Asia Society - China Green

This week the Asia Society and I launched a new collaborative project which brings together 4(!) brand new multimedia pieces, focusing on my Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting on issues surrounding the disspaearance of China’s wetlands.

As regular readers here will know, this is is a project that I began last year and have continued to develop, this time with the assistance of the Asia Society.

I am excited to launch this new portal as it brings together all 7 multimedia pieces from across China, giving viewers a new in-depth look at the country’s wetlands.

You can dip in and view one or two pieces, or go for the full experience and watch all seven. Either way, I very much hope you enjoy the pieces and they help you to understand some of the complex issues which are affecting and threatening the country’s waterways.

If you have any questions at all about the production, please feel free to ask them blow in the comments section.

<<Return to the Learning Zone Last weekend, I was invited by Beijing based eco-group Greening the Beige to give a workshop at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art. We had a great turnout, with many students and photography enthusiasts all keen to see images from my environmental work in China over the past few years and learn about some of the thought processes that go into tackling these realtively large issues. We had such a great discussion, so I thought I would post my presentation here on my blog and highlight/elaborate on a couple of the key talking points. I hope this might prove useful for anyone who wasn’t able to make the event.

The aim of the workshop was to help people understand how I approach taking on large scale subjects, aiming this message at many of the students, from both the fields of photography and journalism, who were in attendance. The first question we tackled was: How do you find story ideas?

Take a look at slide 6 and then come back. It says it all really. I remember asking the question above to one of the senior members of staff when I was interning at Magnum Photos during 2004-2005, and the word on that slide was the answer they gave to me. I follow it religiously now.

Courtesy of (c) Lap Li

I like being informed. I think most photographers/journalists do. They are naturally inquisitve people. An important note though, which I emphasised to the workshop participants, was that it is so important to read not just a diverse mix of western press but also be familiar what the press is saying in the country you are reporting on, in our case China. It’s no secret that the media stance between the west and from within China can be very different sometimes. Whichever side you lean towards, you still have to very aware what the other side is saying. Only then can you take a step back from everything and start to try and filter what is truth, what is not, what is skewed, what isn’t etc. etc.

For those who were thinking of taking on environmental issues, I also emphasized the importance of being familiar with the scientific literature on the subject. I am lucky in that I come from a science background, so am comfortable reading scientific papers which can be daunting to those not familiar with them. Magazines such as Nature and Science are aimed at the educated layman and are very accessible. It’s absolutely key to get to grips with what the scientists are saying about your issue.

Simplify the Issue (Slide 7)

When I take on large-scale subjects such as desertification or wetland disappearance, simplifying the issue is crucial. I can’t visit every single desert or wetland in China. I could, but it would be pointless when instead I can try to isolate key areas that represent the core issues. I normally break the issue down into its most important isuues and then try to find the best places to go to to (visually) illustrate those points.

Put a face to the issue. Tell stories through the individuals, families and communities being affected. (Slide 8/9)

This is one of the key points, especially with environmental issues. Sometimes, these issues can be complex, diverse and hard to visualise. By finding people who are being affected by the issue, you can put a human face to the issue and as a result help your audience/viewers better connect with the subject matter at hand. Your audience will have a much better connection towards your subject if you are able to show the way in which other human beings are being affected.

What would be the aims of your project? Why are you really interested in it? Do you REALLY care? (Slide 20)

By presenting these questions to the participants, I wanted to emphasise the importance of finding an issue that you are genuinely passionate about and determined to cover. I warned of the dangers of choosing a subject, motivated by the reasoning that others in (and maybe outside of) your profession would take you seriously as a photographer/reporter just because you chose that particular subject matter. That’s a dangerous path to follow. Finding a subject that you have a connection to, a subject you are passionate about, a subject that only you would spent long periods of time on when others may give up, is key.

Courtesy of (c) Lap Li

How do you fund your story? (Slide 21)

The two major options I gave were either getting a grant or my pairing up with an NGO. There are of course other ways, from personal savings, private investments and commissions from news outlets however for me personally, grants and partnerships with NGOs have been my most successful. They have also allowed be to spent long periods of time on these issues. If it’s a complex issue, you will need time to work on it and do it justice. Grants and working with NGOs allow you to do this.

How do you distribute your story? (Slide 29)

I believe we are in a really exciting time at the moment in terms of the new ways in which we can distribute our work. Yes, old outlets have shrunk drastically but there are many new ways to get our stories out to new audiences. There are more opportunities now than ever before.

Embracing social media is one way of reaching new audiences, as is producing work that is deliverable in a variety of mediums i.e. having the ability to produce still images, video, multimedia, audio and writing. Each has its place and possible outlets. Most can be combined. If you have the ability to do a number of these, then to possibilities for distribution are wide. You can still try traditional distribution such as magazine publication, print exhibitions, maybe a book but you can also embrace online videos and multimedia, viral marketing of those pieces through a unique website and blog, online photo galleries, multimedia installations. A combination of some, or all of the above!

At the end of the workshop, we had an open Q&A session. One of the questions was; “Why do you do what you do i.e. covering these issues? What are you aims and how do you hope your images affect people?” It’s a question I have been asked by others, and asked of myself, a number of times. I thought would be useful to try to answer it here too.

I am a photographer and videographer. My skill (and that of other visual professionals) lies in my ability to visualise the world in a way most people do not normally do. My educational background focused on the sciences, especially in the biological sciences, so I have a natural interest in these issues. Many of these issues, I know, are difficult for many people to understand and visualise. I really hope that my photographic and video work can act as a bridge between some of the complex issues surrounding the environment and global climate change to help people understand them better. I hope the images can inspire contemplation, deeper understanding and maybe action depending on the social group and age of the people that sees them. I am just one photographer trying to raise visual awareness of these issues. Change will not just come from me. It will come from the worlds of science, government, business, media and everyday people acting together. If my images can help people visualise the seriousness of the environmental issues we currently face and I am able to help them contextualize them too, through various visual media and educational speaking engagements, then I am playing my small part in trying to effect positive change in society.

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That’s a quick summary of the major talking points of the presentation. I really hope that it was useful to the participants who were able to make it on the day. I also hope that it has been useful to you as you read this now, wherever in the world you may be. As ever, if you have any thoughts or feedback on the above points please feel free to post them below.

<<Return to the Learning Zone

Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China

As many followers of my blog, Facebook and/or Twitter will know, I had a very unique assignment last week, photographing the British Prime Minister David Cameron on his recent visit to Beijing. It was one of the most interesting assignments I have ever had, mainly because of the access that I was able to get to the PM and the people that he was meeting thoughout his trip.

When I was approached to undertake this job, I assumed that that the PM would be meeting some high-ranking Chinese officials and I hoped that he would be meeting with those at the top. When I found out he would indeed be meeting the main leader in China, President Hu Jintao, my levels of anticipation were raised significantly.

Hu Jintao, is rarely seen outside of formal surroundings and images of him are much harder to come by. His security is tighter than for any other person in the country and he was recently voted by Forbes magazine as ‘the most powerful person in the world’, ahead of American President, Barack Obama. Whether you agree with that statement or not, the opportunity to photograph this man was one I did not want to pass up.

David Cameron and staff walk down the red carpet inside the Great Hall of the People

So, on the morning of Wednesday 10th November, I found myself following David Cameron and his entourage into the Great Hall of the People, as the only photographer with the group. After entering, we spent a few minutes in a holding room waiting for the signal to begin the meeting. The few minutes passed very quickly and once the signal was given, I found myself walking down the red carpet with the group (see image above), striding towards the meeting. As I shot, I had my back to the direction we were headed, walking backwards taking images of the PM. I managed to shoot about 7/8 frames before turning around and moving to the side of the group. No sooner had I done this, a giant curtain was opened before us and on the other side stood the Chinese President, Hu Jintao.

'Abstract' portrait of Hu Jintao

Having been photographing Cameron on a wide-lense (16-35mm), I quickly switch to my second body which had a 70-200mm as I found myself a little further away than I would of liked as I was moved to one side by a Chinese secret service agent. As I started shooting, something appeared to be wrong. My exposure was all wrong and was exposing at nearly a second (see above). Far too long. Mild panic started to set in, as this was the big moment. It would be over in 30secs and knew I couldn’t miss it. I glanced down at the body looking for the problem. I noticed the settings wheel had been nudged off of its normal aperture-priority setting and onto manual, probably whilst I was shooting just before. I quickly flicked it back to where it was meant to be and was back to normal. Thankfully, I have come to know my equipment so well, I could change most settings blindfolded. All that practice on other shoots prepared me well to not panic and identify the problem and solve it quickly. This is a big part of what being a professional is about.

Hu Jintao, during meeting with British PM, David Cameron.

No sooner had I fired off a few frames, Cameron and Hu moved into the main meeting room and myself and the press pack, who I was now part of, followed. We had a few minutes stood behind a rope a few metres away from the meeting to get what we could. After that, we were all ushered out by security.

Standing outside of the meeting room, the adrenaline was still pumping from what was one of the most surreal shoots I have ever had. I put a lot of pressure on myself  to make sure I deliver for my clients. Combined with who these people were and the restrictions that were upon me, it made for quite an intense experience. At the end of the day, I was able to deliver the images I needed to my client and had the freedom to be a little creative with the pictures.

I certainly won’t forget the day I got to photograph (arguably, at the time of writing!) the most powerful person in the world.

<<Return to the Learning Zone

Event Poster

For anybody who is in Beijing this coming weekend, I will be giving a workshop at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art on Saturday 20th November from 4:30 to 5:30. I’ll be talking about ways to photograph large-scale environmental issues and trying to give participants help in helping form and shape their own ideas for approaching these issues.

Here’s the general outline:

“UCCA welcomes two-time Pulitzer Center Grant recipient Sean Gallagher, who has spent the past two years traveling across China documenting the country’s fight against desertification and disappearing wetlands.

Having the ability to visually communicate overarching themes, theories and ideas is essential to helping the public understand sometimes complex and seemingly disjointed issues.

Gallagher’s workshop will focus on the art and science of effectively photographing large-scale environmental issues and conveying eco-stories through imagery. He will also provide participants with useful advice about identifying themes and stories, and offer tips about the process of eco-filmmaking, from shooting to distribution.”

If you think this might be of interest please come along. Entry is free and there are many other events on throughout the day, all along ‘green’ lines. Hope to see you there.

A man walks through one of the drainage channels that make up the Dujiangyan Irrigation System.

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

Water did not seem in short supply as I arrived in China’s southwest province of Sichuan. Rain was pounding on the windshield of my taxi and pools of water were starting to flow down the streets of the province’s capital, Chengdu. People scurried around the streets, desperate to get out of the storm that had quickly descended on the city.

This unsavory welcome was compounded by the delivery of  bad news from my assistant upon my arrival at my hotel. Our primary location for the week, the largest highland marsh and peat lands in Asia, Ruoer’gai in the north of Sichuan, had just been sealed off from the outside world. The heavy rains had caused  landslides which had wiped out all roads leading to the 3500 meter plateau which it sat upon. These marshes comprise half a million hectares and have been dubbed the ‘kidneys’ of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Made up of 90 percent water, they act like a sponge sequestering carbon and providing a home for a vast range of highland species. A vital ecosystem and source of water, they are the origin of the Yellow River, one of China’s mightiest waterways.

In recent decades however, this important ecosystem has come under threat. According to researchers from Chengdu Institute of Biology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, “due to global warming and unwise use of the marsh resources, including ditching for grassland enlargement, peat exploitation, and livestock grazing, since the 1970s, Zoige [Tibetan name] Marsh has suffered severe ecosystem degradations such as vegetation recessive succession, biodiversity loss, soil deterioration, and rodent disasters.”

For me, Zoige/Ruoer’gai would have to wait. Recent landslides in neighboring Gansu province had tragically taken the lives of over 100 people. The risks of traveling to these areas was too great, so I turned my attention towards a town nearer the provincial capital.

The reservoir that sits behind the Zipingpu dam.

Located approximately 50 kilometers west of Chengdu, the Min river crashes through shear faced gorges, winding its way downhill into the town of Dujiangyan. It is a stunning location as the mountains loom large around the central conurbation and the river flows through the town using a number of channels. On closer inspection, as you peer though the mild haze from the nearby crashing water, it is quickly apparent that these channels are man-made.

Originally built in 250 BC by then-governor Li Bing, the Dujiangyan Irrigation system is regarded as an “ancient engineering marvel.” By naturally channeling water from the Min River during times of flood, the irrigation system served to protect the local area from flooding and provide water to the Chengdu basin, an area of rich farmland and intense productivity. Over 2,000 years later, the system is still in operation and serves as a testament to the sustainable management of water and wetlands with minimal ecological impact.

The rain smattered my face and lens as I strolled around the center of Dujiangyan town. The rains had not ceased since my arrival and the growing amount of water in the Min river was starting to be of concern to local residents. As I peered over a barrier separating the main high street from the drainage channel below, the crashing brown water carried with it tree stumps, branches and even inflatable rafts, washed downstream from a tourist site upriver. “This does not happen very often”, said an old man to me as we both watched the amazing amount of water that was rushing through the channel just a few meters below us. If anything, this was what the system had been built for and had been doing for hundreds of years: effectively controlling water.

Pedestrians walk past a sign depicting an idyllic wetland scene in Dujiangyan.

The next day, the rain was still coming down as we waited in a traffic jam on one of the mountainsides outside of the town. Streams of water gushed by the side of the road, racing over the concrete and accelerating away from us along with mud and pieces of vegetation. Up ahead the mountainside had collapsed onto one half of the road, bringing everything to a standstill. As we crept past the mass of mud blocking the road, we made a final turn which brought us face to face with the structure we had been trying to reach: a 511 foot wall of concrete.

Just a few kilometers upstream from the Dujiangyan irrigation system sits an example of a more modern Chinese way of controlling water, the Zipingpu Dam.  Lying high in the mountains above the town and holding back 315 million tons of water, it is one of the growing army of dams in China, used to harness the power of the country’s rivers.

“Today there are more than 25,800 large dams in China, more than any other country in the world”, according to International Rivers, an organization seeking to highlight the effects of development projects affecting communities worldwide.

China’s dams are notoriously controversial. The environmental impact to wetlands are well documented and include concerns over fish migration patterns, landslides caused by bank erosion and the accumulation of industrial effluent in the resulting reservoirs.  It’s a pattern of concern which has been seen in many locations across the country.

“Is the dam safe now?” I asked my driver. “Yes, of course, no problem.” He laughed as he replied to to me but I wasn’t completely convinced.

Children play with water bubbles in a temple at the Dujiangyan Irrigation System.

In 2008, the devastating Sichuan earthquake struck just a few kilometers from Zipingpu, wiping out 80 percent of buildings in Dujiangyan alone and tragically killing over 80,000 people in the immediate area. Reports following the quake stated that “extremely dangerous cracks” had emerged in the dam, but it was the emergence of information connecting the dam and the earthquake, which elicited most concern.

According to International Rivers, “Seismologists from China’s Earthquake Bureau had warned the government back in 2000 that the project should not be built given its proximity to a major fault line, yet these warnings were ignored.” Reservoir-induced seismicity remains a controversial topic however it is just one of the many problems and issues that seem to be stacking up against the use of dams in China.

Nowhere else in China can you see two such stark examples of the different potential ways to control water. The first, a 2,000 year old cyclic system that harnesses and works with the natural ebbs and flow of the river. The second, a modern approach which seems to stifle and block, causing numerous detrimental environmental and social effects.  As China’s dam production increases, the effects on the country’s wetlands will no doubt continue to be profound.

A teenager with his yak on the shores of Qinghai Lake. 2010

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

Tenzin’s green eyes bored into me as I looked at his sunburnt face. “Qinghai Lake is a very holy place for us. We regard it as the ‘soul’ of Qinghai.”

He was sitting by the side of a road running parallel to the lake shore. The sound of cars rushing past filled the air as Tenzin’s kneepads, torn and grazed, fluttered in the wind generated just a meter or two away. Tenzin was taking a momentary break from prostrating his way around the 360km circumference of the lake, in a stark and vivid act demonstrating the importance of this lake to Tibetans, who make up 80 percent of people in the region.

Located at 3200 meters above sea-level on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau in the northwest of China, Qinghai Lake is the country’s largest inland body of saltwater at 4318 square kilometers in area. Over the past century, however, the lake has found itself in a worrying downward trend as 700 square kilometers of its area have been lost and its surface level has dropped by 13 meters.

The shores of Qinghai Lake have receded steadily over the past century. 2010

The reasons for these recent changes are surprisingly hard to pinpoint. Seasonal climactic variations have been cited by authorities, global warming by others. Overgrazing and desertification are also suspected culprits, yet the exact cause remains unclear. As studies continue, however, it is widely thought that a combination of the above factors are at work.

“I came here just after I graduated from high school, nearly 10 years ago and the water level was up there,” said my Tibetan guide, Dawa, as he pointed some 15 meters up the gentle slope behind us. We had arrived at the lake’s ‘port’ which acted as more of a tourist-trap than a functioning dock. Qinghai lake is a popular destination on the domestic tourist route, as thousands of visitors descend upon it every day, each paying handsomely to experience China’s famous “Blue Sea Lake.” Tourists ride pleasure boats, jet-skis and speedboats and are treated to views of what is genuinely a breathtakingly beautiful body of water.

Beyond the fences that encapsulate the lake and keep visitors at bay, herders and nomads roam the fringes with their flocks of yaks and sheep. Living just as their ancestors did in the region for hundreds of years before them, they live in a fluctuating existence according to the seasons, residing in the hills and mountains that surround the lake in the winter and then descending to the lake-shore in the summer.

A young man prostrates around Qinghai Lake which is sacred to Tibetans of the region. 2010

“For many years the lake has decreased [in size]“, said Norbu, a herder in his 60s who has lived in the region for over 40 years.  “Some years it retreated as much as 1 meter per year,” he commented to us as he gently guided his flock of 400 sheep around the lake.

As we sat on the east shore of the lake with Norbu, towering sand dunes loomed above us at the location which had been dubbed ‘sand island.’ This giant tongue of sand dominates the east side of the lake, stretching into the water and cleaving the grassland either side of it.

A result of westerly winds and Aeolian erosion, the desert’s grip has increased in recent years as it has taken advantage of the lake’s decrease in size. From 1958 to 2001, the sand area grew from 587.4 square kilometers to 805.8 square kilometers, prompting local authorities into action.

In 2008, the Qinghai provincial government announced an ambitious program to “restore the beauty of the lake” with an investment of 1.57 billion yuan (US$224 million) over the subsequent 10 years. The project aims to “revert 854,700 hectares of pasture to grassland, protect 276,600 hectares of wetland, harness 182,600 hectares of degraded grassland and build 34,400 hectares of forest in the area.”

Bird Island on the western shores of Qinghai Lake. The lake is an important migratory stop-off point for birds in Asia. 2010

The program also aims to relocate many of the nomadic herders who have historically lived in the area. They have not been directly blamed for degradation but authorities have indicated their concern at the threat from the one million plus sheep that graze in the region.

“Life has got harder, for sure. Five years ago, the government started to allot grasslands to nomads. Since then, we only have this land”, said Erelo, a 28-year old herder who was currently living in a traditional tent on the edges of the lake with his wife. “Also, we’ve heard that in two years, the government will remove all the nomads around the lake because they want to protect it.”

A slight drizzle broke out above the lake on the last day I was there. Dark clouds had rolled quickly in over the surrounding hills. These recent rains had led to state news outlets optimistically declaring “China’s largest saltwater lake grows after 50 years of shrinking.” The slight increase in surface area of the lake in the past two years was confirmed by the herders we spoke to, but skepticism prevailed about the long-term trend. “I’m not very sure about it stopping,” said Shuqiang Duan of Qinghai Province’s Hydrology and Water Resources Survey Bureau, when I sought his opinion if we were seeing the end of the gradual decline.

As the drizzle continued and my car turned away from the lake for the final time, my thoughts turned back to Tenzin, who was working his way around the lake that was so important to him and his faith.

“I have been around twice, so far. By circling it seven times, we can clear our sins and wrongdoings”, he told me. I couldn’t help but wish that it was that easy to solve all of the worrying trends and problems on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.

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.