CHINA’S WILD WEST - Wildlife Conservation in China: Preserving the Habitat of China's Wild West - page 18

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C HINA ' S W ILD W EST
Geography Is Destiny
Because under a predominantly fishing, hunting, and animal husbandry way of
life there is a relatively strong dependence on natural vegetation, forests and other
natural vegetation are relatively widespread. In contrast, under an agricultural
system, mankind cultivates vegetation, thereby replacing the natural species
[with domestic species]. As a result, mankind becomes ignorant, and places
too much importance on the profit immediately visible to him, blindly opening
more land for agricultural development. This leads to loss of forests and
ultimately, to mankind receiving retribution in kind from nature.
—H.R. Wen
Beijingers, after I've answered their question about where I live within the United States,
invariably respond with a puzzled expression and a wrinkled nose. They have heard of
New York, San Francisco, and perhaps a few other places, but Montana requires an ex-
planation, and that I place it on their mental map. But even more predictably, when I tell
them that I'm not working in Beijing but just traveling through on my way to the western
provinces of Qinghai or Gansu, they cluck in sympathy. So poor, so undeveloped, so
backward. Why would a Westerner go there on purpose?
China's west is so different from what most people imagine China to be, that an entire
chapter is justified to describe it, focusing on specifically western Chinese issues that are
relevant to wildlife conservation. Thus, this chapter will serve to ground us geographi-
cally, exploring the land on which western Chinese native fauna will either persist or die
out. I will put western China into geographic perspective, provide a brief overview of
the ethnic and cultural dynamics that apply particularly to people on the land, discuss
development and the rapid pace of change in western China—focusing on the condi-
tions of its grasslands and arguments over the extent and causes of grassland degradation
(for which a slight digression into the issue of climate change is required)—and finally
overview the Great Opening of the West and what that portends for wildlife. Because my
argument with Chinese wildlife policy is generally that it has yet to come to grips with
human transformation and degradation of wildlife habitat, a detailed look at that habitat
in China's west is appropriate.
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