SPECIES STORIES - Wildlife Conservation in China: Preserving the Habitat of China's Wild West - page 157

But if so, the prognosis for success remains uncertain. Two large nature reserves have,
nominally at least, served this purpose for over twenty years. The Annanba Wild Camel
Nature Reserve in Gansu, just short of 4,000 km 2 , was established in 1982, and the Arjin
Wild Camel Nature Reserve in Xinjiang, at over 15,000 km 2 , was established in 1986. For
roughly the first fifteen years since their establishment, these reserves existed comfortably
on paper only, unstaffed and unmonitored, as wild camels evidently continued to decline. 126
In the late 1990s this situation seemed about to change, when high-level meetings were
held; the Arjin reserve was officially expanded to 65,000 km 2 and its name changed to
Lop Nor Nature Reserve (the designation reflecting the by-now dying lake that lies to
its north), 127 both reserves were abruptly upgraded from provincial to national level, and
substantial funding for building guard stations and hiring staff was promised.
By mid-2005, the newly upgraded Lop Nor National Level Nature Reserve had established
a guard station at Milan in the reserve's southwest portion, hired a staff of twelve, and built a
new headquarters in Urumqi, over 800 kilometers distant by road. Whether it had succeeded
in securing the area for camels was unclear, although the reserve had received $2 million
in compensation for allowing the west-east gas pipeline (which supplies gas to Shanghai
from Korla) to traverse its northern portion. 128 In Gansu's Annanba, a large interpretative
sign had been erected along the rutted gravel road penetrating it from the county seat of
Aksai, and small boundary markers had been placed along its eastern portions. However,
by mid-2005, no staff had yet been hired, nor guard stations developed.
But even if promises regarding these nature reserves begin to be fulfilled, it is not clear
that mining and degradation of springs will be effectively halted. These are not areas where
people are likely to settle permanently in any case: the main threats come from extractive
activities, either of the biological or mineral variety. Guard stations and more staffing may
help, but my review of the management history of Chinese nature reserves, together with
the fits and starts accompanying the development of these two, suggests that keeping all
springs clean and secure for wild camels will be a continuing challenge.
INTO THE TEETH OF THE CONFLICT: LARGE CARNIVORES
Keeping large carnivores around has been a major challenge to those interested in their
conservation ever since humans developed sufficient technology to kill them easily. The
conservation of animals capable of killing us—or more to the point, killing our live-
stock—has not been easy for any society since the industrial revolution. There is nothing
particularly unique in the conservation difficulties faced by Chinese. 129 Unsurprisingly,
at least one species—the tiger—has already been lost in western China entirely, 130 and
at least one more, the dhole, is in dire straights. Perhaps more surprising is that so many
potentially dangerous animals still have a chance for a bright future in western China.
Wolves: Surprisingly Common
When I was young, no animal in the United States was so clearly associated with the
words “endangered species” as the wolf. Of course even then, wolves were not endan-