Last week, we escaped Beijing’s sweltering summer for a while, as Shan Shui invited a group of eight experts to visit the Ant Forest conservation area and the Leopard Farmland (豹乡田) co-management community run byCFCA in Heshun, Shaanxi.

Amid the folds of the Loess Plateau, Leopard Farmland is a vivid reflection of the dedication and perseverance behind CFCA’s #BringLeopardsHomeinitiative. Located in Mafang Township, an otherwise ordinary mountain village in the Taihang Valley, local farmers have long relied on their narrow strips of land for farming and grazing—while, generation after generation, the North Chinese leopard has quietly coexisted with these villages.

上周，我们暂时远离了北京的溽暑，山水邀请专家一行八人有幸来到猫盟在山西和顺的蚂蚁森林保护地和豹乡田共建社区。

在黄土高原的褶皱中，充满希望的豹乡田让猫盟CFCA #带豹回家#的这份坚持和心血显现出了模样。豹乡田所在的马坊乡本是太行山谷中再普通不过的山村，当地农民世代紧着这有限的狭窄土地耕作放牧，与此同时华北豹也在代代繁衍中与村子共生。

Today, Leopard Farmland is alive with experimental practices in conservation agriculture and biodiversity protection. Bees and butterflies dance through the air, pheasants roam freely, and kestrels and common kestrels hunt from above. By using eco-friendly seasonal crop rotation and intercropping maize, soybeans, foxtail millet, broomcorn millet, and sesame, the harvest is shared among villagers, birds, and wildlife alike. These farmlands are being transformed into wildlife-friendly habitats and migration corridors, unlocking new possibilities for livelihoods that go beyond subsistence. Leopard Farmland leases land from local farmers, who then return as “stewards,” managing the fields and becoming conservation allies. This approach provides work, fosters collective identity, and allows elders to live purposeful, fulfilling lives—an inspiring example of “rural revitalization” in action.

在如今的豹乡田，到处都可以看到正在探索中的保护性耕种和生物多样性保护措施。蜂蝶纷飞，雉鸡撒欢儿，燕隼和红隼搜寻猎物，通过使用无公害农作方式的应季轮作、间种玉米、大豆、大黄米、黍子、胡麻等作物，农业成果由村民与鸟兽昆虫共享，让农田变成更友好的野生动物栖息地和迁徙通道，同时也赋予了农田创造生计又超越生计的更多可能。豹乡田通过租用老乡农田，再让他们以“管家”身份承包农活儿，鼓励村民成为保护者，有活计干、有集体认同、也有发光发热的老年生活，我们见到了耳目一新的“乡村振兴”实践。

Meanwhile, at the Ant Forest conservation area in Hengling Town and across Heshun County, the local “Old Leopard Patrol Team,” organized by CFCA and community members, has built a grassroots network of protection. They monitor leopard populations, conduct anti-poaching patrols, and mitigate human-wildlife conflict. With the support of the Heshun County government and village committees, the establishment of the Ant Forest conservation area has helped prevent non-conservation development in the region. This strong, sustained commitment to protection has turned the Ant Forest area into a living example of OECMs (Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures). Long-term monitoring data also provide crucial scientific evidence to assess and mitigate the impact of roads, land reclamation, and new energy projects on the North Chinese leopard, ensuring a more connected and healthier habitat.

在位于横岭镇的蚂蚁森林 保护地以及更广泛的和顺县域范围，猫盟和来自当地社区的老豹子巡护队以脚步织就守护网络——持续监测华北豹的种群动态、日常开展反盗猎巡护、推动人兽冲突补偿和防治工作。在和顺县政府及当地村委的支持下，蚂蚁森林保护地的划定为区域未来避免非保护性开发提供了保障。坚实的保护力量和长期持续的保护承诺，使蚂蚁森林保护地成为OECMs（其他有效的区域保护措施）的生动实践。同时，长期积累的监测数据也为评估道路、造地、新能源建设等工程项目对华北豹的影响提供了科学依据，猫盟正在持续推动减缓这些工程项目的负面影响，为华北豹构筑更连续、更健康的栖息家园。

As we traveled, we passed road construction sites, land reclamation projects fragmenting corridors, wind turbines on ridgelines, overgrazed hillsides, and aging villages in decline. These sights made it clear that behind the success of Leopard Farmland and the conservation area are not just innovative community governance models and moving stories, but also an immense investment of effort and persistence. Perhaps it will take more than one or two generations to reverse the decline of traditional villages or to truly realize the ideal of human-wildlife coexistence. Yet, it is heartening to see conservationists, patrol team members, local stewards, and volunteers from all walks of life joining forces to push for change—step by step.

Many thanks to our partners at CFCA for their warm hospitality and for giving us a summer journey full of insight and inspiration.

沿途经过的道路工程，造地导致的廊道阻隔，山脊上耸立的风机，过牧造成的植被退化，因老龄化日渐凋敝的村庄，此行所见所感，让我们更真切感受到无论是保护地还是豹乡田，远不止创新的社区治理模式和动人的故事，背后的投入远超想象。或许一两代人的努力无法改变传统村庄走向衰落，无法让共生共荣的理想走进现实人心，但好在保护者、老豹子队员、村民管家、以及来自各行各业的城里老乡志愿者可以在一起做点什么推动一些变化。感谢猫盟CFCA 伙伴们的热情接待，在这个夏天给了我们一段充满思考的收获之旅。