Fungus turns spotlight on conservation efforts

Between April and May every year, thousands of farmers in the Minshan forests in northern Sichuan and southern Gansu provinces head out into the high mountains in search of caterpillar fungus. The fungus is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a tonic and fetches a premium price on the market.

However, with the rising mismatch between demand and the limited yield of the wild species, many of these farmers have been sneaking into nature reserves, risking being caught and punished by rangers.

In a bid to protect the ecology, six nature reserves in the Minshan region recently joined hands to intensify patrolling and keep out the hordes on the fungus' trail.

The Minshan forests are also an important stronghold of the giant panda and supports more than half of the total wild panda population, estimated at 1,600.

Action in Wanglang

Located in Pingwu County, the Wanglang Nature Reserve was established in 1963 and is one of the most important panda habitats in the Minshan Mountains.

On May 18, a patrol team of six nature reserve staff members and one forest policeman trekked five hours through the forest before reaching an elevation of 3,600 metres. All around were vast highland meadows and snow mountains.

"Local farmers frequently come here to collect caterpillar fungus," said Zhao Lianjun, the team leader.

Caterpillar fungus is commonly found in high mountain meadows, 3,500 metres above sea level. Spores of the fungus enter the bat moth larvae and suck up its nutrition. When the caterpillar dies, the fungus grows into a stalked fruiting body.

As Zhao led the patrol team to a high mountain slope, they saw five shabby tents held together with tree barks. No one was around.

The team kept watch and soon enough a group of five women and four men appeared with spades in their hands.

The scared farmers were surrounded and admitted to having camped in the region for more than 20 days. They handed in the 68 pieces of caterpillar fungus they had collected.

The farmers were all from Jianxing Village of Songpan County, located on the other side of the mountain. The day they were caught was their last day on the mountain. Going by their collection, they knew they had exhausted the source.

Since caterpillar fungus grows in the grass, the farmers have to lie prone to find one. On a lucky day, they would manage five or six pieces per person.

The unpredictable weather on the mountains meant a snow or hailstorm at any time. But this was no deterrent as, "Whatever the weather, we still have to go out to collect. Finding a few more means dozens of yuan of income," said Chen Chaobin, in his 30s.

"I know entering a nature reserve to pick herbs is illegal, but I had to take the risk to improve my life," Chen said.

Selling caterpillar fungus means at least another 2,000 yuan (US$247) per year. And that, in turn, means money to pay for his children's tuition and for fertilizer.

The farmers of Jianxing depend on two or three mu ( one mu equals 1/15 hectare) of farmland to make a living. Owing to the region's hilly area, the grain yield is only sufficient for their daily needs and to feed the pigs.

"I am illiterate. I have tried to find work in the cities, but have not been successful," Chen said.

Zhao of the patrol team said he sympathized with the farmers' situation but also had to perform his duty to maintain the ecological balance in the reserves.

Threat to plateau ecology

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the caterpillar fungus can strengthen the lungs and kidneys and provide relief from cough and asthma. TCM doctors rate its benefits the same as the more well-known ginseng. The most common way of ingesting the fungus is to boil it with soup.

According to a survey done by the Wanglang Nature Reserve, in the 1980s, the fungus sold for a mere 20 yuan (US$2.5) per kilo. The price surged to 10,000 yuan (US$1,235) per kilo in 1999, 50,000 yuan (US$6,173) per kilo in 2004, and is 80,000 yuan (US$ 10,000) per kilo this year.

"Caterpillar fungus collection has emerged as a major threat to the ecology in the western plateau regions," said Luo Peng, a research fellow with the Chengdu Biology Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"We are still not sure if the fungus collection by itself will destroy the grassland, but the threat from the farmers' activities related to this process is quite certain," he said.

The farmers put up their tents with bark peeled from trees and burn timber for cooking and warming.

"These activities will certainly ruin the grasslands. And ecological recovery on the plateau is much more difficult than in the plains," Luo added.

What is worse is that farmers entering the nature reserve also deploy slipknots along the way. The slipknot, made of either nylon or steel with one end tied to the trees, traps the animals that happen to pass by.

Livelihood issues

The collection of caterpillar fungus has once again focused attention on the clash between the needs of nature conservation and those of the local people.

For generations, farmers living around the nature reserves cut forest wood for building or as firewood, collected herbs for medicinal purposes and hunted animals for food. With the establishment of these reserves, they have lost an important source of their livelihood.

"It is a conflict we are well aware of," said Jiang Shiwei, vice-director of the Wanglang nature reserve.

Finding alternative means of livelihood for local communities is crucial to resolving this conflict.

Taking a step in this direction, the Xiaohegou nature reserve, about an hour's drive from Wanglang, has introduced herb cultivation in the surrounding communities.

Bordering the reserve is Kuofeng Village where 43 of the 385 households in the village have joined the experimental sweet wormwood breeding project funded by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) China this year.

According to Pang Dehong from the Xiaohegou nature reserve in charge of the project, extracts from the sweet wormwood is very effective against malaria and presents a huge potential for high-volume exports to African countries.

Traditionally, the farmers here grow corn. The yield per mu brings in an income of about 300 yuan (US$37). In comparison, the wormwood project guarantees farmers a minimum income of 500 yuan (US$62) per mu.

WWF China has also initiated other alternative livelihood projects such as apiculture, goat breeding, fruit tree and Gastrodia planting, on an experimental basis.

The rise of eco-tourism in the nature reserves in recent years has also benefited local farmers significantly.

Last year, the Wanglang nature reserve received more than 20,000 tourists. Most of them were housed in the Tibetan-style houses built by farmers in Baima Village near the nature reserve.

"We barely saw farmers in the villages with alternative livelihood projects taking the risk of encroaching into the nature reserves to collect herbs and hunt animals," said Jiang.