Rare crane a boost to Taiwan's troubled wetlands

[sue4e3]

But to conservationists, the crane is known as more than just a flash-in-the-pan media star. It is a godsend in their push for environmentally friendly farming as the island's birds suffer at the hands of development and pollution.
"When I work, the crane follows me around. It's like a friend to me. It's been helpful by eating a lot of apple snails (a pest) in the field."
As the crane helped rid them of pests, more farmers in the area agreed to go green to protect the bird's health, a boost for ecologists, who had until then been struggling to persuade them to stop using pesticides, rat poisons and herbicide.
Last year, pre-orders for "Jin Ho rice"—which combines Jinshan and the Chinese word for crane "Ho"—were sold out months before the harvest.
The eco-friendly farming area in Jinshan has now expanded from 3.5 to 10 hectares.


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-04-rare-crane-boost-taiwan-wetlands.html#jCp