Baimaxueshan ICDP
Yunnan's Deqin County lies between the Mekong and Yangtze rivers in the western part of the ecoregion. It is bordered by Sichuan province to the north and Tibet to the west. With elevations between 1500 and 5400 meters, the county is characterized by deep valleys and tall mountains, which have created extremely diverse climate, soil, and vegetation patterns, and unique and fragile ecosystems.
Baimaxueshan (literally, White Horse Snow Mountain) is one of over twenty 5000m plus peaks in the area, and gives its name to the nature reserve which today covers one-third of the county. It is believed that it was this region that inspired James Hilton's classic utopian narrative of Shangrila, The Lost Horizon. The upland temperate forests found here and elsewhere in southwest China are the most bio-diverse in the world, with thousands of endemic plant and animal species. But despite being amongst China's richest reserves in terms of biodiversity, it is one of the country's poorest areas.
Deqin county is sparsely populated, with just 7.75 people/sq km and Tibetans accounting for 80% of the total population of 58,168 people. Although no official statistics are available, it is almost certain that incomes have decreased here since the national ban on logging was imposed in 1998. As of 1997, 63% of the population were officially in poverty with an average per capita income of 607 RMB (US$75).
Environmental degradation is both a cause and a consequence of poverty in Deqin. In general, poverty tends to limit farmers' choices of viable economic alternatives, and this can lead them to use resources unsustainably. Food shortage is a serious problem for poor households in Deqin, and because they lack funds to invest in intensification, expansion of cropping area has historically been the preferred strategy. Opening up of new farmland on steep, forested slopes has destroyed forests and led to serious soil erosion and flooding. The dependence of the poor on fuelwood, both for energy and a source of income, is a factor in the degradation of forests near settlements. Finally, the damage caused by overgrazing is related to the fact that livestock provides the only source of meat and milk.
Since 1996, WWF China has been working with the Baimaxueshan Nature Reserve to support a wide range of conservation and development activities in the region aimed at improving the management of the reserve, reducing conflicts between the reserve and local communities, and improving the livelihoods of local people by enhancing their capacity for self-development and resource management.
Objectives
- To improve living standards among targeted poor households in Deqin County.
- To reduce degradation of forest and wildlife habitats in Baimaxueshan reserve and promote sustainable co-management of forest resources at local, county, provincial and national levels.
- To reduce social tension and prmote cooperation between reserve authorities and the local population.
Current status
WWF China has been working together with Baimaxueshan Nature Reserve since 1996, when we initiated field research and an awareness campaign to save the highly endangered Yunnan Snub-nosed Monkey.
CURRENT PROJECT ACTIVITIES:
1. Basic Livelihoods and Natural Resource Conservation
- Addressing food shortages: The primary problem in the villages around Baimaxueshan Nature Preserve is food shortage. Thus, the project for the pilot villages has emphasized the introduction and cultivation of new agricultural breeds that increase productivity and spur development in the community. The program organizes villagers to participate in training classes that educate them about new varieties of crops and provide them with new breeds of wheat, corn, virus free potato, chemical fertilizers and pesticides so they can begin their own trial plantings.
- Animal husbandry: Raising livestock is another mainstay of the local economy. 20% of villagers’ cash income comes from livestock production. However, because of the lack of outside technical services and education, the death rate of livestock is very high, so an important part of the program is to train village veterinarians and local villagers in better treatment methods effectively treat their livestock.
- Sustainable infrastructure management: Gaining access to basic technology and infrastructure is essential to the development of agriculture and animal husbandry. ICDP is helping local villagers create clean sources of water for human and animal consumption, construct drainage ditches and water tanks, and implement other practical measures that will enhance their knowledge and management abilities.
- Reducing consumption of fuel wood: The heavy use of fuel wood poses a major problem for the protection of the forests. ICDP helping to reduce wood consumption by introducing 1) more efficient wood burning iron stoves, 2) stoves to make animal feed that save wood 3) training on how to feed cattle raw grass in summer, and in winter training on using a fodder tank so that locals don’t need wood to cook food for cattle
2. Local Communities Participation in Natural Resources Management
- Incorporating traditional religion into conservation activities: Residents of pilot villages decided to implement new forest protection rules which ranged from ending the cutting of live trees for firewood to completely sealing off some mountain areas to allow for undisturbed reforestation. In order to make the latter measure more effective, ICDP has supported local communities in their efforts to invite high-ranking Tibetan monks, called “Living Buddha,” to bless the mountain closings.
- Reforestation: The project supported the reforestation activities at Tongduishui village and Kangsa village by providing the suitable seedlings for high altitude planting and organizing related training.
- Helping local communities develop and improve local regulations: ICDP supports community formulation and improvement of local regulations by helping villagers to attain higher standards in protecting surrounding forests and wildlife, grazing, and compliance. In addition, the project is helping villagers implement an enforcement system, such as forest patrols.
- Sustainable management of Matsutake mushrooms: After the logging ban in 1998, about ninety-five percent of villagers in the area were left to rely on non-timber forest products for their income. 80% of their cash income was completely dependent on the collection and sale of Matsutake. In order to maximize their profits, villagers often over-collected or used harmful collection methods. The ICDP project organized villagers to discuss ways to sustainably manage Matsutake and to teach villagers effective management methods for the sustainable use of Matsutake
3. Other Community Development Activities
- Improving sanitary conditions: ICDP supports programs that provide health training and physical exams with the hope of raising women’s medical knowledge and health standards, and by extension, that of their community.
- Modifying slopes into terraces: Most of the pilot villages have little arable land and are mostly situated on mountain slopes, making it difficult to store water and fertilizer. Thus, the project aims to help improve current agricultural land by supplying villagers with tools to modify slopes into terraces
- Improving educational activities in village elementary schools: The villagers are willing to use their modified land to serve as nurseries for young plants. They will help the school cultivate young trees which the teacher and students are then responsible for maintaining and protecting. In the future, the nurseries can be used to support tree planting objectives and the income from them can be used to help fund students’ school fees.
ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE:
The ICDP project has demonstration activities in 36 villages, with a total population of around 3500. Local villagers’ progression from their initial status as mere observers to their current participation in self-initiated activities has made a tremendous positive impact, with
- Livelihood levels improved
- Forest quality and quantity improved
- Local governance strengthened
- Resource management capacity improved
- Positive impact on other communities
In the pilot site, no illegal cutting and hunting has occurred since the project began. Finally, feedback from government is very positive, with local government now taking on the responsibility of disseminating the project experiences to other areas.
1. Basic Livelihoods and Natural Resource Conservation
- Addressing food shortages:
Output from farmland has increased 50%-150%: wheat output has increased from 200 kg to 300 kg/mu, maize from 300kg to 400 kg/mu, and potato from 750kg/mu to 1500 kg/mu; the cash income per household has increased 30%; in 5 villages, 800 people have been able to gradually solve food shortage problems
Animal husbandry:
Five villages, with a total population of 600 people, have received vetinary training, resulting in a reduction of losses due to cattle disease.
- Sustainable infrastructure management:
Eight water tanks have been built, solving the water shortage for 250 people and 500 cattle. In addition, because women no longer have to carry water, they have been able to save 1 day’s labor for every 3 days labor. This has also positively affected women’s health.
Four km of irrigation channels have been built, solving the water shortage for 300 mu of farmland
- Reducing consumption of fuel wood:
Due to ICDP’s fuel wood saving measures, two days of labor for every five days has been saved. Women (who traditionally are responsible for collecting fuel wood) now use the extra time on other family development activities.
The rate and risk of women to develop cataracts (eye diseases) has decreased because of fuel wood saving stoves.
640 cubic meters of fuelwood are being saved each year through efficient wood burning stoves and training on new methods for animal feed
Every three years, 1000 cubic meters of timber are being saved from use as an irrigation channel and water pipes
2. Local Communities Participation in Natural Resources Management
- Incorporating traditional religion into conservation activities:
Five forest mountains closed as “sacred mountains,” with 2000ha of forest protected
300 mu of trees have been planted and are being well-managed, restoring a previous logging site
50 mu of pine trees planted
800 multi-function trees planted
- Helping local communities develop and improve local regulations:
Around 7000 ha of community forest is currently well-managed by local communities with regular patrolling taking place
Five villages conducting forest monitoring patrols and data on wildlife being collected
530 people trained on farmland technical skills, forest maintainance, and patrolling
Other villages are learning from the ICDP project, and reviewing and improving their local regulations on resource management
Local communities are organizing themselves on community forest patrolling
- Sustainable management of Matsutake mushrooms:
On average, income of local people has increased by 40-50% through to the implementation of sustainable Matsutake management methods. For example, in previous years, the Gerong family might have collected 30 kg of Matsutake and had an income of about 2000 RMB. Now, they are able to collect 50-60 kg and have an income of about 5000-6000 RMB, an increase of 150-200%, although they still remain only average in the region.
60km sq of Matsutake forest is being managed sustainably. Presently, thirty villages have joined the movement for the sustainable management of Matsutake. In four regions with the sustainable management program, five regular Matsutake markets have been established.
3. Other Community Development Activities
- Improving sanitary conditions:
30 sanitary toilets built
170 women and children have received medical check-ups
- Modifying slopes into terraces:
20 mu of sloped land has been converted to terraced land for agriculture
- Improving educational activities in village elementary schools:
Three primary schools (34 students) are being taught environmental education
Partners
Office of Nature Reserve of Yunnan Forestry Department
Deqin County Government
Baimaxueshan Nature Reserve Bureau
Forestry Bureau of Diqing Prefecture
Donors
WWF Australia
WWF US
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