Travis Winn leads the way on river conservation in China, ‘jumping back into the fire’ to save waterways and kick-start water sports
- A lifelong passion for white water has seen Winn become central to the conservation effort in China and he is effecting real change in policy
- He is now working with government officials to help establish the Three Rivers' Source National Park
There are few people who have served the cause of conserving China’s waterways more than Travis Winn. The white water rafting company owner is a reluctant businessman who spends most of his time working with the government preserving the rivers of Western China. His mission almost cost him his mental health but the cause is worth it.
Winn first came to China when he was sixteen with his geologist father who had done fieldwork on rivers in Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet.
The young Winn was captivated by his father’s stories about Western China but could not believe how few people there went out on the rivers. He decided to learn the language and settle in China.
“To operate in China, I had to register a company, but I had promised myself at college that I would never own a commercial company.”
Rivers in Western China were being dammed at an unprecedented rate. The American called his company Last Descents – every river descent in Western China could be the last one, but Winn is a realist. “Dams are needed in China, for energy and flood control, but how to make the damming process more effective and reduce the number of dams?”