The Wuqizhang Chinese Pangolin Protected Area, located in the Wuqizhang forest region of Huidong County, Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, has been selected as one of China’s first 12 exemplary “Potential OECMs (Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures) Cases.” This area is home to a rare, large expanse of southern subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests within the Pearl River Delta region, featuring a well-preserved forest ecosystem and serving as a biodiversity hotspot in the Greater Bay Area. The region is inhabited by a variety of rare and endangered wild animals and plants, including the Chinese pangolin, small Indian civet, otter, and Paphiopedilum purpuratum.

Since the first infrared camera capture of a Chinese pangolin in Wuqizhang in 2018, supported by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the Guangdong Provincial Forestry Department, and the Huidong County Forestry Department, the Xizijiang Ecological Conservation Center and the Huidong County Natural Ecological Protection Association have launched conservation initiatives focused on the Chinese pangolin. These efforts include survey monitoring, routine and specialized anti-pooling patrols, ecological corridor construction, community collaboration to build eco-friendly rice fields, and community-based nature education programs.

To date, a comprehensive grid-based survey of pangolins in the area has been completed, establishing an effective population monitoring and protection mechanism. By safeguarding the habitat of the Chinese pangolin, the initiative has extended an “ecosystem umbrella” to other wildlife and plant species distributed across the region.

Photo by Li Cheng