Gang Chen

Promoting the Desert Communities Sustainable Development Methods for Better Wild Bactrian Camels Conservation in Xinjiang

Harvested desert-living cistanches from the planted branchy tamarisk in our project in Oct 2008.

Local people trained in our conservation project were weighing and selling their harvested desert-living cistanches in Oct 2008.

A Group of Wild Bactrian Camels Were Found to Enjoy Wild Plants Along the Lopnur Reserve Border During Our Survey in Aug 2009.

A local family constructed a methane pit in his home in May 2009.

Town/Region	Country	Categories	Date
Ruoqiang County, Xinjiang	China	Asia, Mammals	27 Feb 2009

In order to solve the contradictions between conserving the critically endangered wild Bactrian camels and developing desert communities along the Lopnur wild Bactrian camels nature reserve in Ruoqiang county, Xinjiang, China, we taught and supported local families to use household methane system and the artificial planting technologies of branchy tamarisks and desert-living cistanches to realize the conservation of wild plants and to prevent further desertification and to increase income for local desert communities. The achievement of previous project work in 163 local targeted families funded by my 1st RSG has proved the success of these new technologies.

I am eager to continue my project work by promoting our successful project experience and model through educational programs and material supports to more desert families within a greater geographical scope along the border of Lopnur wild Bactrian camels nature reserve and realize the sustainable conservation of endangered wild Bactrian camels and the sustainable development of desert communities there.

Through a series of educational seminars including oral and video presentations, on-site demonstrations jointly organized by my team and the local government in 2009, the local desert communities consisting of 832 new families including 3547 adults along the border between the nature reserve and Ruoqiang county will be taught to grasp our technologies of tamarisk and cistanche planting technology and the methane application technology for the sustainable improvement of their welfare and the better conservation of the wild Bactrian camels.

We will provide seedlings of branchy tamarisks and seeds of desert-living cistanches for artificial planting free of charge to these families. These seedlings and seeds will be planted on abandoned desert land in a larger geographical scope by these families under our direction. These plants will provide new and increased income sources for these families and help them change the old unsustainable sheep raising business depending on limited wild plants into sustainable agricultural production methods, which will contribute to better conservation of wild Bactrian camels.

We will keep monitoring the progresses of the project work and its effects on improving further the conservation of wild Bactrian camels.

To read about Gang's previous project page http://www.ruffordsmallgrants.org/rsg/projects/gang_chen or for more information contact gang_chen_his@163.com

Project Update: October 2009

Through a series of educational seminars including oral and video presentations, on-site demonstrations jointly organized by my team and the local government (Feb 2009 to May 2009), the local desert communities consisting of 832 new families including 3547 adults along the border between the nature reserve and Ruoqiang county had been taught to grasp our technologies of tamarisk and cistanche planting technology and the methane application for the sustainable improvement of their welfare and the conservation of the wild Bactrian camels.

We had provided seedlings of branchy tamarisks and seeds of desert-living cistanches for artificial planting free of charge to these families. These seedlings and seeds had been planted on abandoned desert land within a larger geographical scope by these families under our direction (Jun 2009 to Aug 2009).

During the same period mention above, we had also twice conducted quarterly monitoring of the status of wild Bactrian camels within the Lopnur reserve, we found that the phenomenon of previously unrestrictive sheep grazing by local herdsmen had basically disappeared within an expanded geographical area near the benefited families, it is easier to find wild Bactrian camels in greater quantity along the western border of the Lopnur reserve in Ruoqiang county where many more wild plants can be reserved for wild Bactrian camels.

Final Report

Read about the activities undertaken and findings of this project in the final report below.