Focus on Arts and Ecology

 The big environmental stories in the Chinese media this week (11-17 September)

On Monday, police announced the arrest of one of the men suspected of shooting Sonam Dajie, an environmental leader who dedicated himself to the protection of Tibetan antelopes, Xinhua reports.

The suspect was arrested in Qinghai Tibetan Autonomous Region 26 years after Sonam Dajie’s murder. If he is found guilty, only two of the original 18 poachers will remain at large. 
 
Tibetan antelopes, China’s only existent migratory antelope, have long been poached to make luxury Shahtoosh scarves. According to biologist George Schaller, the population dropped to less than 10,000 in the wild in the mid-90s, with as many as 20,000 lost to poaching each year. 
 
When Sonam Dajie discovered that demand had imperilled the antelopes, he decided to patrol their habitat in Hoh Xil. The vast area is uninhabited by humans due to its high altitude and frigid climate but is a haven for wildlife.
 
On 19 January 1994, Sonam Dajie was shot by poachers in a standoff. He had been escorting the poachers to local police when some of them tried to escape. His fellow patrollers recalled apprehending the poachers and seizing more than 1,300 Tibetan antelope skins, the day before his death. 
 
In 1995, following the loss of Sonam Dajie, China established the Hoh Xil Natural Reserve and stepped up its crackdown on poaching activities. A wildlife rescue station in the area was named after him in 1996. He became a hero and symbol for many young Chinese environmentalists. Zhaxi Duojie, who was with him on the fatal patrol, founded the first grassroots environmental NGO in Qinghai. 
 
The Tibetan antelope population has increased by more than 100,000 since the mid-1990s. The IUCN has changed its status from “endangered” to “near threatened”. Furthermore, as the Chinese government has initiated efforts to protect its natural environment, Sanjiangyuan, the headwaters of Asia’s three longest rivers, and where Hoh Xil is located, is expected to open the country’s first national park this year.

Environmental defenders are often targets for violence. Read our recent article on Latin America’s environmental defenders here.

(Sources: China Dialogue)