THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2012 | 5THE GLOBAL EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES. . . .

THREE PARALLEL RIVERS OF YUNNAN | The Mekong, the Yangtze and the Salween

At the eastern end of the Himalayas, a vast protected area is a museum of biodiversity

S prawling across a huge expanse of YunnanProvince in southern China, the Three ParallelRivers of Yunnan Protected Areas make up one

of Unesco’s largest and most diverse World Heritagesites. Fifteen nature reserves and scenic areas com-prise the area, which embraces 17,000 square kilo-meters, or just over 6,500 square miles, of wildernessalong Yunnan’s border with Myanmar and Tibet.

The park takes its name from the three great Asianrivers — the Mekong, the Yangtze and the Salween —that have their headwaters in this region. For nearly 300kilometers (186 miles) they flow parallel to one anotherbefore curling off in diverse directions for their long jour-neys to the Indian and Pacific oceans. The IrrawaddyRiver is also born in these highlands and for a briefstretch runs alongside the other three.

Fed by the glaciers and snowfields of this extreme east-ern end of the Himalayas, these rivers and their tributariescut a sinuous path across the landscape, creating gorgesof up to 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) — twice as deep asArizona’s Grand Canyon and every bit as spectacular.

Three of the globe’s great geographical zonesconverge in these mountains and valleys — East Asia,Southeast Asia and the Tibetan Plateau — one of thefew places on earth where this remarkable overlaptakes place. As a result, the Three Parallel Rivers area isone of the most diverse places on the entire planet.

The montage of topography and climate nurtures anarray of life forms. Researchers estimate the area har-bors around a quarter of the world’s animal species, in-cluding a number of endangered creatures. Among itsmyriad mammal species are the clouded and snow leo-pard, the Asian black bear, the red or lesser panda, thecapped leaf monkey and the takin, a rare goat-antelopefound only in the eastern Himalayas.

Flora is equally profuse: more than 6,000 plant typesare known to exist within the site, around a tenth of themendemic to northwestern Yunnan. The vegetation zonesrange from alpine meadows and coniferous forests toarid savannah shrubland and deciduous woodland.

Like the local animals, many of the plants are rareand endangered. Of particular note are the Yunnan

yew tree and 20 other relict species that survived thePleistocene ice ages. The site also contains more than500 different medicinal plants and more than 200 spe-cies of timber trees.

The site is divided into eight geographical clusters orsubunits administered by a variety of national, provincialand local authorities who work in conjunction withUnesco and international conservation groups.

The best known of these is the Baima-Meili XueshanReserve in the far north, along the border with Tibet.More than 20 of the Xueshan, or ‘‘snow mountains,’’boast permanent snow cover, and six soar higher than6,000 meters. Towering above all is 6,740-meterKawagarbo, the highest mountain in Yunnan and a placefor pilgrimage for Tibetan Buddhists, for whom it is thehome of the eponymous warrior god.

The rambling Gaoligong Mountain National NatureReserve is the largest of the subunits and the most re-mote. The Nature Conservancy calls the park a ‘‘verit-able museum of biodiversity’’ because of its many plantand animal species. Around 85 percent of Gaoligong is

covered in forest, much of it old-growth woodland thathas never been logged. Strung out along the border withMyanmar, the reserve is also known for its volcanoes,hot springs and other geothermal features.

Many of the smaller subunits boast a particular geo-graphical or biological phenomenon. For instance, theendangered Yunnan snub-faced monkey is the focus ofYunlingshan Nature Reserve. Qianhushan (ThousandLake Mountain) Scenic Area in the province’s aptlynamed Shangri-La County protects a fragile highlandsaturated with countless alpine lakes.

Haba Xueshan Nature Reserve, easternmost of thesubunits, contains another lofty peak. But its mainclaim to fame is the fabulous Tiger Leaping Gorge, oneof the world’s deepest canyons. Churning against barestone over millions of years, the Yangtze River hasshaped a canyon with 2,000-meter walls that close towithin 25 meters at their narrowest point. The ferocityof the rapids makes the river unnavigable, but thegorge is a popular trekking spot.

J.R.Y.

About World HeritageThe aim of the World HeritageConvention, adopted by Unescomembers in 1972, is ‘‘to encouragethe identification, protection andpreservation of cultural and naturalheritage around the worldconsidered to be of outstandinguniversal value to humanity.’’

‘‘Tides of Time’’ is a partnershipamong Jaeger-LeCoultre, Unesco’sWorld Heritage Centre and theInternational Herald Tribune. Theseries presents some of the peoplewho are helping preserve marinesites on the World Heritage List.

To see videos about WorldHeritage marine sites, visit the ‘‘Tidesof Time’’ archive at whc.unesco.org/

The Yangtze River runsparallel to the Mekong and

Salween in the mountainousnorthwest of Yunnan Province.

From challenge to collaboration

PEOPLE OF YUNNAN | Indigenous culture

The diverse human element of this noteworthy biosystem

Marine World Heritage appThe World Heritage Center launchedan iPhone application in celebrationof World Oceans Day on June 8. Theapp features the 45 marine sites onthe World Heritage List, with videosof these exceptional places as wellas descriptive information aboutthem and about the decisions theWorld Heritage Centre has taken onthe status of their conservation.Of the 6,000 protected marineareas around the world, only 45are listed as World Heritage, thehighest internationally recognizedstatus for conservation. Go tohttp://tinyurl.com/whc-app todownload the free app from iTunes.

I n a nation with 1.3 billion people, it comesas no surprise that even wildernessareas are populated. Such is the case

with the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Pro-tected Areas in southern China, home tocountless plants and animals — andaround a quarter million human inhabitants.

‘‘Similar to many other countries in Asia,nature and culture are seen as inseparablein China,’’ declared the advisory body thatevaluated the site’s nomination for WorldHeritage status in 2003. ‘‘This is especiallythe case in the nominated area.’’ This re-mains the case a decade later. Even beforeWorld Heritage designation, conservation-ists realized they would need to partner withlocal residents in order to safeguard thearea’s natural wonders.

People have occupied northern YunnanProvince for thousands of years and are asmuch a part of the local fabric as the site’sabundant flora and fauna. Among them aremore than a dozen minorities, includingsome of China’s smallest ethnic groups.

With the Tibetan Plateau dominating thenorthern end of the region, ethnic Tibetansare one of the largest minority groups.Jagged, snow-capped Kawagarbo peak in

the Baima-Meili Xueshan reserve has longbeen sacred to Tibetan Buddhists. Around20,000 faithful each year make a pilgrim-age to the hulking mountain, considered tobe the home of the Tibetan warrior god ofthe same name.

Among the other minority peoples whodwell within the site boundaries are Lisu, Nu,Dulong, Bai, Pumi and Naxi. Time-honoredlifestyles endure among many of them —traditional clothing, housing and farmingmethods, as well as ancient rites and reli-gious practices.

‘‘The linkage of their rich cultures to theland is evident in many ways — throughtheir religion and their mythology, art, dance,music, poetry and songs,’’ the advisorybody’s evaluation stated. ‘‘The local statusof the Meili Snow Mountain as a sacredarea, off-limits to mountaineers, is one re-flection of their reverence for wild natureand the vigor of the local culture.’’

This organic blend of nature and human-ity is an integral part of the Three ParallelRivers site. The management plan for theWorld Heritage area urges governmentagencies responsible for the 15 areas thatmake up the site to create action plans to

preserve the cultures and traditions of theresident ethnic groups.

At the same time, residents are beingdrafted into efforts to preserve and protectthe site. Steep terrain and high altitudeseverely limit human activities in much of theprotected areas. Most people live in low-lyingareas that are easier to access and cultivate.But authorities estimate that some 36,000continue to inhabit core areas with outstand-ing geological or biological features.

As is the case with heritage areas andnational parks around the globe, some res-idents are being asked to relocate, espe-cially those living in high-altitude areas withvulnerable ecosystems. Even though mostresource use is sustainable at the presenttime, authorities are trying to stem forestry,grazing and other potentially harmful activi-ties in the core zones.

Despite its isolation and low population,the site still has its threats. Among the major

Tides of time: Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnanwas produced by the IHT Creative Solutionsdepartment and did not involve the newspaper’s reporting or editorial departments. It is the35th in a series on Unesco’s World Heritage marine sites. Text by CLAUDIA FLISI and JOSEPHR. YOGERST. For information on the IHT Creative Solutions program: www.nytimesglobal.com

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The Three Parallel Riversof Yunnan Protected Areasin southern China boast someof the world’s richest biodiversity

concerns are illegal logging, poaching of rareor endangered animals, overharvesting ofmedicinal plants, overgrazing and mining.And these perils will continue to evolve. ‘‘Thecurrent array of threats to biodiversity in theregion is changing rapidly due to dramaticsocioeconomic change in China during thepast two decades,’’ said the Critical Ecosys-tem Partnership Fund in its report on theThree Parallel Rivers region.

Tourism is undeveloped at the presenttime. While core areas will remain off-limitsto tourists to preserve these fragile habitats,outlying areas and buffer zones will continueto be developed for their tourism potentialwith the addition of more hotels, betterroads and activities like trekking, horsebackriding, caving and boat excursions.

Authorities would also like to tap thetourism potential of the region’s ethnic vil-lages, perhaps in a similar fashion to the hill-tribe areas of northern Thailand. J.R.Y.

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Jaeger had an innovative designfor ultrathin timepieces, but he didn’thave capability to produce them inhis workshop. So he challenged theSwiss watch industry in 1903 toproduce what he had designed.

Jacques-David LeCoultre, whohad taken over the businessfounded by his grandfather Antoinein 1833, immediately rose to thechallenge issued by Jaeger. The twomen met personally and signed anagreement that same year; togetherthey went on to create several ofthe thinnest minute repeaters,chronographs and doublecomplications ever produced.

Their greatest achievement inwatch thinness came in 1907 whenthey introduced the LeCoultre 145

Calibre. Only 1.38 millimeters thick— just over five-hundredths of aninch — it was the flattest mechanismof its time. This record-breakingchronometer remained in productionfor more than half a century (until the1960s) and some 400 copies wereultimately produced.

Current examples ofextraordinary watchmakingreconfirm this tradition of thinnessand advanced technology. TheCalibre Jaeger-LeCoultre 849measures a mere 1.85 millimetersin thickness, making it one of thethinnest watch movements in theworld. Its mechanical mechanism isassembled entirely by hand.

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