The Central Yangtze is regarded as a globally important ecoregion by conservationists worldwide and as the “home of rice and fish” by Chinese. The Central Yangtze is attracting concerns from a wide range of stakeholders for its ecological value and economic significance as well as its threats and problems.

China's two biggest freshwater lakes - Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake - in the Central Yangtze plus vast floodplains along the Yangtze form habitats for about 300 species of bird, including endangered migrants like cranes and storks, as well as two species of fresh water dolphins, 200 species of fish, more than 84 species of mammals, 60 species of amphibians, and 87 species of reptiles.

The two lakes also serve as huge buffers for storing freshwater and reducing flood disasters. However, fifty years of intensive land reclamation (the building of dams, dykes and polders) have sited agriculture and urban settlements where formerly there were flood plains and lakes. The wetland environment and species here has been severely affected, resulting in habitat fragmentation and the disruption of natural processes. Some unique species, such as the Yangtze Dolphin, the Yangtze Alligator and the Chinese Sturgeon are endangered. Currently the Central Yangtze and its lakes are subject to the following threats and problems:

• Loss of wetland function due to fragmentation and degradation


• Frequent flood disasters


• Upstream erosion leading to accelerated downstream silting


• Lack of knowledge about values and functions of wetlands


• Policy failure


• Institutional conflicts

The project area of the Yangtze Focal Project is the Central Yangtze embracing four provinces, Hunan Province, Hubei Provinces, Jiangxi Province and western part of Anhui Province, including Dongting Lake, Poyang Lake and Jianghan floodplain.

Objective

To restore the Dongting lake and Poyang lake wetlands, and to enhance the management of the Yangtze as a Living River:

• Dongting Lake and its wetlands are restored to their size of 1950s (4350 km2) in 10 years and are managed in a sustainable way to provide good quality of habitats to wetland wildlife (waterfowls, fish etc.) and livelihoods to its people.
• By 2008 ecotourism established in Dongting Lake Region as one solution to support wetland restoration and protection.
• To realize demonstration on integrated coordination and management of Poyang Lake basin.

Yangtze Focal Project builds upon the Living Yangtze project that was developed under the umbrella of the Action Network launched in September 1999. A field office has been established close to field sites in Changsha, China.

Results so far include:

Restoration and sustainable management of Dongting Lake and its wetlands:

• In Xibanshanzhou polder, 100 ha of wetlands have been restored (the dyke has been removed). 150 families are safe from flooding and have increased their income by ~40 % through applying diversified flood adaptive farming.
• The government of Hunan Province has incorporated the input of WWF in their 4350 Programme. (4350 km2 was the size of Dongting Lake in 1950. The name of the programme refers to its goal of restoring Dongting Lake to its size in 1950 within 10 years. Namely, converting 1700 km2 of reclaimed farmland to wetlands.)
• WWF is actively lobbying and doing fieldwork to promote 11 additional nature reserves totaling 450 km2 be established under the 4350 Programme.
• In neigboring areas, farmers and officials are developing plans to implement the approach demonstrated in Xipanshanzhou.

• Local fishermen in Qinshan Polder have set up an ecotourism company and are working closely together with the West Dongting Nature Reserve to develop a co-management plan for the nature reserve.
• WWF and the Changde Tourism Department co-organized a workshop on ecotourism in Dongting Lake with relevant stakeholders from governmental, business and community backgrounds.
• Public awareness of the tourism value of Dongting Lake greatly enhanced through a nationwide bird watching contest organised by the East Dongting Nature Reserve in 2002.

• Preparatory work (research, contacting partners, establishing partnerships) for starting the IRBM work in Poyang Lake (Jiangxi) has taken place.
• The IRBM task force will provide advice on IRBM to China’s national government. The IRBM task force is part of a working group established by CCICED (China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, a high level consulting body to China’s State Council, which includes WWF International’s President, Claude Martin, as one of its members).
• Partnerships have been established for the formulation of the Yangtze River and Lakes ecoregion biodiversity conservation and action plan. This process will produce a common vision for the conservation of the Yangtze River that can be shared by all stakeholders.

State Forestry Adminstration
Forestry Department in Hunan Province
State Environmental Protection Administration of China
Changde Tourism Department
Mountain River Lake Development Office (MRL) in Jiangxi Province
Local Government in Hunan Province
China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED)
Institute of Geography and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Local communities at demosites
Local government in Hanshou County and Yuanjiang City
West Dongting Nature Reserve
East Dongting Nature Reserve
Energy Office in Yuanjiang City
Water Resource Department of Hunan Province
Tourist Department of Hanshou County
Tourism operators
Community-based ecotour company

Donors

WWF-NL
WWF-LWP


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