Relict Gulls pairing up ahead of the breeding season, Hangu, Tianjin. (Photo byBirdingbeijing.com.)

The world’s only natural reserve for relict gulls has lost its ecological function as a habitatfor the endangered species. The reserve’s devastation has spurred finger-pointing amonglocal authorities, with some attributing the loss to “natural disaster.”

Established as a sanctuary for the relict gulls in 1998 and upgraded to a national reserve in2001, the Ordos Relict Gull Reserve (ORGR) in Inner Mongolia is one of 49 internationallyrecognized wetland reserves in China. Since 2000, the rare birds have been classified as“vulnerable” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List ofThreatened Species. Over 60 percent of the worldwide relict gull population used to breedin Ordos.

On Nov. 12, the Ministry of Environmental Protection released an inspection reportcriticizing the devastation of ORGR and announcing that the reserve “has lost its ecologicalfunction as a national natural reserve.” No trace of relict gulls was found in the region in2016.

In response to the devastation, local authorities blamed the loss of ORGR on reducedprecipitation.

“The region is an arid area. Without enough rainfall, the wetland here would surely dry up.The management of ORGR mainly relies on rainfall,” Miao Li, vice director of the localforestry bureau, told the Beijing News.

Miao’s claim was denounced by many experts and volunteers, who believe that theconstruction of dams and other human disturbance to the bird’s breeding grounds areresponsible for the regional extinction of relict gulls.

According to the Beijing Times, the local government has launched several massiveconstruction projects in the region since 2004. Even though the Conservation Regulation ofWetlands in Inner Mongolia stipulates that such projects should only be approved ifintended to provide emergency rescue or disaster relief, many dams were neverthelessbuilt, reducing 1.5 million cubic meters of local surface run-off.

“We have drawn a conclusion about the reserve’s devastation. It doesn’t have much to dowith the change in rainfall, but more with the construction of the dams,” Lou Huajun, aresearch fellow with the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Nature Resources Research,told the Beijing Times.

“Due to a lack of communication and coordination, local government sectors only careabout their own business, making it impossible to solve the dam problem,”said XingXiaojun, director of ORGR.

In addition to the construction of dams, excessive ecotourism has also disrupted thebreeding of the rare birds. In 2002, Shizhen Garden, an ecotourism resort, was establishednear ORGR. The resort installed a network of Mongolian yurts on the reserve toaccommodate hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops.

He Fenqi, a research fellow on relict gulls protection, told the Beijing Times that at least1,000 relict gulls had abandoned their nests due to human disturbance in 2004.

“Though we were strongly against the establishment of the resort, local authorities insistedon building it … We have no authority over the management of the resort, and ourcomplaints went unheard,” Xing said.

Due to the declining population of relict gulls in the reserve, local ecotourism has also takena beating. The resort was closed in 2006, before the birds had fully abandoned the area.

“The reserve might have been saved 10 years ago, but now it’s gone,” said He.