守护神农架The Conservation of Shennongjia

李立欣Li Lixin

神農架地处湖北省西北部，被誉为“地球之肺”，是世界上罕见的原始森林之一，也是中国首个被联合国教科文组织人与生物圈自然保护区、世界地质公园、世界遗产三大保护制度共同录入名录的遗产地。神农架宛如一幅绝美的水墨画卷，虽经历了开发、再开发及再利用，但所幸，今天我们依然留住了它那最耀眼的底色——绿色，使它成为绚烂多姿的原生态旅游胜地。

Located in the northwest of Hubei Province，Shennongjia， one of the rare primitive forests in theworld， is hailed as the “Lungs of the Earth.” It is alsothe first heritage site in China to be concurrentlylisted in three major protection systems： theUNESCOs Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme，the Global Geoparks Network， and the WorldHeritage Site. The scenery there resembles a stunningChinese ink painting. Despite several rounds ofdevelopment and exploitation， fortunately， today westill retain its most enchanting base color — green，making it a splendid and diverse destination for ecotourism.

粗犷开发利用之“殇”The Tragedy of Ill-PlannedDevelopment and Exploitation

相传，华夏始祖之一的炎帝神农氏在此地采尝百草时，曾架木为梯以助攀援、架木为屋以避风寒、架木为坛跨鹤升天，神农架由此得名。千百年来，人们依靠神农架的丰饶物产养家糊口，生生不息。神农架山峦叠嶂，沟壑纵横，河谷险峻，地貌复杂，在20世纪50年代之前未曾经历大规模的开发和利用。

According to legend， one of the forefathers ofChinese civilization， the Yan Emperor Shennong，named the place after his activities in this area. Whilesampling hundreds of herbs here， he is said to haveerected ladders from wood to aid in climbing， erectedshelters from wood to protect against the windand cold， and erected a wooden altar to ascend toheaven on a crane. Shennongjia （with jia meaning “toerect”） derives its name from these legendary events.For thousands of years， people have relied on theabundant natural resources of Shennongjia to sustaintheir livelihoods， thriving generation after generation.However， this area， characterized by its overlappingmountains， crisscrossing ravines， perilous valleys，and complex terrain， had remained largely untouchedand undeveloped until the 1950s.

20世纪60年代，由于国家建设需要大量木材，人们开始对神农架进行开发。1970年，国家设立“神农架林区”，这是中国唯一以“林区”命名的省辖行政区。神农架因林建区，借林而兴，开启了“木头经济”时期。回忆起当年的粗犷式开发，神农架国家公园管理局工作人员张建兵说：“ 近万名工人响应号召，从南北两个方向同时向神农架腹地推进，路修到哪里，就砍伐到哪里。”不久后，人们意识到砍伐森林会对生态环境造成严重的破坏，于是转向大力发展小水电，利用神农架境内317 条河流来发电。但因河流发电会对神农架的地质地貌和水系造成严重破坏，小水电的开发也停止了。此后，人们又通过开采神农架矿产资源来发展经济，由此进入了“石头经济”时期。但采矿造成了山体裸露，又引发了次生地质灾害，开采被迫停止。人们说，“靠山吃山，靠水吃水”，但神农架人守着一座“金山”却依然在受穷。

In the 1960s， due to Chinas large timber demandfor construction， development began in Shennongjia.In 1970， the state established the ShennongjiaForestry District， the only administrative region inChina named after a forest area. The prosperity oftimber industry marked the beginning of the “timbereconomy” period in Shennongjia. Reflecting onthe rough development of that era， Zhang Jianbing，a staff member of the Shennongjia National ParkAdministration， said， “Nearly ten thousand workersresponded to the call of the nation and went intothe heart of Shennongjia from both the south andnorth. Wherever the roads were built， thats wherethe trees were felled.” But it was soon realizedthat this deforestation was causing severe damageto the ecological environment. As a result， there was a shift towards developing small hydropowerprojects， utilizing the 317 rivers in Shennongjia forelectricity generation. But this too was stopped， asthe hydroelectric development severely damagedShennongjias geological features and watersystems. Subsequently， people shifted to a “stoneeconomy，” mining Shennongjias mineral resources.However， this exposed the mountainsides andtriggered secondary geological disasters， leadingto the cessation of mining activities. When theold saying goes， “Live by the mountains and eatfrom the mountains， live by the water and drinkfrom the water，” the irony is that despite livingamidst abundant natural resources， the people ofShennongjia still faced poverty.

保护型旅游开发之“变”The Transformation TowardsConservation-Oriented Tourism

为了留住青山碧水，神农架人秉承“自然修复为主，人工修复为辅”的理念，开始了修复保护与旅游开发并举的发展阶段。1982年，“神农架自然保护区”成立，不久后，升级为国家级“森林与野生动物类型自然保护区”。1990年，神农架加入联合国教科文组织世界生物圈保护区网。2000年，神农架全面停止天然林采伐——林场工人们放下伐木刀，变身护林员，守护这里的野生动植物。至此，神农架实现了由木头经济、石头经济向保护型旅游经济发展的历史性转变。

To preserve the green mountains and clearwaters， the people of Shennongjia have adheredto the concept of “focusing on natural restorationwith human-induced restoration as a supplement，”initiating a development phase that balancesrestoration and protection with tourism development.In 1982， the “Shennongjia Nature Reserve” wasestablished， and it was soon upgraded to a nationallevel“Forest and Wildlife Type Nature Reserve.”In 1990， Shennongjia joined the UNESCO WorldNetwork of Biosphere Reserves. By 2000， Shennongjiacompletely halted the logging of natural forests — thelumberjacks put down their saws to become forestrangers， protecting the local wildlife and flora. So far，Shennongjia has achieved a historic transition froma wood and stone-based economy to a conservationorientedtourism economy.

据一位网友回忆，20世纪80年代，他去神农架叔叔家走亲戚时，能看到叔叔狩猎捕获的狼、豹、熊等野生动物，还能吃到一些野味；但到了90年代就很少再有人捕猎野生动物了。这离不开护林员的努力——他们从一个村庄宣讲到另一个村庄，从一个山坡巡视到另一个山坡，用行动转变村民的观念。渐渐地，村民也意识到，只有守住绿色的森林，才能给生活在这里的3 000多种植物、1 000多种动物提供良好的栖息环境。由此，很多村民也从曾经的狩猎者转变为森林的守护者。

A netizen recalled that in the 1980s， whenvisiting his uncles house in Shennongjia， he couldsee wild animals like wolves， leopards， and bearsthat his uncle had hunted and even taste some gamemeat. However， by the 1990s， the hunting of wildanimals had greatly reduced. This change was largelyattributed to the efforts of the forest rangers — theytraveled from village to village， patrolling fromone hillside to another， changing villagers mindsetthrough their actions. Gradually， the villagers realizedthat maintaining the green forests was essential forproviding a good habitat for over 3，000 species ofplants and more than 1，000 species of animals livingthere. As a result， many villagers transformed fromhunters into protectors of the forest.

多年來，神农架采取的保护型旅游开发已见成效。游客们呼吸着饱含负氧离子的空气，沿着九曲十八弯山路心情舒畅地漫行，移步换景，欣赏沿途的奇树、奇花、奇洞、奇峰，领略大自然造就的奇迹与生命之美。人们一边聆听着优美动人的传说，一边感受着原生态旅游独有的奇幻魅力。

Over the years， the conservation-oriented tourismdevelopment adopted in Shennongjia has shownpositive results. Visitors breathe air rich in negativeions， leisurely stroll along the winding mountain roadswith “nine bends and eighteen turns，” experiencingchanging landscapes at every step. They admire theextraordinary trees， flowers， caves， and peaks along theway， appreciating the miracles and beauty of life createdby nature. While listening to beautiful legends， peopleexperience the unique enchantment of ecotourism.

守护生态家园之“韧”The Persistent Protection of theEcological Homeland

神农架总面积为3 253 平方千米，其中动植物种类繁多，囊括了东到日本中部、西达喜马拉雅山、北抵漠河、南至西双版纳范围内的诸多动植物种类，是世界上中纬度地区植被最完整的地区之一。为了守护这一珍稀的生命家园，森林守护者们凭借坚韧不拔的毅力，通过经年累月的不懈努力，在高科技信息化管护网络的助力下，创造了神农架40 多年无火灾发生的奇迹。

Shennongjia covers an area of 3，253 squarekilometers， hosting a diverse range of flora and fauna.It includes species found from central Japan in theeast， the Himalayas in the west， Mohe in the north，and Xishuangbanna in the south， making it one of themost complete vegetation areas in the worlds midlatitudes.To protect this rare habitat， forest rangershave demonstrated unwavering determination andrelentless effort over the years. Assisted by a hightech，information-based management network， theyhave achieved the remarkable feat of averting any fireincidents in Shennongjia for over 40 years.

神农架自然保护区的网络监控中心全年无休。中心负责人通过北斗导航巡护手机向巡山的护林员询问情况，当听到“这里一切正常”的回复时，便立刻转接下一个监测点。在这里，空中有无人机，山上有监控，路上有火警探测头，林内有巡护，人人都是护林员。为了更快地促进生态修复，神农架湿地、林地及腹地的原住民们作出了极大的牺牲，他们移居至异地，无怨无悔。在所有人的共同努力下，神农架的森林覆盖率得以很好地恢复，提升至96%。

The network monitoring center of theShennongjia Nature Reserve operates yearround.The person in charge communicateswith patrolling forest rangers usingsmartphones equipped with the BeidouNavigation System. Upon receiving aresponse of “all good，” they immediatelyswitch to the next monitoring point. InShennongjia， drones patrol the skies，cameras keep watch on the mountains， firealarm detectors line the roads， and rangersroam the forests — everyone contributesto forest protection. To further expediteecological restoration， the indigenousresidents of Shennongjias wetlands， forests，and hinterlands made significant sacrifices.They relocated without complaint or regret.Thanks to everyones collective efforts， theforest coverage in Shennongjia has beenrestored to an impressive 96%.

森林守護者们的坚守和努力为子孙后代留下了一片绿洲，一片人与自然和谐共处的生态家园。

The dedication and hard work of these forest protectorshave left future generations with a green oasis， a homeland witha tenacious ecological system， for the harmonious coexistenceof humans and nature.