Last Stand of the Green Peafowl

by Zhou Qunfeng

In July 2017， Friends of Nature， an environmental non-governmental organization， filed a lawsuit to enforce green peafowl habitat protection to the Intermediate Peoples Court of Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern Chinas Yunnan Province.

On March 20， 2020， the Kunming Municipal Intermediate Peoples Court sided with the plaintiff in the first hearing and ordered a halt on a large hydroelectric project deemed to be threatening the last major habitat of the endangered green peafowl.

It was the first preventive public interest lawsuit for wildlife protection filed in China.

Endangered Birds

Dubbed by some as the “king of birds，” the green peafowl is among the largest pheasants and a national first-class protected wild bird in China. It is listed as a global endangered （EN） species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature （IUCN）. The present population of the bird species in the country is estimated at less than 500， and they are only found in Yunnan Province.

Millennial Gu Bojian is seeking a doctoral degree in Shanghai. In 2013， Gu studied at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden， a research institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Yunnan. There， he conducted field research as part of his masters degree program.

In November 2013， he ventured to the Luzhi River valley at the junction of Xinping County in Yuxi City and Shuangbai County in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province， seeking to investigate the ecological conditions of local tropical monsoon forests.

He stayed in an inn built by local villagers. By chatting with villagers， he learned that a green peacock had been spotted nearby. They showed him several green feathers， which evoked his curiosity.

After reading up on the animal， Gu realized that green peafowl were once widely distributed throughout Guangdong Province， Sichuan Province and other places in China. However， continuous destruction of their habitats pushed them into an obscure nook in Yunnan Province now.

Kong Dejun， an associate professor at the Department of Life Science and Technology of Kunming University， reported witnessing 183 to 240 green peafowl in total through field investigations. Given the elusiveness of some unknown habitats， the population of the birds in China is estimated at less than 500. Meanwhile， the size of each flock of the birds has shrunk from as many as 20 to only three to five.

The study also found that threats to the species include poaching， poisoning， habitat destruction and hydroelectric construction.

Under Threat

In 2013， Gu conducted a 20-day field investigation in the valley without finding any trace of the green peafowl. However， he discovered that a large hydropower plant was planned to be built on the Jiasa River， the main tributary of the Honghe River in the lower reaches of the valley.

The Jiasa River hydropower station would be the largest hydroelectric project in Yuxi City. Construction was scheduled to begin in March 2016 with a total dynamic investment of about 3.9 billion yuan（about US$555 million）.

The valley area is an important habitat for the green peafowl. If the dam was completed and began storing water， the green peafowl and Cycas chenii （a species of cycad endemic to the Honghe River valley） would be choked out of the area when the local monsoon forests flooded， leading to their extinction in the region.

Hoping to protect the last habitat of the animal， Gu got in touch with Xi Zhinong， a veteran wildlife photographer and founder of Wild China Film， a nonprofit organization that promotes wildlife photography and protection.

On March 15， 2017， Xi Zhinong and some friends rushed to Xinping County， and they saw construction already commencing on the hydroelectric station. During the trip， Xi photographed seven or eight green peafowl in the soon-to-be submerged area near the hydropower station， and his colleagues also captured videos of green peafowl drinking water near the river.

The same day， an article titled“Who Is Killing the Green Peafowl？ The Last Habitat for Green Peafowl in China Will Disappear” was published on the website of Wild China Film and attracted wide attention from the media and public.

On June 29， 2018， the provincial government of Yunnan issued a document showing the habitats of 26 rare species in the province， including the green peafowl， with protection red lines. The hydroelectric project on the Jiasa River infringed on numerous species in the nearby area.

Afterwards， Friends of Nature organized many rounds of discussions with the local government and the construction operator. The local government and the construction operator both promised to research the impact of the hydropower project on the green peafowl， but never suggested shutting down the project.

Fowl Lawsuit

In July 2017， Friends of Nature launched a public interest lawsuit against the hydroelectric project operator， seeking an injunction to terminate the project based on its impact on the habitat of the green peafowl. In August of the same year， the Intermediate Peoples Court of Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture officially accepted the filing.

He Yini， project director of the law and policy advocacy department of Friends of Nature and the plaintiffs representative， stated that the case was divided into two parts during the process of evidence collection. The first part involved appealing to relevant government departments to obtain administrative approval materials related to the project， and the other was to collect evidence on site. “The former was relatively easy， while the latter was much more difficult，” said He.

He Yini explained that about 80 percent of the planned submerged area of the reservoir was uninhabited， so most of the area was hardly accessible due to a lack of roads. Soon after the court case was filed， He Yini and her colleagues decided to get into the area by drifting along the Honghe River.

With the help of professionals， a scientific research team composed of more than 30 members including staff of environmental protection organizations， biological experts， and photographers finally reached the area. “We stayed in the unpopulated area for several days straight， sleeping in the mountains at night，”she revealed.

During the field investigation， the team discovered extensive green peafowl footprints and feathers and recorded the activities of the birds with fixed infrared cameras and portable cameras.

“For projects that might cause environmental pollution through emissions， even without a solid environmental impact assessment made， relevant administrative organs could still control pollution problems later in the production process through supervision and fines，”He noted. “But if assessment of the ecological impact on animals and plants is not made scientifically and objectively， a construction project could cause irreversible ecological damage.”

On March 20， 2020， the Kunming Municipal Intermediate Peoples Court issued a first-instance judgment demanding that Xinping Development Co.， Ltd. under China Hydropower Engineering Consulting Group Corporation halt construction on the dam and forbade them from storing water or cutting down plants in the stations submerging area.

According to Zhang Boju， director-general of Friends of Nature， the ruling effectively paused construction， but without continued efforts， the door was still open for the project to resume work in the future.

“Our ultimate goal is to shut down the project permanently to eliminate catastrophic threats to the habitats of the green peafowl， Cycas chenii and other rare species，” he declared. “But we still have a long way to go.”

Li Chunguang， executive director of Yunnan Lingyun Law Firm， noted that in theory， relevant departments could approve follow-up construction enabling the hydropower station to begin operation anyway.

“But I think that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has helped public awareness of environmental protection surge to an unprecedented level， which is surely catching the attention of legislative and administrative organs，” he continued. “I think that relevant environmental protection departments will carefully consider experts suggestions and make any decisions cautiously. Even if construction resumes in the future， the process will be very long and slow. But I doubt it will ever happen.”