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Journalof the InternationalTree Foundation Vol.64 December2OO4
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rssN L740-2395
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The challenge of ethno-forestry The predicament of traditional, practices local forestry aroundLugu Lakein China Text andphotographsby JorruSruor-Ev*
Ethno-forestry Practical ethno-forestryhas existed for hundredsofyears. But it was only in 1997whenthe term was coinedby Deep Narayan Pandeythat ethno-forestry gained international recognition.The term denotesindigenousmanagement of forest resourcesaccordingto traditional customsand offers a way to sound and meaningful nature conservation.As ethno-forester,I have studied forestry practicesamong those living around Lugu Lake on the border betweenYunnanand SichuanProvince,a remote and beautifulpart of China. Ethno-forestrydoesnot rely only on scientificmodelsof resourcemanagement,which would almost certainly alienatelocal people from their culture and sacredlandscape.Instead,ethno-forestrycan offer a unique path to environmental protection, although in a country like China today, ethno-forestrychallenges many aspects of current thoughts on political, philosophicaland economicmatters.
Lugu Lakeand its communities Lugu Lake was-discovered by plant collectorslike Francis Kingdon Ward and GeorgeForrestin the early 1900s,and JosephRock laterdescribedLugu Lake as ".....aplacefor the angels." The local Mosuo have many unique traditions that have attracted the attention of anthropologistsbecauseof the community's patternsof matrilinearityand unconventionalmarriagecustoms. An increasingnumberof Han Chinesetourists,members ofthe "real Chinese"population,visit the area,fascinated by the locals'exotic approachto sex.Ironically, although this influx of visitors has led to the usual excessesof prostitution and crime, it has also brought unexpected benefits.Far from merely exploiting the Mosuo peoples as a tribal freak show,the swarmsof touristshavehelped to foster a native pride that helps the Mosuo keep their traditions alive. Most communities around the lake migratedherefrom Tibet more than 1000yearsago,when shamanisticand animistic peoplesfled from there.Tibetan Buddhismarrived later at Lugu Lake. As a resultpeoples of Lugu Lake areof an animistic/shamanisticbent with a Tibetan Buddhist overlay, and Gan mu - the goddessof the sacred,local "Lion Mountain" - has been integrated into the Buddhistworldview. From the 1950sonward the areawas subjectto massrve deforestationand environmentaldegradation.However,
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new forestpoliciesu'erelaterintroduced,a NatureReserve in 1986togetherx ith a loggingban in 1998, established andthereareplansto establish\atural ForestProtection areasbeyondtheresene..\s a resultthereis lessflooding and erosionand tbrestshare almostrecovered.In the "high forest" in thc \ature Reserre one f-indslbies d e l a v a y i - P i t , ' , t . ' i l : : . ; , : - g ! , r \ .L\ .d r i . \ p o t a n n i , A b i e s r ; " . . i .T ) i ! , J ,Li l u n t o s ap. l u s s e v e r a l e r n e s t i ,S a h i t t r t , ' cl e p i n e s a n d o a k s .O t h c : r i o o d r p l a n t si n c l u d eQ u e r c u s m o n i m o t r i c h ( /i n d : i : o . i o d c ' n d r o n sT.h e e n d a n g e r e d Corylus ilrlrgi; i5 r multipurposetree with the potential to be coppicedli r ti'oJ. tlrerrood and craft material. However.th.' n.ilur.' resene has kept ethnic peoplesout and deprir ed thr'nr trf common land, and official forest policieshare increasedthe por erty of the alreadypoor communitics.Llck of accessto forestsfor firewood, m e d i c i n a l h r ' r l , sa n d m a t e r i a l f o r r o o f s h i n g l e sh a s increasedthc * orkltradsfbr rr omen who now haveto go furtheratlc'ldti,r nraterials.As a result,leakingbuildings hasled to add to the nri.crl . and a lack of compensation major cont)ictsri rth the naturereserve.Deniedaccessto forest restrur.c:.ind robbed of their cultural identity, communities3rrrundLugu Lake are suffering,although tourism has alicr tatc'dthe loss of earningsdue to the logging ban at L'astlbr the \Iosuo. but at the expenseof other ethnic grr)ups.
Traditionand sacredlandscape I hare suseestedthat the situation can be alleviated through applied ethno-forestryunder a project funded by DFID (Dl'partment for InternationalDevelopment) c o m b i n i n g n r a n a s e m e not f t h e n a t u r e r e s e r v ew i t h communitr plantationson bare land within the reserve. Thereis a stronstraditionof naturalresourcemanagement amongthoseuhtr lire aroundLugu Lake, especiallyin areasu'ith sccrc'dlandscape.SacredLandscapeis a common phenrrrnenonthroughout the region from the Dai holy hills in S Yunnanto the Tibetansacredforest in Deqin. Membersrrf all ethnicgroupscan identiff sacred mountains.trees.animalsandspringsandknow the local d e i t i e s a s s o c i a t e du i t h l a n d s c a p ef e a t u r e s .L i o n Mountain is particularlyauspicious.All ethnic groups believe Gatt ntu. the -eoddess of the mountain,is violated by the cable car built there, and that there are links
TREES,joumal or'thc IntemationalTree Foundation Vol.64 (2004)
between violating her and the unseasonablehail storm and the defoliationofpines by insectsearlierthisyear.In terms of ethnic culture there areboth Priestsand Shamans at Lugu. Both have a role in environmentaleducation and are often very knowledgeableabouttrees,plantsand animals.While the Priestsaremostly interestedin "otherworldly" karma, the Shamansare mediators betu'een humansand natureon the one hand,and the spirit u,orld on the other.They were persecutedduring the Cultural Revolution, but Priestswere allowed to practice again from the early 1980s,Shamansnot until the mid 1990s.As a result local shamanictraditions have almostdied out.
Ethnicminoritiesin China The ChineseGovernmenthas recognisedthe importance of Yunnan'sbiodiversityand the role of ethnicminorities, althoughthis appearsto be ignoredwhen policiesaremade concerning forestry, nature conservation and minority policies. The challengeof adopting an ethno-forestry model has much to do with current political, economic, and philosophicalreasoningof China's national society. Sincethe Chinesedraw no distinction between'people', 'nation', 'nationality' and 'ethnos',thereis little room for the argumentfor ethno-forestry.In contrast,the classical definition of cultureoriginatingin ChineseConfucianism refersto literary culture as a higher form ofcivilization. T h i s s e p a r a t e st h e H a n m a j o r i t y f r o m p e r i p h e r a l communitieswho, althoughwith indigenousknowledge, have no writing and were often viewed as backward. Although Han Chinanow recognisesits ethnicminorities, it favoursHan culture.
Indigenouspeoplesthroughoutthe world recognisethe forests'value for aesthetic,economic.educational. and culturalpurposes,andfor biologicaldiversiryandspiritual wellbeing.The three main ethnic groupsaroundLugu Lake.Naxi. Mosuoand Pumi. havetheir own additional understandingof nature. The Naxi people have a deity China's new forestry policies r e s p o n s i b l ef o r g o v e r n i n g (post 1998) are strong on nature, to whom they make environmentaljustice, but at offerings as repayment for t h e e x p e n s eo f s o c i a l a n d Non TimberForestProductsto cultural justice. And although ensure they live in harmony Yunnan'sethnicminoritiesare with thespiritworld butreceive geographicallyin the country's environmental "blessing". centre, they remain socially, The Mosuo are animistic and culturally and politically venerateGan mu, the goddess peripheral.At theWorld Summit of Love, embodied by the on Sustainable Developmentin sacred Lion Mountain, and South Africa, China was Shinami embodied by the criticized for the "social sacredLugu Lake. The Mosuo exclusion"of minority peoples believe that animalsand trees Corylus wangii, an encluttgeredspeciesof hazelfound from re- affore stati on are innocent and do not kill in the mountains surrounding Lugu Lake programmes. New forest them without reason. They policies appear to ignore Yunnan's very rich ethnoalso have sacred trees, often Juglans regia. Their ecological history and the unique nature of interaction shamans,the daba, play a major role as intermediaries betweenthe local communitiesand their environment. between the human and spirit domains and in nature conservation,but thereare few daba left. Someattempt Solutions is being made to train more daba. The Pumi have There is a rich tradition of nature conservationand traditionally conservedforests,plants, fish and wild animals and have sacredlakes,mountains,animals and environmentaleducationin Yunnanthat could provide a trees,often large walnut trees.They have taboosabout platform for natural resource managementand nature polluting sacredlakesand aboutkilling animalsandtrees conservationin ways that do not alienateethnic peoples. in sacredareas.Lake Lugu is embodied by a Pumi Today,this is constrainedby China's dominant national society,although the "father of ethno-botany"in China, goddess,Tai an Yang soo. They believe that she will p r o f e s s o r P e i S h e n g j i , h a s p r o p o s e dt h a t " c u l t u r a l punish anyone who pollutes the lake, and have used a differences" rather than ethnicity should be a basis for traditional systemofzoned fishing to conservestock. d i s c u s s i o n .O n e C h i n e s e N G O , C B I K ( C e n t r e f o r The bimo, clerics in the "high-religious" tradition and Biodiversity & IndigenousKnowledge), is attemptingto knowledgeableabout flora and fauna,visit occasionally develop a perspectivethat accommodatesboth 'offrcial' althoughtheir worldview doesnot includeany paradigms and 'vernacular' views, and yet allows room for critical perspectiveson issuesof identity in Yunnan. of explicitnatureconservation. Few Tibetanslive aroundLugu Lake but Tibetanculture andworldview havehad a major influenceon local ethnic groups. The Tibetans revere two categoriesof sacred landscape,honouredwith la rtse,cairnsbuilt on mountain or hilltops,an ancientTibetancustomfound in all regions inhabited by Tibetans. Links between landscape divinitiesandexplicit natureconservationarevery strong.
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* Theseare the authorb personal views John Studley,a PhD candidate, is an ethno-forester and member of ITF. He has worked as community forester in High Asia and currently combines ethnoJbrestry consultancy with research in Tibet.
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