[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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