The Fanjingshan World Heritage Site is located in south-western China with an extent of 40,275 ha and a buffer zone with an extent of 37,239 ha. It has a monsoonal climate, which feeds 20 rivers and streams of the Wujiang and Yunjiang river systems, draining into the Yangtze River. The Jian Nan sub-tropical evergreen forests cover 64% of the eco-region, and the rest is covered by the Guizhou Plateau broadleaf and mixed forests. Fanjingshan is characterized by its highest peak, Mount Fenghuangshan, which has an elevation of 2570 m above sea level (masl). The property is situated above 2000 m. The distribution of the plant species is determined by the geologic and climatic conditions. There is a very high degree of endemism: 46 plant species are endemic to the property (including the endangered Fanjingshan fir, Abies fanjingshanensis), four endemic vertebrate species (including the endangered Guizhou snub-nosed monkey, Rhinopithecus brelichi) and 245 invertebrate species . Fagus species (F. longipetiolata, F. lucida and F. engleriana) are dominant, constituting the largest primary beech forest in the sub-tropical region. The current threats to the site are linked with the high levels of tourism, which may potentially cross the safety levels defined by the IUCN and cable car construction. The protection and management efforts closely monitor the numbers of visitors, who stay mostly within the permitted areas (2.1% of the site). The potential threats include climate change, which threatens the survival of species such as the Guizhou snub-nosed monkey, which is endemic to the site.
The Fanjingshan World Heritage Site is located at south-western China having an extent of 40,275 ha with a buffer zone of extent 37,239 ha. The climatic conditions are classified as a monsoonal climatic environment that is crucial for water sources, spawning 20 rivers and streams that eventually flow into the Yangtze River. The site is covered with a variety of forest types, including the Jian Nan subtropical evergreen forests, which cover 64% of the ecoregion, and the Guizhou Plateau broadleaf and mixed forests, which cover 36% of the ecoregion. Fanjingshan is distinguished by Mt Fenghuangshan's tallest summit, which rises 2,570 metres above sea level (masl), and the property is located at a height of more than 2,000 metres. The property is distinguished by vertical stratification of the vegetation, with three distinct elevations: evergreen broadleaf forest (less than 1300 masl), mixed evergreen and deciduous broadleaf forest (1300–2200 masl) and mixed evergreen deciduous broadleaf and conifer and scrub forest (>2200 masl). One of the prominent features of the site includes the presence of an island of metamorphic rock in a sea of karst, which hosts the ancient flora and fauna. Its origin is in the Tertiary period, between 65 million and 2 million years ago.
The distribution of the plant species is determined by the geologic and climatic conditions and greater emphasis laid on the presence of very high degree of endemism with 46 locally endemic plant species, 4 endemic vertebrate species coupled with 245 invertebrate species that included Fanjingshan Fir (Abies fanjingshanensis – EN) and Guizhou Snub-nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus brelichi – EN) with entirely restricted within the property. The pertinent species of Fagus present in large number is (F. longipetiolata, F. lucida, and F. engleriana) constituting the biggest primary beech forest in the sub-tropical region. There is an extremely high diversity of invertebrates (2317 species). The property has 450 vertebrates. It is the only place in the world in which the Fanjingshan fir and Guizhou snubnosed monkey are present. Sixty-four plant species and 38 animal species found in Fanjinghsan are threatened, including the tree Bretschneidera sinensis (EN), Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus – CR), forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii – EN), Reeves’s pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii – VU) and Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus – VU). For facilitating better protection and management, the site is divided into Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve, Yinjiang Yangxi Provincial Nature Reserve and National Non-commercial Forest. There is a clear demarcation of the boundaries and the buffer zone considering floristic elements of large size to include the home ranges of threatened species. The site is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and it is crucial to demarcate the boundaries of the property with its buffer zone for effective protection and management (UNESCO whc.unesco.org).
Fanjingshan is characterized by an exceptional richness in bryophytes, with 791 species, of which 74 are endemic to China. The property also has one of the richest concentrations of gymnosperms in the world, with 36 species. A significant number of endemic species are distributed inside the property, including 46 local endemic and 1,010 Chinese endemic plant species, as well as 4 locally endemic vertebrate species. The most notable of these is the endangered Guizhou Snub-nosed Monkey, which is found only in Fanjingshan and nowhere else in the world. Another prominent endemic species is Fanjingshan Fir, which is also restricted to this property. The property contains 64 plant and 38 animal species that are listed as Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (EN) or Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List, most notably Guizhou Snub-nosed Monkey, Chinese Giant Salamander, Forest Musk Deer, Reeves’s Pheasant, Asiatic Black Bear, and Bretschneidera sinensis.
The property contains 64 plant and 38 animal species that are listed as Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (EN) or Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List, most notably Guizhou Snub-nosed Monkey, Chinese Giant Salamander, Forest Musk Deer, Reeves’s Pheasant, Asiatic Black Bear, and Bretschneidera sinensis
The current concerns to the site are associated with high levels of tourist inflow. The protection and management activities closely monitor the visiting, which primarily resides inside the permitted areas. Cable cars have a high level of risk connected with their operation, which need careful supervision. In terms of the site's designation as a World Heritage site, the developing tourism infrastructure, increasing number of tourists, and failure to implement regulations constitute a significant threat.This suggests that access to the site must be restricted. As a result of the pandemic the tourism levels have reduced, but the future remains unclear. With the management efforts, poaching has been kept under control. Due to hunting in the previous years, the populations of many species have declined.
Tourism poses a potential threat. The high noise levels associated with visitors using the site found to hamper the ranging patterns of animals (Conservation and PHVA Workshop, 1999). At the local level, the government has relied on technical measures to reduce the cable car noise and on intensifying noise monitoring. All visitors are evacuated by 18:00 hours every day (IUCN World Heritage outlook 2020). Visitors can potentially transmit zoonoses to the monkeys. Inadvertent disturbance have harmful impacts on sensitive animals (IUCN World Heritage outlook 2020) The present management efforts are strictly regulating the tourism and are not allowing more than 8000 visitors per day within the “presentation area”, which amounts to only 2.1% of the site (World Heritage Nomination 2018; Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural development, 2016).
There is human-animal conflict in the buffer zone, where villagers are responsible for killing animals such as bears (IUCN World Heritage outlook 2020) and monkeys. Although, direct poaching of the snub-nosed monkey appears to have reduced, there has been indirect poaching (through snares set for other animals, including the muntjac and musk deer) until recently (World Heritage Nomination 2018). Increased poaching of species such as the leopard (Panthera pardus – VU) and clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa – VU) has reduced their numbers within the property. The potential threats include climate change, which will threaten the survival of species such as the Guizhou snub-nosed monkey, which is endemic to the site. It is highly vulnerable to extreme weather. Changes in the altitudinal patterns of the vegetation caused by climate change can have a huge impact on the health of the ecosystem and its values. The threats that industrial air pollution from areas close to the site are unknown. There may be transmission of diseases from aquaculture farms to wild populations of the giant salamander within the site (IUCN World Heritage outlook 2020).
The protection and management plan and the efforts associated with the same have remained efficient with respect to the Fanjingshan World Heritage site. The present plan for management is set to expire in 2020. Along with general changes associated with other protected areas in China, this can lead to a different approach towards the management. This may provide an opportunity to address issues linked to the site’s inscription in 2018, when IUCN declared that the management has not reached the level needed to meet the requirements of the Operational Guidelines (World Heritage Nomination 2018). The monitoring system uses the SMART system to efficiently and effectively manage the site within the new management plan. Although the numbers of visitors are restricted, the development of any further tourism infrastructure will be of concern (IUCN World Heritage outlook 2020). Although efficient measures are being taken, the management activities must ensure better protection in the future.
