The Karamaile National Park has already been practically created, according to the area’s forestry and grassland bureau.
In the sweltering summer heat, Adebyet, a 42-year-old ranger at the Karamaile Mountain Nature Reserve in northwest China, keeps an eye on a herd of Przewalski’s horses.
He tells his colleague about the eight horses: one adult male, eight adult females, six subadults, and three foals. Adebyet warns against approaching.
The Przewalski’s horse, a species that is under the highest level of national protection, has its natural habitat in the Karamaile Mountain Nature Reserve, which they patrol. Many endangered wild animals, such as Mongolian wild asses, goitered gazelles, and argali sheep, call it home.
The nature reserve is a typical example of temperate desert ecosystems worldwide and is distinguished by desert plant species like Haloxylon ammodendron and Calligonum mongolicum as well as extensive Yardang landforms.
It is one of the 49 potential national park sites listed in a spatial layout plan for China’s national parks that four national bureaus jointly released in 2022.
With a combined area of roughly 14,700 square km, the proposed park includes the Karamaile Mountain Nature Reserve, the Qitai fossilised wood and dinosaur national geological park, and the Qitai fossilised wood national desert park in Xinjiang.
The Karamaile National Park has already been practically created, according to the area’s forestry and grassland bureau. It is currently waiting for approval for official designation as a national park after the third party evaluation work was completed.
A subtle but significant difference exists between a nature reserve and a national park. While the creation of a national park emphasises the integration of ecological conservation, green development, and the improvement of people’s livelihoods, the Karamaile Mountain Nature Reserve is concentrated on “closed protection.”
Even though the nature reserve has long been working to improve its surroundings, the additional work required to designate it as a national park has given those efforts to protect biodiversity new life. The reserve has become a fine illustration of China’s practice of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.
By the end of 2022, the total number of Przewalski’s horses in Kalamayli reached 332, with over 3,400 Mongolian wild asses and more than 11,200 goitered gazelles. The comprehensive vegetation coverage has increased from 8.2 percent in the previous year to 8.4 percent, according to the latest monitoring results from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
“The foaling season is currently underway, and the foals may be nursing or have frail bodies. We make every effort not to disturb them while on patrol, “Adebyet continued by stating how the Przewalski’s horse population has increased and grown more independent due to the habitat’s ongoing improvement. The wild horse herds used to occasionally come to us in the winter for “help,” but this is happening less and less these days.
The Karamaile region once had no Przewalski’s horses. China began bringing them back from abroad for breeding in 1985, and they were first released into the Karamaile Mountain Nature Reserve in 2001.
In the Karamaile reserve, Xinjiang has consistently carried out specialised ecological environment restoration and remediation work in recent years.
Energy-rich minerals like coal and oil can be found in abundance on Karamaile Mountain, which translates to “black mountain” in Kazakh. The Karamaile Mountain Nature Reserve, established in 1982, experienced unauthorised size cuts, transforming it into a development zone.
However, effective correction and strong governance have led to a significant increase in wildlife species and a return to its original size. In December 2018, oil production activities were halted, and 284 oil wells were permanently sealed, with surfaces restored.
Ayjan Erkin, a young researcher at the nature reserve, was motivated by the idea of creating the first national park in Xinjiang. She majored in wildlife and nature reserve management during her six years of study at Northeast Forestry University in Heilongjiang Province’s Harbin. After receiving her degree, she went back to her hometown of Xinjiang and started helping the reserve’s work there.
Ayjan Erkin argues that while creating nature reserves and national parks enables us to have a permanently safe living environment, hospitals are built to help people recover from illnesses in the short term.
“We are making great efforts to promote scientific education and build information platforms,” she said, “to help the public understand the importance of protecting wildlife and plants.”