuarine regions, i.e. the regions where rivers empty into the oceans. Unfortunately, many of these areas have also been the locations of major cities which has resulted in the mass clearance of mangroves for industrial and infrastructure development, as well as trade.

Zhanjiang City. Industry on the coast has been the reason for large amounts of mangrove clearance.

“More recently, the primary cause of mangrove loss in Asia in particular, is the development of shrimp farming and shrimp ponding to feed the European and North American shrimp market,” explained Mr. Keeley. “The reason mangroves are so successful as a habitat for wildlife is because they have a very rich nutrient base. In fact they have the most biodiverse nutrient base outside of the rainforests. The nutrient base on which everything lives is very rich, which makes for such good farmland. So, if you clear the mangroves and create shrimp ponds, you have a very rich nutrient base from which shrimp can grow. So, you breed shrimp in that nutrient base but you’re not replenishing it because there are no mangroves left.”

Driving through the countryside of the Leizhou peninsula, it was easy to believe I had slipped slightly back in time. A lack of development in the region gave the area an untouched feel. As my car bounced along pot-holed roads around shrimp ponds near the coast, I spied water buffalo ploughing fields, guided by farmers wearing conical shaped hats, more typical of China’s South-East Asian neighbors. What development there has been however in the region, has already had a severe impact on the peninsula’s mangroves.

“In the 1950’s our mangroves reached their peak”, began Shu Fanghong, Vice-Director of the Zhanjiang Mangrove Nature Reserve. “At that time our mangroves were 14,000 hectares in area. In the 1980’s however, we only had 5800 hectares of mangrove, basically because they were destroyed by humans. We are still facing historical problems such as local people developing shrimp farms and we cannot effectively manage local people as they collect seafood in the mangroves.”

Inside the mangroves on the Leizhou Peninsula, Guangdong Province.

This crisis led to the creation of the Zhanjiang National Mangrove Nature Reserve in 1990, set up in collaboration with partners from the Netherlands,  in an effort to respond to and manage the rapidly disappearing mangroves in the region. Now, the reserve has cordoned off and protected large swathes of the peninsula’s mangroves. It has brought success, although there are still many challenges hampering the center’s efforts. “Recently, our mangroves have almost reached 10,000 hectares in area”, Mr. Shu proudly stated. “However, our reserve management have many reasons why we cannot protect mangroves well enough. We have a large area that we need to manage and we don’t have enough staff. Some of our local staff’s quality is not good enough. All of these influence the result of mangrove protection.”

Education, however, is an area the center considers to be the future for the protection of mangroves.

“About a year and a half ago, we were contacted by the Zhanjiang reserve saying we are interested in working with you,” recalled Mr. Keeley. The reserve had become frustrated in their early attempts to engage the education system in the area, so they decided to reach out to the Mangrove Action Project, an organisation with a proven track record of effectively engaging children, teachers and the public in education about mangroves in countries around the world including Sri Lanka, Brazil and Honduras.

“The idea is to find a way through practical, hands-on activities to help students not only understand the scientific structure of wetlands and their importance but also the social significance and economic value”, explained Mr. Keeley. “You have to start on a school level and keep trying to educate people about environmental values. That’s not just for mangroves, that’s for any environmental values.”

At high-tide, rubbish is washed on shore and mixes with vegetation.

As I sat through one of the training sessions, it was clear that he was a man of extraordinary passion for the mangroves and intent on communicating to others how to pass on this enthusiasm to others. The session welcomed the first group of teachers from local schools who were being trained to act as ‘leaders’, in order to road-test the programme and hopefully train others in the future.

In a breakaway from the normal didactic teaching methods found in China, i.e. memorization and regurgitation of facts and figures, this new ‘hands-on’ way of learning, was proving to be a revelation for the teachers present.

The seeds of change have been planted in Zhanjiang, however there is still a very long way to go in the ultimate aim of widespread protection of mangroves in southern China. With industrialization increasing in the country, what little mangroves are left desperately need to be protected.

“So how do we protect what we’ve got? Not just for wildlife value, but also the economic value for the people that live there and still provide the infrastructure for the development of the country. You’ve got to find a balance,” concluded Mr. Keeley. This may be the hardest challenge in a country desperate to ‘catch up’ with the west and industrialize so quickly.

Join the hoards at Badaling during 'Golden Week' Holidays. 2006

In the second of my series of “Where is the best place to photograph…” (view the first one can be found here), I want to tackle possibly THE most famous landmark in the whole of the country: The Great Wall of China.

This iconic landmark is photographed like no-other and has fascinated photographers, all looking for the best vantage point in order to capture this amazing structure. But the question is; Where is the best place to photograph the Great Wall of China?

In this post, I shall offer up 4 suggestions. These are not the only locations of course. I have not visited every part and these are just my choices. If you know of, or want to recommend interesting/photogenic parts you have been to, please feel free to let us know in the comments section below and vote in the survey.  So, let’s begin….

1. Simatai 司马台

Simatai was the first piece of the Great Wall that I visited back in 2005 and as an introduction, I couldn’t of asked for a more beautiful piece of the Wall. Located just over 100km north-east of downtown Beijing, it isn’t the closest piece to the city but it well worth taking that little extra effort to get to.

A vendor on The Great Wall of China at Simatai. 2006

Simatai is characterised by very steep inclines and descents which makes for a photoshoot cum workout feel to your day. Don’t forget your walking boots for this part of the wall. It’s dramatic inclines make for some great shots if you can find a good vantage point.

Many parts of this section are in disrepair, which makes for interesting shots, however you may need to get there quick as plans are afoot to renovate it

2. Jinshanling 金山岭

If you follow the wall from Simatai for about 10km, you arrive at Jinshanling. Located near the town of Gubeikou 古北口, Jinshanling is just as impressive at Simatai and has a great selection of watchtowers (many crumbling) which can offer you impressive views.

Me (left) trying to get some good light on a subject at Jinshanling (c) Peter Marlow/Magnum Photos 2008

This site is quite popular with domestic Chinese amateur photographers. For those completely dedicated to their craft, hire a mini-bus from downtown Beijing at around midnight and make the journey to Jinshanling. Once you arrive at about 3:00 a.m.. hike up to a vantage point and get ready to shoot a spectacular sunrise over the Great Wall. You’ll probably be rubbing shoulders with a few other photographers but it’s a unique experience and one you won’t forget quickly.

3. Badaling 八达岭

One of the closest part of the Great Wall to Beijing, Badaling is actually my least favourite part of the wall. “So why am I recommending it?”, I hear you ask. Well, it’s proximity to downtown is its biggest plus point. If you are on a tight schedule, this will be your best bet at experiencing the wall. What you must be prepared for however is a wall without a brick out of place, the hoards of tourists, the vendors/hawkers and even a KFC.

The Great Wall at Badaling during 'Golden Week' October Holidays. Be prepared for crowds! 2006

If you happen to have the misfortune of finding yourself there in ‘Golden Week’, or October National Holiday, you will be rubbing shoulders with literally thousands of other visitors. It is actually a sight to behold. Tourists are funneled in their hundreds through the narrow ramparts, occasionally climbing over each other on particularly steep parts. If you like photographing humanity in a small place, this is the part of the wall for you!

4. Gansu Province 甘肃省

Leaving Beijing behind completely, my next recommendation for photographing the Great Wall is in the western reaches of the country. Incredibly, the Great Wall stretches two-thirds of the way across China ending in the dry and arid province of Gansu. Here, the wall takes on an image completely different to that at its beginnings near Beijing.

The Great Wall in the dry and arid western province of Gansu. 2009

The most famous part of the wall in this region is Jiayuguan (嘉峪关), situated in the Hexi Corridor heading west to nearby Xinjiang Province. The area is barren which makes the presence of the wall really quite dramatic. Many of the sections in this region have been battered by hundreds of years of wind and are threatened by desertification, so are therefore sometimes hard to distinguish as actual parts of the wall! In the desert setting though, these remnants can make great subjects for capturing a unique side of the wall.

TEDx Canton

Next week sees the arrival of TEDx on the Guangzhou Science Center, in southern China. I feel very flattered and honoured to have been invited to be one of the speakers at the event, talking about my recent work over the past couple of years for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. For those of you who are free on Saturday 4th September, click the picture above to get info about how you can get hold of some of the last remaining tickets that are available. I am sure that it is going to be an amazing day, with great talks and attended by a lot of very interesting people.

If you see me there, please come and say hi!

Sand ships on Dongting lake in Hunan Province.

SEAN GALLAGHER FOR THE PULITZER CENTER, HUNAN PROVINCE, CHINA

I was starting to feel a little anxious as I approached the shores of Dongting Lake in China’s central Hunan province. From a distance, I easily spied the country’s second largest freshwater lake. As I approached, waves lapped up on the shore, breaking near the barriers separating the lake from the nearby walkway.  As I peered over the barriers and gazed further, I saw clumps of green protruding from the water. They were tree tops. This wasn’t exactly the scene I was expecting.

Dongting Lake has been reported as a lake in crisis. Dropping water levels have sent alarm-bells ringing in scientific and environmental circles, as the area of the lake has reportedly dropped by nearly 50 percent in the past 70 years. What I was witnessing however appeared to be the opposite. One fact was certain, this was a lake in an incredible state of flux.

CHINA. Waves lap onto a walkway in Yueyang city next to Dongting Lake, Hunan Province. Due to flooding, the lake has temporarily increased in size. 2010

“You’ve come at a time of flood,” reassured Liu Juxiang, as we chugged along in her compact water-taxi, used to ferry goods from the lake’s shore to waiting ships on the water. “Three months later, the water will become less. Many places have no water. The water could become one kilometer wide in the dry period, while it’s two kilometers wide now.”

Lying just off the Yangtze River, Dongting Lake has served as an essential buffer zone in times of flood in the region, receiving excess water from China’s mightiest river and protecting many downstream. In recent decades however, the lake has shrunk dramatically, causing scientists to begin investigating the causes of these changes and their effects on one of the country’s most important lakes.

CHINA. Flooding of Dongting Lake in Hunan Province has pushed water onto industrial land in nearby Yueyang city resulting in contamination of the water. 2010

“150 years ago, it was 6,250 square kilometers. 60 years ago, it was 4,350 square kilometers. Now, it’s 2,600 square kilometers”, commented Jiang Yong, on the area of the lake. Mr. Yong,  an ecologist who has spent the past 18 years studying the province’s largest body of water, has become increasingly concerned about the trend. “Mud and sand keep silting up in the south of the lake. Therefore the capacity is becoming smaller. The silted mud becomes new land, which becomes islands and beaches which people then live on.”

It was a simple process to envision in action. Dongting Lake is fed by not only the Yangtze River but also by a number of other smaller tributaries. Combined, they have led to the flushing of sand and mud into the lake. As China’s burgeoning population grows, the demand for land is increasingly high. Opportunities for land reclamation are hard to pass on.

CHINA. A man turns away from pollution that has gathered on the shores of Dongting Lake, Hunan Province. 2010

As our water taxi bobbed across the lake, we weaved around huge ships carrying large conical piles of sand. Pointing to one of the looming hulks which dwarfed our boat, Mrs. Lu reminisced about the changes she had seen on the lake. “In the past, there were 20-30 sand ships in the lake. Now there are more than 300. They dig sand every day, every month, every year but there [is] still sand here. I don’t know how fast the sand grows, but it definitely grows.”

As I hopped off Mrs. Lu’s boat and strolled along the lake, piles of sand could be spotted on nearly every ship passing by. “Some of the ships dredge the lake to make the transportation smoother. If the sand silts up at the bottom, ships will not be able to pass through the lake easily. Others are doing it for raw material for construction”, explained Jiang Yong. “Too many ships on the lake will disturb the life of animals in water, like dolphins. We have river dolphins here, and sand digging will affect their lives.”

Fish restaurants line the streets of Yueyang, a town lying on the northeast shore of the lake. They advertise a myriad of aquatic creatures for sale to the hungry tourists who descend on the town. “Fish has become a brand of Dongting Lake. People have the idea that eating fish is a must when you come to Dongting,” said Jiang Yong.  ”Therefore the demand is larger and larger.”

CHINA. A man swimming in Dongting Lake. 2010

Lake shrinkage has exceeded the fish’s ability to adapt to their dwindling ecosystem, resulting in fewer and fewer fish. Coupled with pollution, only smaller species remain in what was once a lake teeming with larger ones. Now, most of the bigger fish in the town are brought from other lakes, as the numbers have shrunk so much in Dongting itself. Overfishing has caused many fisherman to abandon their traditional ways of life for more lucrative and easier jobs on passing ships. Government sponsored programs have also recently encouraged fishermen to leave the water and seek land-based jobs.

“When the demand of the people goes up, the quality of the environment will go down”, was one of Jiang Yong’s final comments to me. This thought sat with me as I strolled along the lake shore one final time. Crowds had gathered to play in the waves, now lapping over the barriers and spilling onto the walkway. Yet the water’s temporary advance failed to hide the severe problems the lake currently faces.

]]> http://gallagher-photo.com/blog/2010/08/22/dongting-hu-a-lake-in-flux-pulitzer-center-5/feed/ 0 http://gallagher-photo.com/blog/2010/08/14/the-chinese-alligator-a-species-on-the-brink-%e2%80%93-ii-%e2%80%93-pulitzer-center-4/ http://gallagher-photo.com/blog/2010/08/14/the-chinese-alligator-a-species-on-the-brink-%e2%80%93-ii-%e2%80%93-pulitzer-center-4/#comments Sat, 14 Aug 2010 04:58:18 +0000 Sean Gallagher http://gallagher-photo.com/blog/?p=2385

Chinese Alligators in enclosure at ARCAR

SEAN GALLAGHER, FOR THE PULITZER CENTER, ANHUI PROVINCE, CHINA

When I discovered in my research that China had its own crocodilian, I was excited to try to find an opportunity to photograph it. What I was not prepared for was to learn that the species is perilously near extinction.

“In the past few centuries, the number of Yangtze alligator[s] has dropped dramatically”, explained Xie Yan, a quiet and unassuming  woman who is the current director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s China office. Having studied Zoology in university in Sichuan, she became concerned with the plight of many of China’s animals species, leading her to write numerous books about China’s wildlife. “According to a survey in 1998, only 120 wild Yangtze crocodiles [are] left. In the past, the number should be between 10,000 and one million,” continued Xie Yun, during an interview at the Anhui Research Center of Alligator Reproduction (ARCAR).

Young alligators are separated into there own enclosure at ARCAR

Xie Yan and I coincidentally met this week when we both visited ARCAR. ARCAR is situated in the city of Xuancheng, a few hours by train west of Shanghai. Established in the early 1980s,  the center comprises of a series of ponds housing some 10,000 captive bred Chinese alligators. The aim of my visit there this week was to investigate the impact of wetland disappearance on the Chinese alligator and to get an idea of what is being done to protect these animals.

First, I wanted to identify the root causes for the species disappearance. As Xie Yan explained to me, disappearance began over fifty years ago.

“The main reason was the reclamation of lakes during the 1950s and 1960s. Farmers considered alligators as vermin, which ate their fish and other aquatic animals. With the increase of population and the area of farmland, the alligators’ habitat became smaller. People didn’t like to have dangerous species around, so the number of alligators dropped dramatically in 1950s and 1960s.”

Feeding time at ARCAR. Alligators are fed truck-loads of dead fish each morning.

During the 1970s and 1980s, numbers continued to drop as the Chinese alligators’ habitats shrank even further. “During the 1970s, the number of alligators dropped sharply. The main reason was people killing them for meat, for fear, and as vermin. Also, the overuse of fertilizer affected their egg laying and breeding.”

The decline reached its peak at the end of the 1990s when, in 1998, the biggest habitat for Yangtze crocodile was one small pond surrounded by farmland. There were 11 crocodiles in the pond. This rapid decline in the 1980s and 1990s spurred the government into action and along with the ARCAR, a mass breeding program was launched.

Alligator eggs collected by staff for incubation

Today, the park welcomes a trickle of visitors who have a chance to walk around many ponds containing thousands of alligators. The alligators are separated into ponds according to size and age, with the youngest being kept away from visitors in small pens behind locked gates. The adults however, are kept by the hundreds in rectangular ponds around which visitors can freely walk, coming nearly within touching distance of the alligators. The largest pond, for the eldest, is an impressive sight; a small lake surrounded by wooded vegetation, the ‘wild enclosure’ replicates the alligators’ natural habitat.

Early one morning, I was invited by the park’s managers to accompany staff whose job it was to collect eggs from the nests of the adult alligators there. We tramped through bushes and undergrowth, following the shore of the lake looking for nests. It didn’t take us long to stumble upon one. Xie Yan from WCS, carefully opened the nest and found a neat pile of around 20 milky-white eggs. Handling them like precious cargo, she and the staff member collected and marked each egg, placing them in a wicker basket to be taken away later to the center’s incubation room where they would stay until hatching.

An alligator swimming in an enclosure at ARCAR

We continued along the shores of the lake, looking for more nests. As we turned a corner, the staff member excitedly called us over. Next to the shore was a nest and standing guard was a female alligator. I instinctively started to back up. I knew enough about crocodilians to be aware that disturbing a mother protecting her nest was not the best of ideas. Standing only a meter or two away, we watched as the staff member crept up to the nest and looked for eggs. He rummaged through the nest, the alligator’s eyes darting between him and us, but he was unable to find any. We headed back to the main visitors are with a basketful of eggs from the first nest, however, so the morning had been a success. For me, it was a thrilling experience.

As I strolled around the park for a final time, I passed extraneous attractions common to Chinese zoos and aquariums in their attempts to milk a little extra cash out of visitors. There was an area for tourists to have their pictures taken with an alligator. A run-down peacock enclosure stood as a separate exhibit which visitors paid a fee to enter. There was even a supposed ‘reptile zoo,’ which seemed to contain nothing but doves and chickens. Apart from these extra ‘attractions,’ however, the park is obviously on the forefront of saving the Chinese alligator. “More then 1,000 alligators are hatched yearly,” claimed the ARCAR’s brochure. This rapid reproduction is leading to a bulging captive population. Re-introduction into the wild is slow, however, a limited number released from captivity annually.

An alligator used as a 'prop' for visiting tourists to have their picture with.

As the amount of wetlands across China continues to decrease, the question remains: Will it ever be possible to reintroduce so many alligators into the wild when their natural habitats have been all but destroyed? “Wetlands play a very important role in preserving biodiversity. Almost all the big birds, such as wild goose, ducks, cranes, and migrant birds rely on wetland. That’s why it is so important for animal protection.” urged Xie Yan. “The well-preserved wetland will be the home of the Yangtze alligator in the future.”

For the time being, it appears the captive bred population of Chinese alligators is safe. The same cannot be said, however, for the wild population. Their status remains ‘critcally endangered,’ according to the IUCN’s classification. The slow process of reintroduction means the future of the wild Chinese alligator is still well and truly in the balance.

CHINA. A Chinese Alligator. 2010

SEAN GALLAGHER, FOR THE PULITZER CENTER, ANHUI PROVINCE, CHINA

This week I travel to the province of Anhui, situated in the Yangtze River basin west of Shanghai. I travel to this region to begin the chapter of my work on the effects of wetland disappearance on animal species in China.

As way of introduction to this chapter, I recently interviewed Joe Abene, a long-time alligator researcher who worked for the Bronx Zoo in New York for many years and is an expert on the Chinese Alligator (Alligator sinensis), a species which is on the brink of extinction in the wild.

This first post serves as an introduction to the plight of the Chinese alligator. Later this week, I travel to the Anhui Research Center of Chinese Alligator Reproduction to report on the work being done there to save the species.

How and when did you originally become involved in the plight of the Chinese Alligator?

My love of Chinese/Yangtze alligators started at the Bronx zoo, where I worked in the reptile house for 15 years. The curator, John Behler, and the previous supervisor, Peter Brazaitis, had already been trail blazers in crocodilian conservation and Chinese alligators were a species they showed special interest in. By the time I started working at the zoo, the staff there had already been instrumental in the first captive breeding of the species in the USA. During my time at the zoo, I participated in the care of a large group of captive Yangtze alligators. Mr. Behler was the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan coordinator for the species, and when he passed away, I took over the position.

Along with managing the captive populations in the US, I started to get involved in fieldwork. I had a strong interest in Chinese history and culture, so working in China was something I had always wanted to do anyway. In 2007, I was invited to a meeting in Shanghai concerning Yangtze alligator conservation. It was decided at the meeting that a thorough survey of the wild population was needed. I returned to China a few months later to conduct the survey with Dr Zhang and officials from the Anhui Research Center of Chinese Alligator Reproduction. We have continued that work since then and I will be back in China in August.

Joe Abene - Chinese Alligator Researcher - Image courtesy of Joe Abene

What do you feel are the main causes for the decline in numbers over the past few decades in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River?

In my opinion, although many factors could have contributed to the decline in the wild population of Yangtze alligators, the loss of habitat is by far the most serious. In the past, the alligators were occasionally hunted for food and medicine. Sometimes, they were even killed by farmers, who were just trying to protect their ducks and fish. But since the Chinese government has given the Yangtze alligators the highest level of protection, their biggest obstacle has been finding a place to live.

Currently, what are your biggest concerns regarding the survival of the Chinese Alligator in the wild?

My biggest concern is that the Chinese government will not be able to set aside enough habitat to sustain a large viable population of Yangtze alligators, without harming the livelihoods of the farmers that currently live there. Even though the area of wild Chinese alligator habitat is just a speck on the map of China, there are still many people living there. Hopefully, the Chinese government can figure out a way for the alligators and the farmers to live harmoniously.  I am just afraid that the species will not survive in its historical habitat, if the area is not completely protected for the alligators to re-establish themselves.

What are the most encouraging aspects of conservation you have seen?

I have seen some very encouraging things from my colleagues in China. Dr. Wu Xiaobing and Dr. Zhang Fang from Anhui Normal University have been working very hard on learning more about the DNA and ecology of the species. Director Zhu Jia Long and Director Wang Chaolin are very dedicated to reintroducing Yangtze alligators back into the wild. They are very open to working with me, and together, I feel we have made some very important steps toward re-establishing the Yangtze alligators to much of their original range in Anhui province. The key is to put aside a substantial amount of habitat, free from any development, where the alligators can flourish. Fortunately, I have seen positive steps toward that direction from the Chinese government. I think they are dedicated to making sure their national treasure does not disappear in the wild.

According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Chinese Alligator is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’, one step away on their scale from ‘Extinct in the Wild’. What does the future hold for the Chinese Alligator and how does your work tie in with this species’ future?

The Yangtze alligator is much closer to being extinct in the wild than most people realize. I feel if we do not do anything to increase their habitat, and give the “wild” alligators a chance to reproduce, and establish their own habitats, we could see the Yangtze alligators go extinct in the wild during our lifetime. Fortunately, many dedicated biologists in China are working hard to make sure that this does not happen. I have also seen positive support from the Chinese government, along with many concerned biologists from the West, doing what they can to help. It’s all about habitat. If we can ensure their habitat, the Yangtze Alligator could be around for thousands of years, if not they could disappear from the wild forever.

CHINA. Xixi Wetlands in Hangzhou. 2010

“Green Hills Soothe My Eyes, Running Water Tranquilizes My Mind,” announced the sign to my left as I entered the Xixi Wetland park in Hangzhou. “Only One Future for Our Children – Development Without Destruction,” proclaimed a second sign just a few meters ahead on my right. “Your Planet Needs You – Unite to Combat Climate Change,” a third sign almost screamed to me as I turned the next bend. If nothing else, these signs were saying all the right things to me and the thousands of visitors streaming through the gates of the Xixi wetland, located in the city of Hangzhou, just a short distance from the megalopolis of Shanghai, on the shores of the East China Sea.

The Xixi wetlands lie in the west of the city as a network of ponds and waterways, making up an area of around 60km2. This is China’s ‘first national wetland park,’ dubbed as such to act as a role model to all other wetlands in China and to supposedly show how to effectively manage and restore wetlands, notably urban wetlands.

CHINA. One of many signs in Xixi Wetlands encouraging visitors to protect the environment. 2010

Up until only 6 years ago however, Xixi was in crisis. “I arrived to find a highly eutrophic water system with algal blooms, solid waste matter and rubbish piled into the water from the many thousands that lived on site,” explained Chris Wood, a British Ecologist, drafted in as part of Japanese ecological consultancy firm whose role it was to advise on the best way to transform Xixi. “The overall water quality was extremely poor, the ecological value and function highly compromised. A fair percentage of the original wetland had already been lost to development or agriculture and the city had suffered flood damage as a direct consequence.”

This situation prompted the local government into action and in 2004 they invested US$700 million dollars into a massive restoration program which saw the wetlands dug up, rearranged and transformed under the guidance as foreign experts, such as Chris Wood. What resulted was China’s new ’showcase wetlands’, which would serve as another tourist hotspot in a city that already welcomed millions of visitors each year.

CHINA. Tourists visiting the Xixi Wetlands in Hangzhou. 2010

“Xixi has a 4500 year history, initially as a large lake, split into two lakes at about 172AD and then becoming re-sculpted into the wetland at around 220AD. Restoration was therefore being conducted with those 1800 years in mind,” continued Chris. “Restoration necessarily had its focus not just upon the ecology but upon the cultural and historical aspects of Xixi as well as those of tourism.”

Today, Xixi welcomes thousands of visitors every day. They stroll, ride bicycles, are shuttled around in electric cars and whisked around the waterways by boat. It’s an idyllic scene. The scene is rocked from time to time however when tourists pick large amounts of vegetation to use as props in photographs and litter is seen floating in some of the waterways. Teams of workers on boats regularly paddled past me with large piles of refuse, in an attempt to clean-up after the hoards passing through the park. At peak times, the park welcomes over 8000 visitors per day, 1500 more than the recommended maximum carrying capacity, according to a recent paper from the Department of Earth Science in Zhejiang University in Hangzhou.

CHINA. A leaf is discarded on a boon after being used by tourists as a prop whilst taking photos. 2010

Another challenge that the park faces is in the form of water pollution. I first noticed this when I stumbled across a pond full of dead fish on my first day. Levels of water pollution have improved as a whole since the restorations began in 2004, however it is still a serious issue and the large bright green algal blooms around the park are a clear sign of problems lurking underwater.

Eutrophication occurs when excessive amounts of nutrients enter the water system causing a dense growth of algae on the surface of the water, which suffocates life below through lack of oxygen. Recent tests in a paper in 2009 issued by the Institute of Crop Science in Hangzhou and the Xixi Wetland Management Company, revealed that the waters in Xixi still suffer from dangerously high levels of Ammonia (NH3-N), normally found in fertilizers, septic system effluent and animal waste. These continuing high levels cause eutrophication in many ponds and are a slight blight on the park which is striving to act as the example that all other urban wetlands should follow.

CHINA. Eutrophication in one of the pools in Xixi. 2010

“The fact that the wetlands are enjoyed and therefore valued is an important aspect that should begin to pervade the culture,” emphasized Chris. “No-one can leave Xixi without appreciating wetlands.” It is this point that stuck with me as I rubbed shoulders with the many other tourists visiting the park this past week. Yes, there is a behavioral problem with many Chinese tourists (enough so that there was an article in the Chinese Journal of Ecology in 2009 titled “Bad Tourists Behaviours and their Environmental Impacts on Xixi National Wetland Park) however perhaps many will take away an educational experience from their visit.

As I turned to leave the park for the last time, a final sign declared, “Upstream Downstream: Wetlands Connect us All.” I could think of no other message that was concise enough to emphasize the importance to all of us of wetlands. Wetlands do indeed connect us all and it is in places such as Xixi that we can only hope to spread the message of the plight of these precious areas to the masses that pass through.

Pulitzer Center Logo

As many readers of this blog will know, last year I received a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting to continue my work documenting the topic of desertification in China. I am delighted that the Pulitzer Center have chosen to give me another grant this year in order to begin a new body of work on the issue of China’s Wetlands and their dissapearance.

Over the next month and a half I shall be travelling throughout parts of China visiting some of the country’s key wetlands. I shall be writing updates from the field as I go as blog posts for Pulitzer’s Untold Stories Blog, which I shall also be reproducing here. Please feel free to send through any questions you may have about my reporting and I shall endeavour to answer the. You can find the first of my blog posts for Pulitzer below.

CHINA: THREATENED WATERS

Sean Gallagher, for the Pulitzer Center. Beijing, China

CHINA. A dead bird lies on the shores of a man-made reservoir in central Gansu Province. 2009

Click here to view the embedded video.

I was surprised to learn the other day that a friend of mine and fellow photographer, Lance Rosenfield, had made it onto CNN. I wasn’t surprised that he was in the limelight because he is an excellent photographer…see proof here and here.I was surprised  because he was on CNN since he had just been detained and harassed whilst on assignment photographing a BP oil refinery in Texas.

The above video is an interview with Lance from the Anderson Cooper show on CNN a couple of days ago. Lance outlines his experiences of being followed by the police, detained and quizzed after having taken pictures of the refinery.

It’s understandable that sights such as this will be sensitive to people randomly turning up and taking photographs. It’s equally understandable that they may stop people and ask what they are doing. What isn’t understandable is the way that those people can then be treated by the authorities as was outlined by Lance in his interview. The fact that Lance’s personal information was given to BP security by the police, despite his protests, is worrying. The fact that he was also intimidated by the threat and subsequent arrival of a Homelands Security Officer sounds excessive and uncalled for. Was this really needed when I am sure Lance outlined he was a professional photojournalist working for a reputable publication?

It’s seems this is another in a long line of conflicts between photographers and the authorities with the photographers normally ending up on the wrong side, being treated unfairly and with an excessive amount of suspicion. To be honest, I am not sure of the extent that this happens to photographers in the US on a daily basis. In the UK however it has been a contentious issue for some time now with a series of reported cases of photographers being harrassed and detained for photographing in public places mainly under the auspices of the ‘Terrorism Act’. Have a look at the video below from the Guardian News website from December last year showing the terrible treatment a student photographer received whilst out photographing in central London.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Active campaigning by large portions of the photography community in the UK against this kind of police behavior led to the excellent “I’m a Photographer Not a Terrorist” Campaign which culminated in January with a mass rally in Trafalgar Square in London. Constant pressure by photographers about the increased occurrence of this behavior towards them by the police, coupled with further campaigning, led to the determining that a certain section within the Terrorism Act that was mainly being used against photographers was deemed in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. It was an impressive victory but cases are still popping up from time to time about the excessive treatment issued against photographers by the authorities.

Wherever we are in the world, it’s an important issue to stay aware of and we must continue to defend our right to photograph in public places without the fear of harassment, detention or worse. Hats off to Lance for doing exactly that.

On Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th June, we headed out on our first “Desert Workshop”, focusing on introducing our students to Tianmo desert which is located just 80km north-west of Beijing. We spent two days exploring the local dune systems and experiencing local life amongst the people of the area. You may think that I might be a little tired of deserts by now, but it really was a lot of fun to introduce people to this little visited area, so close to Beijing.

We had a jam packed 2-days full of shooting in the desert, visiting people’s homes, lots of editing sessions and trying traditional food from the area. Highlights including getting up for the sunrise over the desert and having a run-in with the local army plus multiple wedding parties! An odd mix but a lot of fun and it provided plenty of photo opportunities for everyone!

Please take a moment to play the slideshow and see some of the images from our trip. We hope to run this workshop again sometime soon, so please stay tuned and sign-up for our newsletter to be the first to know about new classes and trips!