Mountain Ecosystems: The Thailand, China &Tibet Borderlands

Team members will take part in a rare, on-site examination of China’s spectacular ecosystems and the environmental challenges they face through field studies taking us across a broad spectrum of wildland environments.

Our field study project will take place at sites on an ecological transect across the Yunnan Plateau to the southeastern margin of Tibet. This transition is one of the most enthralling on earth. Biological diversity, tremendous biotic/cultural variability over short distances, and acute environmental challenges make this an ideal site for field projects such as ours.

The mountain ecosystems of Southwest China range from tropical monsoon forests near the border of Laos to the “Land of Corrugations,” where parallel mountain ranges and river valleys define China’s frontier with Burma and the Tibet Autonomous Region. During our field study in Southwest China, we plan to have orientation in the city of Kunming before working with local scientists at mountain field sites. In the backcountry, we’ll spend our time base-camped, or trekking on foot to conduct our field studies. A highlight of our program is a trekking field study circuit of Meili Snow Mountain that will take multiple days and wind through miles of ecologically significant mountains.

Many aspects of Southwest China make it ideal for our field course in wildlife biology, human ecology, and ecosystem management in that our field sites are global centers of diversity for many kinds of plants and animals. Throughout the project, team members will have firsthand exposure to ongoing case studies that highlight the tension between economic development and cultural/biological sustainability. Examples include agricultural traditions “Grain to Green” program, and the uneasy relationship between tourism, conservation, and spirituality in the Meili Mountains. We will struggle to deconstruct and evaluate these conservation efforts in discussions amongst ourselves, with regional experts, and with local inhabitants. Discussion, hands-on field studies, and extended journeys through remote backcountry provide the team with a rich, broad-based educational experience, and a tremendous opportunity for intellectual and personal growth. Please note that prior field research experience is not required. All necessary skills of data acquisition and analysis will be taught on-site in China.

THE PROJECT

Our project begins with a cultural orientation in the city of Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province where we’ll learn about contemporary China and the policies for environmental protection that have recently been put into effect. These differences will provide an interesting case study for the class.

After Kunming, we’ll embark on field excursions to selected parts of Southwest China. The first area we plan to visit is tropical Xishuangbanna, ethnically and geographically similar to Northern Thailand. Here, we may have the chance to engage in fieldwork with ecologists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Leaving the tropics, we’ll move to higher elevation areas of Yunnan Province, examining the Ailao or Gaoligong Mountain Ranges, rich in bird species and flora, transitional between the tropical mountains of southern China and the flanks of the Himalaya.  Our forest surveys in this zone will provide us with a fascinating reference point between tropical and alpine habitats.

Restoration of native forest is a growing priority in Yunnan, and we may have the chance as well to be involved in programs that assess the structure and composition of surviving old-growth forests in order to obtain a baseline for planned restoration efforts.

The project concludes with an extended field study trek in the mountains of the Yunnan-Tibet border regions. We hope to walk a circle around Meili Snow Mountain (Kawakarpo to the Tibetans). The path we follow has been used for centuries as a kora or pilgrimage route. Forests found here along with remote Tibetan villages that occupy river valleys, provide an important setting for our studies. The kora route is scenic and sublime, traversing rare habitats that are seldom studied by outsiders. Here we will take part in ecological investigations and consider how infrastructure development and development of a market economy are affecting culture. Here too, through on-site assessment of ecological practices and field studies, team members will examine the status of key regional environmental issues.

By the end of the program each of us will have gained experience conducting ecological field studies in parts of Asia that are rarely investigated by outsiders. We will also acquire a solid introduction to Chinese and Tibetan culture, and insights into the future of a dynamic region.

Full information available on request.

PROJECT LEADER

CHRIS CARPENTER, Conservation Biologist, Wildlands Studies, has conducted field studies and/or led natural history expeditions throughout Asia and North America since 1980, including directing W.S. programs in Nepal, India, Thailand, and China.