Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park-Science and Technology Guarding Harmonious Symbiosis

Winter scenery of Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park.

Photo courtesy of Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park Administration

In the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, the patrol of the patrol team of Hunchun Forestry Bureau is debugging the monitoring camera.

Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Nanshe

Core reading

Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park spans Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, with a forest coverage rate of 97.74%. Since its official establishment in October last year, the distribution range and number of tiger and leopard populations in the park have achieved steady growth. In recent years, the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park has continuously promoted the construction of an integrated monitoring system of "heaven, earth and air", explored the informationization and intelligent management mode of natural resources in national parks, and strived to achieve a win-win situation for ecological protection and improvement of people’s livelihood.

In early winter, it is very quiet in the hinterland of Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park in Hunchun City, Jilin Province. Here, through a mobile phone, you can grasp which areas have recently seen wild animals such as Siberian tigers, Siberian leopards and sika deer. This is due to the integrated monitoring system of "heaven, earth and air" built by the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park.

"The integrated monitoring system of’ Heaven, Earth and Air’ has realized the real-time feedback of the wild Northeast Tiger and Leopard videos. This brand-new information and intelligent management mode of natural resources in national parks can better help the construction of national parks." Feng Limin, deputy director of National Forestry and Grassland Administration Northeast Tiger and Leopard Monitoring and Research Center and head of field work of Tiger and Leopard Research Team of Beijing Normal University, said.

Carry out scientific research cooperation and explore the establishment of an integrated monitoring system of "heaven, earth and air"

"The area where the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park is located is mostly mountainous, with remote geographical location and weak transportation infrastructure." Feng Limin said that in the 10 years since 2005, the Tiger and Leopard research team of Beijing Normal University installed 3,000 infrared cameras in the deep mountains and forests in Jilin and eastern Heilongjiang.

Professor Ge Jianping, the founder of the Tiger and Leopard Research Team of Beijing Normal University, who was then the vice president of Beijing Normal University, is also pondering over the technical support that is more suitable for related protection work. In the autumn of 2016, Ge Jianping led Feng Limin and other team members to drive around the area where the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park is now located.

"For 7 days, I walked through the mountains and went to the forest to find the answer." Feng Limin recalled that along the way, a kind of "black pole" was erected along the way. Everyone got off the bus and observed that these "black poles" were erected for fttp in the "every village" project of radio and television. "I feel that the’ key’ was found at once." Feng Limin said that the extensive coverage of the optical fiber system means that the national park informatization has a ready-made "highway trunk road".

The cooperation soon began. The Tiger and Leopard Research Team of Beijing Normal University and relevant media organizations carried out interdisciplinary innovative technology research and development, and at the same time, dozens of high-tech companies in the United Nations finally explored the successful adaptation application of 700 MHz wireless band in forest environment, and completed the research and development of a series of key components and equipment such as real-time transmission ecological monitoring equipment, terminal communication module and interface, and management platform.

Since its opening in February 2018, the coverage of the natural resources monitoring system of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park has continued to expand, and it has gradually developed into a comprehensive "heaven, earth and air" integrated monitoring system.

On the way into the mountain, Feng Limin pointed to a tower on the hill in the distance and said that this was the past forestry fire prevention observation tower, and now it is equipped with the base station antenna of the "heaven, earth and air" integrated monitoring system of the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park. At present, more than 60 of the 95 base stations have made use of the existing forestry fire prevention observation towers, which not only saves a lot of money, but also protects vegetation to the greatest extent. At the same time, this system is also equipped with and integrated with fire-proof electronic eyes, which can realize all-weather unmanned intelligent duty.

Up to now, the integrated monitoring system of "heaven, earth and air" has installed more than 20,000 field monitoring terminals, such as wireless infrared cameras, which can transmit in real time, and has transmitted and recognized images of Siberian tigers and leopards in real time for more than 30,000 times.

Maintain monitoring system to improve the efficiency of daily patrol and management.

At dawn, Han Changxue, a villager in Sidaogou Village, Chunhua Town, Hunchun City, has taken up his backpack, lunch box and kettle, and started a day’s work with several villagers in the same village. "We set out for patrol every morning and come back at two or three in the afternoon." Han Chang’s theory.

Han Changxue, who has been farming for decades, joined the peasant patrol team organized by the village last year and became a patrol officer. After professional training, he has been able to expertly remove hunting traps, identify animal activity tracks, and participate in and assist the research team in some scientific research work.

"Just a few days ago, when we were patrolling in the mountains, we heard the sound of a leopard." Han Chang said, "We immediately stopped and slowly withdrew from this mountain forest." Han Changxue said that the significance of patrol is to protect wild animals, and of course to protect their own safety.

In the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, more than 6,800 patrolmen shuttled through the dense forest to protect wild animals. More and more local people have joined in to protect the green mountains and rivers at home.

The integrated monitoring system of "heaven, earth and air" has effectively improved the efficiency of daily patrol and management. Combined with the intelligent analysis results of big data, the joint dispatching command center can issue multiple monitoring and management instructions to help multiple field teams to complete related tasks in an orderly manner according to the instructions. "In recent years, we have participated in more than 580 large and small maintenance work, repairing and replacing field digital communication equipment, base station antennas and power supply equipment to fully ensure the normal operation of the monitoring system." The person in charge of the relevant unit responsible for the maintenance of the integrated monitoring system of "heaven, earth and air" introduced.

Through the strength of science and technology, we can achieve a win-win situation for ecological protection and improvement of people’s livelihood.

In the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, you can often see warning signs of "Tiger and Leopard haunt, pay attention to safety".

Next to a stout tree, the reporter found an infrared camera erected here. "In order to protect the safety of villagers’ life and production, we will set up infrared cameras and other equipment in areas around the village where tigers and leopards may appear, and give villagers real-time warning." Feng Limin said.

Near the demonstration park of Actinidia arguta planting industry outside Sidaogou Village, Chunhua Town, Hunchun City, infrared cameras are also under control. In 2017, with the support of the town and the technical guidance provided by Yanbian University, Sidaogou Village planted Actinidia arguta. "It used to be a wasteland, but now it is an important industry in the village." Tan Changji, the village party secretary, took out his mobile phone and said that with real-time monitoring, he could see the dynamics of the orchard in real time at home and get early warning when wild animals such as tigers and leopards passed by.

"National park construction can achieve a win-win situation of ecological protection and improvement of people’s livelihood through the power of science and technology." Feng Limin said. Since its establishment, the integrated monitoring system of "heaven, earth and air" in Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park has produced a huge amount of monitoring data, which will provide rich resources for the communities around the national park to carry out activities such as nature education and leisure experience in the next step, and provide strong help for the local transformation and development of sustainable industries such as eco-tourism.

"The completion of the integrated monitoring system of" heaven, earth and air "in Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park has laid a solid foundation for promoting the modernization of the management system and management capacity of Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park." Ge Jianping introduced that the system has been identified by National Forestry and Grassland Administration as a science and technology support model for nature reserves that can be used for reference, promotion and replication, and has been gradually popularized and applied in Qilian Mountain National Park, Hainan Rainforest National Park and other nature reserves.

Under the protection of science and technology, the population of wild Siberian tiger and leopard in Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park is growing rapidly. The number of Siberian tigers and leopards has increased from 27 and 42 in 2015 to over 50 and 60 respectively, and the adult rate of Siberian tiger cubs has increased from 33% before the pilot to over 50% at present.