Firefly Conservation Research Centre

Wuhan City, Chine

An Overview Of Our Solution

The objective of this project is to protect rare aquatic firefly species which are very important for bio-indicator of water. Another objective of this project is to increase the size of populations of two species of rare aquatic fireflies in rice paddies by using captive rearing and reinforcement strategy. This project produces "firefly rice" which can significantly improve its ecological value, and can also increase the income of farmers. At the same time, the process through firefly eco-tourism and natural education could increase the income of farmers. This project is a sustainable and green development model that coordinates the ecological protection, natural education, firefly eco-tourism and economic development, which can be copied to the whole country. At last, farmers, ecology and economy will obtain the corresponding benefits at the same time.

Who is this solution impacting?

Community Type

Urban

Suburban

Organization type

À but non lucratif

Ecosystem (select all that apply)

Forests

Freshwater

Oceans/Coasts

Population impacted

2000people

Size of agricultural area

27ha

Production quantity

14750kilos

People employed

10 people

Describe your solution

We continue to raise money to rent more rice paddies where aquatic fireflies exist and encourage farmers to change farm methods with ecological compensation. We change their health habits and planting habits through the long time action and propaganda and gradually circulating paddy fields, and recovering fireflies in these fields. At the same time, we hired villagers to grow rice, Limiting rice planting methods, changing planting practices, and then promoting farmers to gradually reduce the use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers are proved to be very useful. Carrying out watching firefly and natural education activities on firefly features, to improve the city public and villagers’ awareness of environmental protection, could deepen and strengthen the public and the villagers’ action of environmental protection. A brand of ecological agricultural products with firefly features, especially the "firefly rice" through this economic compensation, that the villagers can benefit from the protection of the ecological environment, has been established (the benefits from the brand are higher than what they get by using pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers).Therefore, the villagers could consciously protect the ecological environment.

Describe your implementation

In 2013, when the FCRC found the Mt. Dalei, the fireflies are disappearing fast due to the environmental and ecological destruction. In order to solve issue about rapid disappearance of the fireflies, firstly we conducted the firefly science advocacy to the villagers; secondly we decreased the environmental and ecological damages; and the most important thing is that we cleaned the waste in the rivers through the Mt. Da Lei, which helped us changed villagers’ mind to protect fireflies. Due to the rapid disappearance of the number of fireflies, We established the firefly breeding base, and bred large number of fireflies, and then released them into the paddies where ecological environment has been improved, at last we made the fireflies renewed. The project can be successfully implemented thanks to the full support from the government and the villagers. The villagers’ tolerance and understanding for this project, is also an important reason for the implementation of this project. The successful implementation of the project also benefited from the public's love and desire for watching fireflies. Because of more and more serious environmental damage, the wild fireflies almost disappeared in the public eye, and everyone is very eager to watch the fireflies. So the Mt. Dalei is a place where everyone is looking forward to, At last the project gets the public’s continuous support and has a positive influence. The successful implementation of the project has also benefited from the FCRC who researches and protects of fireflies more than ten years. It is the FCRC that found the Mt. Dalei, and used professional knowledge to protect it carefully, and made the project have a real soul, which could make this project overcome all kinds of difficulties and move on.

External connections

The stakeholders of this project are: Local villagers Qiaokou Village Xia Pu Zhen town government Tongshan County Government This project is not just in line with the national strategy of poverty alleviation projects, but also in line with the national strategy of green development concept. This project will be the perfectly solving the issues about "poverty", "ecological protection", "agriculture", "tourism", "science education" and "economic development" together, so the project can be a very good combination of poverty alleviation policy, the policies of ecological protection and agricultural development policy, tourism policy and so on. This project has been selected for the county to support key projects.

What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?

There is a river which runs through paddy field of about 400 acres. The rice is quoted in the river water, Villagers in order to increase the yield of rice use of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers by large scale, which caused serious water pollution in the river and in paddy fields. At the same time, a lot of garbage cannot be processed, villagers thrown all rubbish into the river and expected to wash away the garbage through the river. Due to the huge pollution to rivers and water, the number of the rare aquatic firefly is significantly reduced. This project could change the villagers’ cultivation and the way of life to reduce the waste, pesticide, herbicide and chemical fertilizer pollution, and then could also protect the firefly habitat. At the same time, we hope to solve the problem of the villagers’ income, the problem of protection firefly habitat (Ecological problem) and local economic development through this project.

Describe the context in which you are operating

The Mt. Da Lei is located in Qiaokou village Xiapu Town Tongshan County of Xianning City Hubei province (N29 degrees E114 degrees 31 '41.03 "28' 43.78"), the village has 9 groups. From group 4 to group 9 in Mt. Da Lei, there are a total of 149 households, 717 people. 44 households and 129 of them are poor; 2 households of them are Five Guarantees families; 27 households and 54 people of them are low-income families; 31 people of them are disability, illness and no working ability. Now the Da Lei Mountain village annual incomes are 2000 Yuan. Children, women and the elders are the mainly left staffs in the village, the main source of income of villagers are labor income and agricultural income.
In order to increase the economic income, they could do nothing but stay in the Da Lei mountain villagers to grow rice every year. In order to increase the yields of rice every year, Villagers use a large number of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, etc., while the local villagers’ awareness of environmental protection is very weak. These reasons lead to seriously environmental pollution and water pollution.

How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?

Because fireflies belong to the bottom of Pyramid, we protect the fireflies, equals to that we protect the other creatures. So we protect the environment and habitat by protecting fireflies. We have cooperation with local government, and have established a firefly conservation area in the Mt. Dalei. In the Mt. Dalei, we managed 22 square km with help of officers of local village. We investigated diversity of fireflies and population sizes of each species. Seventeen species of fireflies were discovered; among them three rare species of aquatic fireflies appear from May to June. Total number of fireflies in the Mt. Dalei is more than 300,000.

Language(s)

Wuhan dialect, Standard Chinese

Water

Mt. Dalei is the water source of Tongshan County. Through the project to protect the water that can guarantee the public health on drinking water safety of Tongshan County, so that the people of Tongshan County can get benefits directly from the project

Food Security/Nutrition

Due to the protection of the firefly, Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers are banned for all agricultural products. So it can ensure the safety of foods in Mt. Dalei.

Economic/Sustainable Development

This project is a sustainable development of the ecological compensation project. Through the ecological tourism, the added value of agricultural products and natural education for getting benefits, that can promote local villagers to participate in the action of protecting the fireflies. Only through the protection of fireflies, the villagers can get more benefits. Therefore, this project is a sustainable development of green economy.

Climate

500 characters max.

Sustainability

This is a project of sustainable development based on the market. By providing to the watching firefly for the characteristics of the tourism service, the fireflies featuring ecological farm products, fireflies featuring natural education could be provided so as to obtain corresponding economic benefits, for realizing the sustainable development of economy.

Return on investment

Planting the "firefly" rice, investment is 1300 Yuan / Mu, but the economic value is 15000 Yuan / Mu

How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?

If the place replicates the solution where there are fireflies, it will greatly reduce the investment of funds; if there aren’t fireflies, then the first thing is to recover the fireflies. Therefore, as long as the firefly can be recovered, this place will likely be a successful copy of this project solution. Funds to be invested include: Firefly reproduction cost Agricultural production cost The basic infrastructure costs (to have relatively perfect infrastructure, investment cost will be relatively low, or basically do not need to invest in infrastructure; the imperfect place, generally require the government supporting investment) Tourism operation cost key stakeholders: Cooperative enterprise Local villagers Local village Local town government and county government The above four stakeholders can be greatly improved both in social, economic, ecological and spiritual culture.

Overview