Yunnan Province

Red Panda

Learn more about this project with the Online Field Guide.

The Nature Conservancy's Yunnan Great Rivers Project lies in northwest Yunnan Province, where one finds some of Asia's last untouched forests as well as lush valleys, precipitous river gorges and rugged, ice-capped mountains.

Fourteen of China's 55 ethnic minorities, including the Naxi and Yi peoples, live within the project area, which is twice the size of Taiwan.

Location
Yunnan Province, in southern China, borders Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar (Burma). Here, four of the world's major rivers - the Yangtze, Mekong Salween and Irawaddy - pass within 55 miles (89 kilometers) of each other.

Animals
Yunnan Province provides habitat for at least 30 endangered animals, including:

Snow and clouded leopards
Red panda
Yunnan golden monkey

More than 800 species of resident and migratory birds have been recorded in Yunnan Province. Approximately 450 species live or migrate through the Yunnan Great Rivers Project area, a number just shy of 5 percent of the world's total. Species include:

Black-necked crane
Chinese pond heron
Tibetan snowcock
Great spotted woodpecker
White-eared pheasant

Plants
Approximately 15,000 plant species are native to Yunnan Province. Almost half of those are represented in the Yunnan Great Rivers Project area, including:

More than 160 species of rhododendron and azalea
Chinese hemlock
Mottled bamboo
Yunnan pine

Why the Conservancy Works Here
The Conservancy's project area in northwest Yunnan is one of the most vital centers of plant diversity in the northern temperate hemisphere. More than 40 percent of the plants used in traditional Chinese medicine and 75 percent of those used in traditional Tibetan medicine are represented.

Chinese officials, aware of the area's natural and cultural significance, have targeted Yunnan for increased tourism development. But if development is not regulated and monitored, it will pose a significant threat to this incredible diversity of flora and fauna.

Unsustainable fuel-wood collection, expanding agriculture and over-harvesting of plants and animals continue to threaten the survival of the region's wildlife and ecosystems.

What the Conservancy Is Doing
During the first phase of the Yunnan Great Rivers Project, the Conservancy collaborated with Chinese scientists, government officials and other partners to develop a "Conservation and Development Action Plan" for northwest Yunnan. The Conservancy has also facilitated cross-cultural exchanges between natural-resource experts in the United States and government officials in China. Several study tours enabled Chinese government officials to learn about models of cultural and natural-resource management in Ecuador, Mexico and the United States.

Guided by the development action plan, the Conservancy identified five action sites on which to focus conservation efforts during the second phase of the project. Two are highlighted below.

Through the Lashi Lake Community-Based Resource Management Pilot Project, the Conservancy is working with local governments and the Naxi and Yi people of the Lashihai and Wenhai villages to develop community-based ecotourism. The project also encourages sustainable management of fisheries and is expanding the use of alternative energy sources.

In the Meili Snow Mountains, an area of extraordinary biodiversity straddling the Yunnan-Tibet border, the Conservancy has initiated the Meili Snow Mountain Conservation Project, a long-term partnership with the Deqin County government. The partners are developing a comprehensive plan to guide conservation and development in the mountains for the next 100 years.