[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 17 (Thursday, February 24, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: February 24, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, over the years I have had a chance to meet
an extraordinary conservationist and ornithologist, Dr. Liao Weiping.
Dr. Liao is a Chinese professor from the Guangdong Institute of
Entomology, but he is also a man who has worked extremely hard to
improve and maintain the environmental balance of Guana Island in the
British Virgin Islands. He has done this under the sponsorship of Henry
and Gloria Jarecki, the owners of that island and dedicated
environmentalists.
In talking with Dr. Liao you can easily see his dedication to his
family and to the environment and to the opportunities people should
have to achieve a full life based on their work.
I ask to have the enclosed article from the July 1993 issue of the
Welcome printed in the Record at this point.
There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Making a Difference
Why is a wiry 61-year-old ornithologist from China planting
hundreds of trees on Guana Island?
Professor Liao wants to make a difference to the ecology of
both the British Virgin islands and Hainan, his native
province. They share the same latitude and the same problem:
erosion.
What can be achieved on Guana Island applies equally to all
other islands in the B.V.I., but Guana, being a nature
preserve of 850 acres, rich in fauna but with few human
inhabitants, is the ideal place for scientific study.
Here Liao, a professor at both Guangdong Institute of
Entomology and the South China Institute of Endangered
Animals, is working to improve the ecosystem. Shaded by his
red and white baseball cap, he propagates and transplants
seedlings. At the same time he makes tidy notes in Chinese
and in English which he taught himself in his forties. (He
also speaks five Chinese dialects.)
Sponsored by Dr. Henry Jarecki the island's owner, Liao
stays on Guana up to eight months at a time; 1994, will mark
his fifth visit.
Every October, scientists from the Conservation Agency
based in Rhode Island and others from all over the world
descend on Guana. Dr. Jarecki, a conservationist, bought the
island which contained a small hotel in 1974; he maintained
the hotel, but also established a nature preserve. Sponsored
by Dr. Jarecki, scientists from the Conservation Agency
catch, mark and track animals; study flora; take inventory
and discuss how best to make beneficial changes. They have
reintroduced the flamingo to both Anegada and Guana Island
and are working on ways to protect the endangered Anegada
rock iguana (Iguana pinguis) through introducing it to Guana
as well as through conservation efforts on Anegada.
Liao's contribution includes a comprehensive plan to
increase bird and plant life. He explained that if the tall
shade trees which used to grow on Guana Island could be
restored, their roots would hold water, improving the soil.
Further, if other trees and shrubs could be established which
provide nesting sites as well as fruits and berries for birds
throughout the year, birds such as the red-necked pigeon
could be brought back to the island in good numbers.
These birds eat and disperse seeds of some of the best
shade trees. Simply put, the birds need the trees and in
order to increase, the trees need the birds. The shade and
improved soil which result from more trees and more birds
eventually lower the temperature slightly and produce more
rainfall strictly locally--that is only in places which are
shadier.
And what will happen if this plan is not carried out?
Essentially, the opposite. Soil will erode further and
rainfall will decline, making it harder to grow anything.
Trees which die will be replaced by scrub. Finally cactus
will replace scrub and topsoil will be lost. Such an
occurrence would obviously be detrimental to the B.V.I.
Although most people are aware of the importance of
preserving the marine ecosystem, not everybody recognizes the
need to protect the land. To Liao it's a burning issue.
An example of what one person can do: in 1992 he wrote a
proposal to create protected areas throughout Guangdong
Province in China. After obtaining signatures from 107 other
noted scientists, he presented the proposal to the
government, which has just passed it into law.
How fortunate that the man whose goal is to make a
difference has adopted the B.V.I. as his second home.
Chinese Scientist Studies BVI's Birds, Climate
(By Chris Bergeron)
A Chinese scientist, studying ecology on Guana Island,
feels that environmental planning based on the beneficial
relationship between native birds and forestation could
reverse local climatic changes that may be reducing the BVI's
rainfall and vegetation.
Prof. Liao Wei-ping, of the South China Institute of
Endangered Animals, believes that changes in the territory's
bird and tree population directly influence local weather
patterns. The replacement of tropical forests by smaller
scrub vegetation initiated a gradual chain reaction over the
last several decades, raising the territory's temperature and
causing a consequent decline in rainfall, he said.
Former agricultural practices, like plantation farming and
the free grazing of animals, as well as excessive burning of
timber for charcoal, also significantly depleted local
vegetation and forests, according to Prof. Liao.
Some local birds, like the red-necked pigeon, stimulate
positive growth patterns by eating and passing seeds of
certain trees, which are instrumental in providing shade, a
cooler climate and, ultimately, increased rain.
Prof. Liao, 59, is in the midst of his fourth extended
visit to Guana Island. He is sponsored by Dr. Henry Jarecki
of New York, the island's owner.
Dr. Jarecki sponsors The Conservation Agency, an
organization that supports environmental studies by noted
international scientists. He met Prof. Liao through the
Agency's founder, Dr. James Lazell, presently affiliated with
Harvard University, who met Prof. Liao in China in 1983.
Prof. Liao's experience in Chinese ornithology gives his
work particular relevance for ecological studies in the BVI.
Prof. Liao is a native of Hainan Island, in the South China
Sea, which is on precisely the same latitude as the BVI.
Key human choices
The similarities in climate and flora and fauna between
Hainan and Guana Island provide Prof. Liao with a basis for
his comparative studies, which focus on the inter-
relationship between birds, vegetation and climate.
``I want to make a special contribution to both the BVI and
my motherland through this research that Dr. Jarecki has
sponsored,'' said Prof. Liao, a trim, nimble man with bright
brown eyes.
``I believe that humans can institute policies to restore
the environment and provide long-term benefits.
``Scientific research can identify critical choices. But
humans are the key. They must be willing to support policies
that will finally benefit their home, their children, their
future.''
Prof. Liao said that discussions with local farmers,
several in their 70s, indicate that the territory's annual
rainfall has been declining, raising temperatures and making
agriculture more difficult.
``If rainfall declines, inevitably ecological quality will
deteriorate. As scrub, which requires less rainfall, replaces
the tropical trees still found on Sage Mountain, topsoil is
lost.
``Cactus will replace scrub. The island will become hotter
and the whole negative cycle starts again. Only thoughtful
implementation can reverse these troubling tendencies,''
Prof. Liao said.
He cited the relationship between pearl-eyed thrashers,
which prey on red-necked pigeons, as an example of the bird
population's impact on vegetation and climate. Cycles within
cycles.
Red-necked pigeons eat, partially digest and scatter
the seeds of the tall trees where they nest, stimulating
tree growth, which cools the local climate, encouraging
further rainfall and growth.
Yet pearl-eyed thrashers, which nest in scrub brush, feed
on pigeon eggs and kill the young, lowering the pigeon
population, reducing seed dispersal, leading to the
replacement of tropical forests by scrub vegetation. This
heightens temperatures, further reducing rainfall.
Prof. Liao suggests that reforestation would initiate a
chain reaction that would gradually increase the bird
population and vegetation, ultimately prompting beneficial
climatic changes within the territory.
Futher research is required before he can recommend
specific trees to plant.
He spends his days scrambling through trails, making
meticulous notes in English and Chinese and collecting
samples to chronicle the natural struggles that make Guana
Island a labouratory that may provide a key to the BVI's
environmental future. ``Safeguard for peace.''
Prof. Liao rose from abject poverty to become one of
Guanadong province's most renowned ornithologists at a time
when China was convulsed by invasion, civil war and
revolution.
He received no formal schooling until age 13, later
attending middle school by day while labouring long into the
night. After years of struggle, he was elected president of
the student union, earning a scholarship to one of China's
most prestigious universities.
Following World War Two, Prof. Liao changed his personal
name to Wei-ping, which means ``safeguard for peace.''
After learning Russian as a young man, he taught himself
English in his forties by studying a dictionary and a grammar
text.
While studying under Dr. Jarecki's sponsorship, Prof. Liao
presented scholarly papers at ornithological conferences in
the U.S. and Canada.
In 1986 he had an audience with then BVI Governor David
Barwick and gave him a copy of his book.
``China is my true motherland, but I love the BVI as my
adopted home'' said Prof. Liao recently.
``It is important for people to consider the future, the
next 50 or 100 years. Not just the short view.
``Taking protective measures for the long view will help
everything--the economy, the environment, peoples' lives,''
he said.
``Maybe man can't control nature, but he can do his share.
He must.''
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