CHINA REVIEW
I S S U E1 2
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SPRING1999
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ENVIRONMENT
E,NVIRONME,NTAL
DE,GRADATION IN SOUTH\TE,ST CHINA JoHNSruorpy
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Ird *;t Deforestation in Central Ganzi Prefecture
The People'sRepublic of China is rich in cultural and natural diversity with over 50 ethnic groups and is listed by 'megadiversity' biologistsas a country. In terms of biodiversityit comprises more than 30,000 speciesof higher plants and 2,100 terrestrialvertebrates. Severalhundred speciesareendemicto China, the most famous being the giant panda, the lesserpanda and the Yangtzecrocodile. Much of this variety is found in an area of southwest China, where in a few locations the untouched
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ecosystems are among the most diverse living assemblies in Asia. Since 1950 the forestshave been indiscriminately felled reducing forest cover from 30olo t o l 3 o / o .T h i s h a s t h r e a t e n e db i o diversity, causing drastic declinesof mammal and bird counrs, recurrenr flooding and erosion, and recurrent s n o w d i s a s t e r s .T h e s e n o t o n l y threaten global climate, but also undermine the livelihood of the local people.China is the nation with the longestcontinuous culture on earth, a n d f r o m t h e e a r l i e s tt i m e s ( T h e ShangDynasry1766-1122BC) there
is evidenceof both a conservation e t h i c a n d a n u n d e r s t a n d i n go f environmental processes.Environm e n t a l c o n s c i o u s n e s su s e d t o b e reinforcednot only by rulers but through Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism but it appearsto have been retained mostly as an ideal which was gradually supersededby modernity. A l t h o u g h t h e r e c o r d e dh i s t o r y o f southwestChina is not as old as Han China there is evidencethat the people havelived sustainablywith their fragile world for 2,000 years,and still today exhibit a conservationethic deeply
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e m b e d d e di n t h e i r a n i m i s t i c a n d Buddhist traditions and supported by historic governmentdecree.Moderniry rather than enhancingthe well-being of the peoplesof southwestChina is seemingly destroying their environment, their kinship patterns,social c o h e s i o n ,i n d i g e n o u ec u l t u r e a n d robbing them of their meansof life. Last year China announcedvery ambitiousplansfor forestconservation and the provision of funding to redeploy loggersas tree planters. It has however taken the very seriousfloods that occurredin China last summer for both the State and local government to introduce desperatemeasures, i n a n a t t e m p t t o a m e l i o r a t et h e problem. It was not until l7 August t h a t t h e a u t h o r i t i e sa d m i t t e d t h a t some of the flooding was due to deforestationin the upper reachesof the Yangtzefuver. fu a result, a complete felling ban was introduced in western Sichuan, plans for log channelsat Ertan hydroelectricpower station were suspended,and US$52 m i l l i o n a y e a r w a s r e l e a s e dt o r e deploy loggersin reforestation.In order to facilitacereforesrarion, it was announcedthat 9 million hectaresof grazingland would be closed.Similar measureswere institured along the upper reachesof the Yellow River and in Yunnan Province and Tibet AutonomousRegion. Although thesemeasuresare generally welcome there are alreadysigns that the logging bans are being flouted, and officialswho questionif funding f o r c o n s e r v a t i o ni s a s u s r a i n a b l e income stream.Concernshavebeen expressed about the impacrof the ban and pastureclosureon rhe one million Tibetans who are dependent on the logging industry and there is concern that most of the funds for replanting will go to Han Chinese forestry workers, which may heighten ethnic tension. 'We
cannot turn the clock back, and whether we like it or not, moderniry has impacted southwest China's
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Deforestation in Central Ganzi Prefecture
mountain peoples.There are lessons we can all learn from China's disastrousfloods, about our view of the natural world and our paradigms of resourcemanagement.If some of the measuresChina has introduced result in new perceptionsof the forest as a multifunctional resource,sustainable eco-forestry management systems,the empowermentof local people as forest stewards,fairer access to fesourcesand forest systemsthat e n h a n c el o c a l w e l l - b e i n g a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , i t w i l l r e p r e s e n ta turning point. Southwest China SouthwestChina is deeply dissected by four of Asia's largest rivers (Bramaputra,Salween,Mekong and Yangtze), that flow in a southeast coursethrough deep limestoneand sandstonegorges.Elevation ranges from 2,000m to more than 7,000m and the areais dominatedin the east by Minyak Gangkar (7,590m). The steep slopesare mostly coveredby coniferousforest,and the regioncontains China's largestforest resource, Nowadaysthis vast region, known to r h e i n d i g e n o u sT i b e t a n p e o p l e a s Kham is divided for political and historical reasonsbetween four Chineseprovincesand comprises47 c o u n t i e s .T h e r e g i o n w a s c h a r a c terised by its very rich biodiversity. There are still believed to be over 1,500 speciesof higher plant, more
than 90 mammal species,more than 350 bird species,and more than 25 r e p t i l e a n d a m p h i b i a n s p e c i e sO . f n o t e a r e 5 2 c o n i f e r s p e c i e s ,1 0 pheasantspeciesand 330 mushroom species. Deforestation The forestsof southwestChina, were among the most extensiveareasof forest cover in the whole of China, and include the forests of southeast T i b e t , w e s t e r nS i c h u a n ,n o r t h e r n Yunnan, southwest Gansu, and southeastQinghai. Since 1950, when 'second they were designatedChina's timber production base'and macroscaletimber production enterprises were established,all these areashave experiencedindiscriminate felling. The destruction was caused by 'planned' commercial timber extraction, and not through population pressure.The forests of southwest C h i n a h a v e s e e m i n g l yn e v e r b e e n managedon a sustainablebasis,and most of them lack a managementplan or any form of monitoring. Timber is not only required for China's booming economy,but it is often the most important sourceof cashrevenue for local administrations,enabling them to fund education, health and infrastructure. State forest enterprises are required to sell a minimum timber quota, which is often as much as three times the sustainableyield, at a price that is often below production costs.
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Biodiversity threatened At the national policy level China has a solid record in the areaof biodiversity conservation,and was one of the first countries to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity and to develop an Agenda 2I portfolio. However policy has made very little difference to the peoples of southwest China, where many of the reseryeslack stafi, funds, infrastructure or a managementplan. The international conservationcommunity has focusedon the pandaat the expenseof other endangeredspecies.
To compensatefor this they sell even more timber on the free market and in some areasannual felling is four times more than the sustainableyield. As a result forest cover in Tibet has fallen f r o * 9 7 0 ' ( 1 9 5 0 )t o 5 o / o( 1 9 s 5 ) , i n Yunnan ftom 55o/o(1950s) to 30o/o (1975) and in Sichuan from 30o/o (1950)to 6.50/o(1998), Some of the most disquieting reports on deforestation come from Sichuan and Yunnan. Although deforestation began in the early 1950s rapid accelerationdid not begin until the 1960s.In theory the 104 stateforest areasshould only fell 760,000 cubic metres a year on a sustainablebasis, but they have exceeded2 million cubic metres year-on-year.Logging, clearing of forest for cultivation, expansionof pasturesand forest fires have so seriouslyupset the ecosystem in the mountainous prefecturesof western Sichuan that environmentalists fear that the Yangtze, whose tributaries drain the prefectures, will become as bad as the Yellow River. Of the provinces' 139 counties only 12 now have forest covering more than 30o/oof the land, 22 have between 20o/oand 30%o,but 91 have less than l0o/o, and 14 counties have lessthan lol0. Yunnan still ranks fourth in China in terms of total timber resources,but in relative terms the province'sdeforestationhas been even more extensivethan in Sichuan, and its loss of forest land appears to be by far the worst in China. In the early 1950sabout 55olo ofYunnan was coveredby forests,but by 1975 it had dropped to 30oloand annual wood consumption was double the growth rate. To make matters worse large-scaleclear felling is widely practised,tree planting to tree felling ratios are very low (1:10), tree seedlingsurvival ratesof lessthan 30o/oare common, less than 40o/oof woody biomass is utilized and only a.bout 7o/oof milling wastes are u t i l i z e d . F o u r d e c a d e so f f o r e s t destruction have threatened the region'sbiodiversiry environment and climate.
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Although the biodiversityof southwest C h i n a i s s t i l l c o n s i d e r a b l e ,d e forestationis doing away either singly or in concertwith much of the natural foundation requisitefor such diversiry. The most dominant tree speciesin the t e m p e r a t ea n d s u b a l p i n e z o n e o f southwestChina include Picea,Pinus, Abies, Tiuga, Quercus,Juiperus, and Larix and at lower level Fagaceae, Lauraceae,Araliaceae,Manoliaceaeand many speciesof bamboo. Deforestationis posing a threat to t h e d o m i n a n t f o r e s t s p e c i e s ,a n d especiallyto a number of very rare gymnosperms (e.g. Metasequoiag$ptostroboides). A great deal of information existson extinct or endangered birds and mammals in China. Many ofthe endangeredspeciesare found in southwestChina and include 18 mammal and 23 bird species.\fhere forestshave been indiscriminately cut
this has resultedin large declinesin mammal and bird counts. The reduction in predators,has resultedin a massiveinfestation of rodents and s m a l l m a m m a l s i n m a n y a r e a so f s o u t h w e s tC h i n a r e s u l t i n g i n t h e degradationof over 8 million hectares ofpasture and extensiveareasof'black sands'whereno grazingcan occur. Environmental and climatic change Deforestation is not only responsible for very high rates of evapotranspiration and albedo (heat and light reflection), but also a reduction in water retaining capacity that has resulted in extremesof water run-off. These extremeshave seemingly led either to drought and desertification or erosion, debris flow and floods. Increasedalbedohas been linked with the exacerbationof snow disastersand increasederosion and floods have led to degraded hydroelectric and irrig a t i o n s y s t e m s ,l o s s o f l i f e a n d damage. The 1996 and 1998 snow disasters Snow disastersin southwestChina are occurring with greater frequencn length and severity and are being linked with global climate change, local deforestationand overgrazing. T h e t w o m o s t r e c e n t d i s a s t e r si n 199516 and 199718resultedin the death of many nomads and hundreds of yaks. The loss of tree and grass c o v e r a p p e a r sn o t o n l y t o r e d u c e
Stuck in snow in Mongay, neu Shiqu Town
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uanspiration, and sround inf-iltration, but also to allou' increased run-off, erosion and albedo. Trees and grass absorb heat and lighr. reducing albedo and regulating climare. The loss of tree a n d g r a s s c o v e r i n c r e a s e sa l b e d o resulting in extremes in climate in general and colder and lonqer periods of snow in particular. The tradirional way of life of souths'rsr China's nomadic pastoralistsis alreadv under threat from moderniserion. sedentarisation and the markct economv, and recurrent snos'disasters Jppear ro threaten their ven' existencc. The 1998 floods Last summer, China experienced severe floods effecting manv oi .{.sia's largest rivers. The Yangrze River experienced the worst f-looding since 1954, claimins more than 3,650 lives and causing more rhan US$30 billion in damage. Although mosr of rhe flooding occurred in the Chinese lowlands it also occurred on rhe Tibetan plateau. In Tibet AR, the Yarlung Tsangpo (Bramaputra), the Kyi-chu and other rivers rose to record levelsresulting in the loss ofat least 53 people and 4,000 head of livestock
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(mostly yak). More than 40 counties were affected and most of Tibet's roads were damaged. Flood frequency has been increasing in both Tibet and southwest China. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) the Yangtze flooded every decade and between 192l-1949 the frequency rose to once every six years. In the 1980s the frequency rose to a large flood every two years. Now the situation is much worse with floods in 1994, 1995, 1996 and last year. Although some have blamed the weather (el nifio and [a nifia) and heavy snow melr, most have blamed heavy agriculrure, intense logging and rvater conservancy projects. All these facrors have raised the riverbed. f-illedit with silt and made it nearlv impossible to control. This has forced the authorities to c o n s i d e r d r a s t i c m e a s u r e sa n d h a s p r o m p t e d a n i n c r e a s ei n e n v i r o n mental activism. Felling bans The Chinese
governmenr first officially recognized the link between deforestation and environmental destruction after the floods of 1981 a n d 1 9 8 3 , a n d m e a s u r es w e r e
implementedin some areas.Chinese forest researchers have for many years been developing pragmatic ecofriendly silvicultural and harvesting guidelinesfor southwestChina's mountain forests.All thesemeasures, however well intentioned, have rarely been translatedinto bestpracticeon the ground. Best practicehas always 'socialist h a d t o c o m p e r ew i t h t h e market forces'.After nearly four decadesof timber mining, the floods haveled governmentto considermore c l o s e l yb o t h l o g g i n g p r a c t i c e sa n d r e f o r e s t a t i o ni n t h e h e a d w a t e r so f many of Asia's largestrivers. In mid August the State Council admitted that the YangtzeRiver flooding was relatedto soil erosionin the upper reachesand it urged all governments to protect their forests.Sichuan provincial governmentrespondedby introducing a felling ban from I September1998 in an areaof western Sichuan, the Chuanxi ForestArea, comprising4.5 million hectaresin 54 counties.The governmentalso closed 9 million hectaresof grazingland to facilitate reforestationand abandoned plans for log float channelsat the Ertan power station. In late August the
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StateCouncil further urged 5l key f o r e s t r y e n t e r p r i s e si n t h e u p p e r Yangrze and Yellow River to stop logging and the State Forestry Administration stated that no single natural tree should be felled in the upper Yangtze.ln early September Yunnan Province announced a felling b a n a l o n g i t s s e c t i o no f t h e u p p e r Yangtzeand in DecemberTibet Auronomous Region orderedall lumber processingmills in southeasrTiber (Chamdo and Nyangtri prefectures)to ceaseoperations. Reforestation and forest conservation Even before the recent floods plans were afoot for a raft of forestry measuresthat included cuts in logging quotas,felling bans,a very large forest conservationproject and an emphasis on afforestation,forest protection and f o r e s tt o u r i s m . I n 1 9 9 7 t h e S r a t e announceda felling ban in its narural forestsfrom I July 1998 (including the upper Yangtzeand Yellow Rivers) and agreedto provideUS$2.3 billion in loansor credit to allow forest workers to move from logging to planting. Sichuanagreedto focus on tree planting rather than logging, and is expectedto receiveUS$722 million to support a forest conservation programme.After the floods the State C o u n c i l , P r e m i e rZ h u R o n g j i a n d l o c a l g o v e r n m e n te n c o u r a g e dt r e e p l a n t i n g , f o r e s t c o n s e r v a t i o na n d foresttourism,ratherthan felling,and e n c o u r a g e dt h e u s e o f t h e U S $ 2 . 3 billion loan to turn loggersinto tree planters. Environmental activism Environmentalactivismis a relatively new phenomenonin China and has only begun to surfacein southwest China in the iast five years.In late 1 9 9 5 t h e g o v e r n m e n to f Y u n n a n p l a n n e dt o l o g 1 0 0 s q u a r em i l e s o f virgin forest in Dechen Tibetan AutonomousPrefecture(TAP), one of t h e l a s t r e f u g e so f t h e e n d a n g e r e d golden monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellanae).China's fi.rst officially recognized environmentalorganisation
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'Friends of Nature' (FON), the well known environmental writer Tang Xiyang and others teamed up to o r g a n i s ea c a m p a i g n r o s a v e t h e monkeys. FON founder, Liang Congjeled a lerter-writingcampaign and mobilized the media to draw attention to the situation. tVhen county officials protestedthat logging w a s a k e y s o u r c e o f r e v e n u e ,t h e central government intervened. O f f i c i a l s a g r e e dt o h a l t l o g g i n g i f conservationists could find alternative i n c o m e s t r e a m s .E c o - t o u r i s m ,s u s t a i n a b l eh a r v e s t i n ga n d m u s h r o o m s a l e sh a v e b e e n s u g g e s t e dM . ore recentlyFON has lobbied furiously insideChina to raiseawareness of such
Chinese Central TV crew to film the widespreadlogging going on in Mewa County (Ngawa TAP), despite the governmentban. Tibetans, however, have not been encouragedto speakso freely about damage ro their environment causedby mining. tVhen for example Kabukye Rinpoche, e x p r e s s e dc o n c e r n a b o u t e n v i r o n mentaldamagecausedby gold mining n e a r t h e N a b z u r m o n a s t e r y( S e r t a County, Kandze Prefecture)he was imprisonedfor six yearsand accused 'counter-revolutionary-splittism'. of The Rinpoche(ReincarnateLama) was very well respected and his i m p r i s o n m e n t c a u s e dw i d e s p r e a d angeramong Tiberans.
Deforestation in Central Ganzi Prefecture
The impact of the new measures
issuesas re-afforestation and the plight of the endangered Tibetan antelope. In a letter received by the Neu' York based group, Human Rights for
There is no question that desperate m e a s u r e sa r e r e q u i r e d , i n c l u d i n g
China, over 300 environmental activists and respected scholars from l9 provinces claimed that the floods
sustainable forest management, bur there are those who question the wisdom of a felling ban in isolation
were caused by poor environmental management in the Yangtze river basin, and they were critical of the
from other measures. There were initial concerns that the logging crews in western Sichuan would simply move across the Yangtze and destroy the forests of western Kham (eastern
government for using the disaster as a means of gaining publicity for the role of the military. In September a m e m b er o f F O N a c c o m o a n i e d a
Tibet AR), China's largest remaining old-growth forest, as they had done
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before from Yunnan. However on 9 December 1998 the Tibetan government ordered the shutdown of all lumber processingmills in southeast Tibet and announced that former loggers would be re-emploved as tree planters. There were also initial concernsthat the ban onlv applied to s t a t e f o r e s t r v e n t e r p r i s e s ,b u t l o c a l authorities also instituted their own bans. It is questionable if all those dependent on the loggine indusrn'can be re-employed in tree plantine and how t h e c l o s u r e o f 9 m i l l i o n h e c t a r e so f grassland will impact rhe local economy. Already there is evidence that the ban is being flouted and there are those in the forest industry who are not convinced that their incomes will be sustained from fbrest conservation and protecrion. There is also concern about the capacity of the forestn' departments, and the willingness of the Tibetan people to engage in major reforestation. Although there are some very good large nurseries in western Sichuan, they tend to onlv include a few industrial species, and survival rates of planted trees have been very low. If the forests of southrvest China are to be mutifunctional and managed on a sustainable eco-forestry basis there appears to be a need for a large network of small village nurseries, growing a variery of speciesof use for
Conclusion Although
a felling ban is understandable, an integrated, ethno-friendly 'sustainable suite' of measuresappearsto be necessaryto redeem the situation. In order to secure the co-operation of the local people in both conservation and 'own' afforestation they need to the
programme. There is a need to ensure that local people are empowered as forest stewards, and forest management plans enhance their well-being and that of southwest China's biodiversiry. F o r e s t s n e ed t o b e v i e w e d a s multifunctional resources (rather than timber mines) and sustainably managed on an eco-forestry basis predicated
on local felt needs, 'progress' definitions of and indigenous knowledge and practice. The forests of southwest China need management systems that reflect a diversity of role and need and mechanisms for full co-operation with the local people. Most of southwest China's forests lack an inventory, a management plan or any form of local monitoring. Capacity building in Remote Sensing, Geographic Information Systems, Global Positioning Systems and monitoring techniques appears to be required given the vastnessand remoteness of the terrain. Eco-tourism, has the potential to provide much needed income and a means of supporting nature con-
industry, local subsistenceand coftage industry, and for environmental
servation but there are dangers of elite capture, overdevelopment, and further
protection and enhancement.
environmental destruction. Although the peoples of southwest China are known for their hospitality and l a r g e s s e ,a m a j o r t o u r i s m i m p a c t a s s e s s m e n ta p p e a r s t o b e a p p o s i t e
Although forest tourism, or ecotourism, has huge potential as a means of support for conservation and community development, there is a need for both environmental and socio-cultural sensitivity. Over-
before major eco-tourism development begins.
developed forest parks, characterised by large conctete hotels, wide roads
Multifunctional forests require appropriate nurseries similar to the community forestry nurseries found in
and poorly placed power lines will not attract western tourists and tourist facilities and infrastructure should be developed that are in keeping with local conditions and building sryles.
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Nepal. Large single species nurseries may be efficient and easy to manage and provide the most suitable species for industry, but they don't always
p r o v i d e t h e o p t i m u m s p e c i e sf o r e n h a n c i n gb i o d i v e r s i t y ,w a t e r a n d s o i l c o n s e r v a t i o no r l o c a l n e e d . Community nurseriesare local and can be developedin concert with the needsand requirementsof the local peopleand their environment. Given the felling bans, the need in southwestChina for income and the d e m a n d so f C h i n a ' s b o o m i n g e c o nomy, researchinto 'wood substitutes' is required.SouthwestChina produces vast amountsof timber and milling waste and has potential for fibre crop production in agro-forestrysysrems. Biocompositetechnologiesbasedon fibre crops (for exampleflax, hemp, willow and poplar ar closespacingon very short rotations)or forestry/agricultural wastecould be developedas a cottageindustry both to provide local income and to supply China with a wood substitute. '\7'e
all need to use the recent floods a s a t u r n i n g p o i n t t o r e v i e wo u r epistemologiesof progressand the n a t u r a l w o r l d . O u r p a r a d i g m so f rprogressr 'development' and predicated on neo-liberalgreed,selfishness,environmentalexploitation and western developmentdiscoursehave failed the poor, the marginalizedand the world's minoriry mountain peoples.As the world searchesfor holistic, eco-friendly and ethnof r i e n d l y a l t e r n a t i v e s ,i n c r e a s i n g attention is being paid to indigenous paradigms.\7ho knows, we may even learn from the indigenouspeoplesof southwest China the secretsof s u s t a i n a b l el i v i n g a s P l a n e t E a r t h approachesthe year2000. td This article is a conciseversion of a fully referencedpaper that is availableon the author's website. (http://ourworld.compiiserve.com /homepages{ohn-Studley/China -re.htm) John Studley is a Rural DeuelopmentEcoForestrySpecialist.He has worked among Asia's mountainpeoplesin northwestNepal and southwestChina since1984.
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