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Regional Environmental Technical Assistance 5771 Poverty Reduction & Environmental Management in Remote Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Watersheds Project (Phase I)

BIODIVERSITY AND PROTECTED AREAS Yunnan, China

By

J E Clarke, PhD

CONTENTS

1 BACKGROUND 3 1.1 Country profile 3 1.2 Biodiversity 4 2 BIODIVERSITY POLICY 8 3 BIODIVERSITY LEGISLATION 9 3.1 State law 9 3.2 International conventions 11 4 CATEGORIES OF PROTECTED AREAS 11 5 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS 12 5.1 State management 12 5.2 NGO and donor involvement 14 5.3 Private sector involvement 14 6 INVENTORY OF PROTECTED AREAS 15 7 CONSERVATION COVER BY PROTECTED AREAS 20 8 AREAS OF MAJOR BIODIVERSITY SIGNIFICANCE 20 9 TOURISM IN PROTECTED AREAS 22 10 COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION 23 11 GENDER 24 12 CROSS BOUNDARY ISSUES 25 12.1 Internal boundaries 25 12.2 International borders 25 12.3 Cross border trade 26 13 MAJOR PROBLEMS AND ISSUES 27 13.1 Human population pressure 27 13.2 Impacts of local people 27 13.3 Ineffectual law enforcement 28 13.4 Lack of public understanding 28 13.5 Low management capacity 29 13.6 Trade in wildlife 29

1. BACKGROUND

1.1. Country profile

Yunnan is one of the 32 provinces of China. Yunnan Province comprises 17 prefectures, each of which is sub-divided into from three to ten counties. Its area is 396,000 km 2. Page 2 of 13

The Province lies in the southwest of China between latitudes 21 005' and 29 010' N, and longitudes 97 030' and 106 010' E. Only its southern extremity extends south of the Tropic of Cancer. Elevations range from 74 metres, at the confluence of the Nanxi and Hong Rivers in the south, to 6,740 metres at Kagebu Peak on the Meili Snow Mountain in the northwest. Southern areas are predominantly composed of low hills between 1,200 and 1,400 metres. The central and easterly high plateau lies at between 2,300 and 2,600 metres. To the northwest is a region of high mountain, most of which is between 3,000 and 4,000 metres. In general, Yunnan Province is a land of mountains and high plateau.

The Province is land locked. Starting to the northwest and working clockwise, Yunnan is adjacent to four other Chinese provinces Tibet, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangsi; and to Viet Nam, Lao PDR and Myanmar.

The climate is subtropical and dominated by seasonal monsoons but large variations occur due to the broad range of elevation and topography. Annual rainfall for the Province ranges from 600 to 2,300 mm, (average about 1,260), higher in the southeast, lower in the northwest. July and August experience 60 per cent of the year's rainfall. There are wide differences in precipitation experienced by the high, south-west-facing, windward sides of mountains, where rainfall is high, and lower slopes facing northeast which tend to be hot and dry.

Mean temperatures in January are 8-17 0C, and in July 11-29 0C, much cooler in the northwest, much warmer in the southeast. While southern areas are frost free throughout the year, northern areas may enjoy only 210 frost-free days.

Three major river systems enter the northwest corner of the province and flow southwards in parallel for some 300 km. The Yangtse then swings eastwards leaving the Nu and Lanxang (Mekong) to continue in parallel for a further 300 km. From there they slowly diverge, the Nu entering Myanmar (where it becomes the Salween) while the Mekong crosses into Lao PDR. One other river, the Red River, has its source in western Yunnan, and flows southeastwards into Viet Nam. There are several major lakes, the largest being Lake Dian close by Kunming.

The 1993 human population (comprising 26 nationalities) was 38.9 million, and the annual growth rate 1.4 per cent. Estimated population for 1998 is about 40 million, of which a quarter inhabits the 15 main cities. Overall population density is therefore about 101/km 2.

Arable land accounts for 7.2 per cent of total land area; forest cover for 24.2 per cent—down from 55 per cent in the 1950s and 30 per cent in 1975. A map of forest distribution in 1986 shows the bulk of forested land to have comprised pine forest or broad-leafed forest. Smaller clumps of fir forest occurred chiefly at higher elevations in the northwest, and of bamboo forest mostly in the extreme south. Due to fire and other human disturbances, Yunnan pie ( Pinus yunnanensis ) has become the most widespread forest type, having replaced the original evergreen broadleaf forest.

1.2 Biodiversity

Yunnan falls within four of Udvardy’s (1975) global biounits, and six sub-units of MacKinnon (1975).

Chinese Subtropical Forest (01) sub-unit Ghuizhou Plateau (01a) Extreme northeast of the Province Burmese Monsoon Zone (09) sub-unit North Irrawaddy (09b) A small area on the western border with Myanmar, extending into the latter Indochina (10) sub-unit Indochina Transition (10c) The southern third of the Province, extending farther north at the western border and overlapping into Myanmar and Lao PDR Sichuan-Yunnan Highlands (39) sub-unit Yunnan Plateau (39a) Across central areas but not reaching the western border sub-unit Hengduan Mountains (39b) A very small area in the northwest sub-unit Nujiang-Lancang (39f) Most of the high mountain terrain in the northwestern corner

Parts of two Endemic Bird Areas occur in Yunnan Province—Yunnan Mountains EBA and Eastern Himalayas EBA.

Most of Yunnan Mountains EBA lies in Yunnan Province, centred on the Hengduan Mountains in the north-west but extending into the north-east and across the provincial border into Sichuan, and eastwards into Guizhou. There is also a very small overlap into Myanmar. Several large rivers cut through the area producing a pattern of high mountain ridges and deep valleys. Three restricted range species occur: they are listed below with global status and habitat.

White-speckled laughing thrush ( Garrulax bieti ): Vulnerable Bamboo thickets above 3,000 metres.

Brown-winged parrotbill ( Paradoxornis brunneus ): Near threatened Bamboo thickets, long grass, scrub and agricultural land between 1,500-3,650 metres.

Yunnan nuthatch ( Sitta yunnanensis ): Vulnerable Open pine forest above 2,440 metres.

A small portion of the Eastern Himalayas EBA lies along the Province’s border with Myanmar in the northwest. Most of this EBA lies well to the west as far as Nepal, and to the south into Myanmar and India. It is extremely rich in restricted-range species: Stattersfield et al (1997) listed 22, of which nine (see below) are distributed in northern Myanmar, southern Tibet and north-west Yunnan. Not all necessarily occur in Yunnan Province.

Blyth’s tragopan ( Tragopan blythii ): Vulnerable Undergrowth (especially bamboo) in evergreen forest and rhododendron forest between 1,800 to 3,300 metres.

Sclater’s monal ( Lophophorus sclateri ): Vulnerable Silver fir forest with rhododendron undergrowth, subalpine rhododendron scrub, rocky slopes and grassland between 3,000 to 4,000 metres, dropping to 2,500 in winter.

Ward’s trogon ( Harpactes wardi ): Vulnerable Page 3 of 13

Broadleaf evergreen forest and bamboo between 1,500 to 4,200 metres.

Rusty-bellied shortwing ( Brachypteryx hyperthra ): Vulnerable Broadleaf evergreen forest and bamboo between 1,800 to 3,000 metres (lower in winter).

Wedge-billed wren-babbler ( Sphenocichla humei ): Near threatened Evergreen forest and bamboo between 900 to 2,300 metres.

Streak-throated batwing ( Actinodura waldeni ): Least concern Broadleaf evergreen and mixed forest, rhododendron and bamboo forest between 2,400 to 3,300 metres, dropping to 1,500 in winter.

Grey sihia ( Heterophasia gracilis ): Near threatened Evergreen and deciduous forest and pine forest between 1,400 and 2,800 metres, dropping to 900 in winter.

Beautiful sihia ( H pulchella ): Least concern Mossy evergreen forest between 2,100 to 3,000 metres, dropping to 400 in winter.

White-naped yuhina ( Yuhina bakeri ): Least concern Broadleaf evergreen forest between 600 to 2,000 metres.

Given the Province's large size and wide range of elevations, natural vegetation types range from tropical rainforests in the south to glacial deserts in the northwest. Yunnan Province has very high biodiversity although a Biodiversity Index has not been calculated. Faunal richness is the highest of all China's provinces. Endemism is also high.

Forest regions and subregions form a series of roughly east-west bands across the province. Region I is the most northerly, Region V the most southerly.

Region I

1. Abies georgei , Picea likiangensis , Quercus pannosa forest in high mountain areas of Dequin, Zhongdian and Lijian Counties.

Region II

1. Lithocarpos cleistocarpus , Castanopsis platyacartha forest in mid mountain areas of Daguan and Yilian Counties.

Region III

1. Pinus yunnanensis , P armandii forest in mid mountain areas of Zhaotong and Huizi Counties.

2. Platycarya strobilacea , P yunnanensis forest in karst areas of Fuyuan and Qiubei counties.

3. Cyclobalanopsis glancoides , P yunnanensis forest in plateau areas of Kunming and Dali.

4. Castanopsis delavayi , P yunnanensis forest in mid mountain areas of Lijiang and Jianchuan Counties.

5. Quercus franchetii , P yunnanensis forest in mid mountain, gorge areas of Huaping and Binchuan Counties.

6. Lithocarpus echinotholus , Schima noronhae , Tsuga dumosa forest in high mountain, deep gorge areas of Weixi and Gongshan Counties.

7. Lithocarpus variolosus , P yunnanensis forest in high mountain, deep gorge areas of Weixi and Gongshan Counties.

8. Castanopsis orthacantha , P yunnanensis forest in mid mountain areas of Yiangbi and Baoshan Counties.

Region IV

1. Castanopsis fabrii , C calathiformis , Rhodoleia parvipartala , P yunnanensis forest in karst areas of Wengshan Prefecture.

2. P yunnanensis forest in mid mountain areas of Mengzi and Yuanjian Counties.

3. Lithocarpus achinotholus , Schima noronhae , Pinus simaoensis forest in mid-mountain, plains areas of Simao Prefecture.

4. Castanopsis hystrix , C indica , C fleuryi , Lithocarpus trancatus , P yunnanensis forest in mid mountain, plains areas of Linchang Prefecture.

5. Lithocarpus echinotholus , Schima noronhae , P yunnanensis forest in mid mountain areas of Tengchong County.

Region V

1. Dipterocarpacea, Hopea mollissima forest in mid mountain areas of Jingpin and Hekou Counties.

2. Terminalia myriocarpa , Pometia tomentosa , Parashorea chinensis forest in hill-plain areas of Xishuangbanna Prefecture.

3. Ficus altissima , Chukrasia tabularis , Shorea ossamica forest in the mid mountain areas of Yingjiang and Zhengkang Counties.

The number of plant species exceeds 14,000 (MacKinnon et al , 1996), and is now reported to number 18,000 while the estimate for vertebrates is 1,638 species. Species richness and endemism (ratio 6.80) are the highest of all China's provinces. More than half the country's plants and protected mammals occur in Yunnan Province.

Threatened plants recorded in Yunnan, based upon November 1998 data from the WCMC, comprised 115 species (108 excluding synonyms). WCMC was unable to provide threatened species list for animals in Yunnan Province. However, the lists of species protected under Yunnan legislation, WCMC species lists for Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam, plus MacKinnon et al (1996) and the Mission Report annexed to this country report provided guidelines from which the following lists of possible Yunnan species rated endangered and above were compiled. Page 4 of 13

Critically endangered

Gorsachius magnificus White-eared night-heron Platalea minor Black-faced spoonbill Geoemyda depressa Arakan forest turtle

Endangered

Hylobates concolor Black gibbon Rhinopithesus bieti Yunnan snub-nosed monkey Ailurus fulgens Lesser (or red) panda Panthera tigris Tiger Elephas maximus Asian elephant Hylopetes alboniger Particoloured flying squirrel Ciconia boyciana Japanese white stork Egretta eulophotes Chinese egret Pseudibis davisoni White-shouldered ibis Tringa guttifer Nordmann's greenshank Cuora trifasciata Chinese three-striped box turtle Pangasianodon gigas Giant catfish

2. BIODIVERSITY POLICY

Major forest fires in the northeast of China during the late 1980s led to enhanced appreciation for forests and their biodiversity by the Peoples' Congress.

A Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan was prepared in 1995 in response to Agenda 21. It was developed in a collaborative exercise involving government departments and universities, and was assisted by WWF, IUCN and others. An English language version was unavailable.

A Natural Forest Protection Programme is presently under preparation in all provinces, implemented principally as a watershed management policy to guard against future flooding. Nationally this has been given top priority.

Other forest policy initiatives that were under preparation are pending. They include:

Tropical Forest Action Plans by the two provinces that have tropical forests (Yunnan and Hainan).

A National Wildlife Conservation Engineering Construction Programme, to be developed for Yunnan Province by its Forest Department.

A Yunnan provincial government policy aim is to afforest barren mountain slopes by planting five million mu (about 3,300 km 2) annually so as to increase forest cover from the existing 24 per cent to 30 per cent of the province (Anon, 1994). This would take about seven years.

There is no separate statement of policy relating directly to protected areas. Policy is implied in the relevant legislation on wildlife conservation (see below).

3. BIODIVERSITY LEGISLATION

3.1 State law

No copies of laws were available in English. The following account is based largely upon verbal interrogation and access to species lists (scientific names) of protected flora and fauna.

The Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China 1988 is in force in all provinces. Some stringent sentencing is provided under this law, including life sentences and the death penalty.

The Provincial Peoples' Congress has passed the following primary legislation.

Wildlife Conservation Law, 1988

Forest Law, 1983 (updated 1998)

Environmental Protection Law

Regulations promulgated under the Wildlife Conservation Law include the following.

Nature Reserve Management Regulations

Wildlife Conservation Law Implementation Regulations

Wild Flora Protection Regulations Page 5 of 13

The Nature Reserve Management Regulations define the uses and management of nature reserves, and prescribe penalties for offences against the law.

The Wildlife Conservation Law Implementation Regulations creates four categories of protection, into which several species of vertebrates (and a few invertebrates) have been placed: Protected Species, Class 1 Species, Class 2 Species and Species of Special Importance.

Protected species

These species are fully protected.

Canis lupus Common wolf LR Viverra megaspila Civet Arctogalida trivirgata Small-toothed palm civet Chrotogale owstoni Owston's palm civet VU Felis (Pardofelis) marmorata Marbled cat DD Elephodus cephalophus Tufted deer VU Bos javanicus Banteng EN Anser anser Greylag goose A indica Bar-headed goose Ophiophagus hannah King Cobra Naja naja Spitting Cobra

Class 1 Species

Forty-two species of vertebrates comprising 24 mammals, 16 birds and two reptiles. Hunting can be approved only by the Minister responsible for forests, and only for scientific purposes. The species include monkeys, gibbons, Malayan sun bear, tiger, leopard, Asian elephant, several ungulates, eagles, cranes, pheasants, python and monitor lizard.

Class 2 Species

One hundred and forty-two species comprising 21 mammals, 119 birds, one reptile (a gecko) and one amphibian (a frog). Hunting can be approved by Director of the Forest Department and Directors of local Forest Bureaux. The mammal species include macaques, pangolin and lesser or red panda.

Species of special importance

Criteria for inclusion in this category include economic and scientific values. They comprise two families of mammal, 19 of birds (including all pheasants and ducks), six reptiles (including all tortoises and snakes) and three invertebrates (butterflies).

Under the Wild Flora Protection Regulations are provisions for declaring Rare Species of Tree. At provincial level, 22 species of tree are so categorised. Permission to cut can only be obtained from the Provincial Forest Department.

At national level, 49 species of tree are categorised as rare; 15 Class 1 and 44 Class 2. Class 1 species may only be cut by permission of the provincial Minister for forests. Class 2 species need permission from only the Director of Forests.

3.2 International conventions

China is signatory to the following international conventions relating to biodiversity conservation.

Convention on Biological Diversity

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention)

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals

4. CATEGORIES OF PROTECTED AREAS

There are two major categories of protected area: nature reserves and forest parks.

The purposes of nature reserves are biodiversity conservation and watershed protection. A few have been designated to protect areas of historical or cultural interest, and some offer tourism and recreation amenities. Nature reserves are very variable in size: from 0.11 to 2,807 km 2 (see the list below).

The purposes of forest parks are to provide facilities for public recreation, particularly by dwellers of urban areas, but the larger ones also play a biodiversity conservation role. Forest parks range in size from 3 to 87 km 2 (see the list below).

It is believed within the Forest Department that the distinction between nature reserves and forest parks is diminishing, and that this process is likely to continue.

There is a third category of protected area—forest farm—but it plays little or no role in biodiversity conservation. Forest farms serve as sources of timber and have a minor watershed protection function. They are small and numerous.

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5. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

5.1 State management

Overall authority for environmental protection lies with the Yunnan Environment Protection Bureau. Within the Bureau are:

Yunnan Institute of Environmental Science

Yunnan Provincial Environment Monitoring Centre

Yunnan Provincial Centre for Propaganda & Education for Environmental Protection

Yunnan Provincial Centre for Environmental Industry, Science & Technology

Yunnan Provincial Centre for Rare & Endangered Plant Species Breeding

Yunnan Environmental Protection Company.

The Bureau is also responsible for a gas production company.

The Yunnan Provincial Forest Department exercises overall authority for protected areas, which are managed at four levels: nation, province, prefecture and county. The choice of level for any one area is decided by reference to three criteria: degree of biodiversity, types of biotic communities within them and size. Those judged to be of greatest importance are financed by the national government although the provincial or lower levels of local government implement management. Finance for prefecture and county protected areas is provided at those levels although the provincial Forest Department checks progress and provides advisory services.

Thus there are state nature reserves, provincial nature reserves, prefecture nature reserves and county nature reserves. Forest parks are reported to be managed in a similarly hierarchical structure.

Scant information was available for forest farms. The majority are managed by local government, mostly at county level; some are collectives managed by villages.

Within Yunnan Province the chief organisation overseeing biodiversity and protected area management is the Wildlife Conservation Office of Yunnan Provincial Forest Department. However, other authorities including the Yunnan Environmental Protection Bureau, Geology and Mining Department and City Construction Bureaux manage a few nature reserves. In some instances functions overlap, so that two or more agencies may take part in the management of a single protected area.

The Peoples' Army plays a minor role in protected area management, usually in response to unusual circumstances. An army officer was placed in charge of Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve following the killing of 11 elephants by a gang of poachers in 1994, and he has remained in command ever since. Army units also assist with fighting forest fires from time to time.

The Wildlife Conservation Office has a staff of 22, two of whom deal with nature reserves. The remainder have duties related to international coordination and control of trade, export and import of wildlife under CITES.

Three of the 17 prefectures have wildlife conservation offices, staffed by not more than five persons each. Senior staff in the Forest Department assert that this staffing level is inadequate, and that five professionals plus ancillary staff are minimum requirements for all 17 prefectures—more in prefectures that have larger nature reserves.

At the level of individual protected area there are two sorts of personnel. The first is employed directly by the government (province, prefecture or county); the second is local manpower, recruited from villages within or adjacent to the protected area. Numbers were available for five reserves only but they suggest that staffing levels at field are relatively high.

2
Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve (2,418 km ): 34 technical staff and 32 forest police

2
Nabanhe Provincial Nature Reserve (261 km ): 6 forest police + 9 local patrollers

2
Weiyuanjiang Provincial Nature Reserve (77km ): 20 staff

Tianchi Provincial Nature Reserve (66km2): 27 staff + 3 forest police

2
Banma Snow Mountain County Nature Reserve (255km ): 20 staff

Management plans that describe the resource base, present objectives and prescribe management strategies are absent. What management exists is based upon 'construction plans', which lay out development programmes for capital construction of infrastructure: housing, offices, roads, fire-spotting towers, etc.

A Forest Department spokesman reported that the annual budget for managing all nature reserves and forest parks in Yunnan Province amounts to about 30 million RMB (approximately US$3.3 million).

Revenue earned from protected areas is used to support management. The Forest Department also earns revenue through the sale of animals from more than a 100 ‘animal farms’. Deer, pheasants, bears, wild species of duck, turtles and others are raised for sale to the public. Some animals confiscated during law enforcement exercises come into the hands of the Department: most are snakes, birds and turtles, but bear, tiger and leopard cubs have been acquired in this way. Some are subsequently returned to the wild; others go to the farms.

5.2 NGO and donor involvement

In-service training courses for protected area staff are held each year, assisted by WWF. They are reported to focus on management procedures and community education. WWF also gives some financial support to manage selected protected areas.

Other NGOs that assist in protected area management are the Wildlife Conservation Association, a national organisation with a branch office in Kunming; the MacArthur Foundation, which gives financial support to research and conservation education; and the Ford Foundation, which supports Page 7 of 13

training programmes for conservation personnel.

5.3 Private sector involvement

Concessions are awarded in a few instances to operate visitor facilities: for example, cable cars (Xishan Nature Reserve) or shops, curio sellers, refreshment stalls and restaurants. Sometimes however these services are provided directly by local forest bureaux.

6. INVENTORY OF PROTECTED AREAS

Nature Reserves

There are 111 nature reserves, of which 96 are the responsibility of the Yunnan Department of Forestry. In the tables below the following abbreviations represent the agency having responsibility, where known. The implications of this are uncertain. There appears to be a degree of overlap between authorities: for example there is an Ailaoshan State Nature Reserve and Ailaoshan Country Nature Reserve; and a Weibaoshan National Forest Park and a Weibaoshan Prefecture Nature Reserve.

FD = Forestry Department

EN = Environment Agency

CC = City Construction Bureau

State Nature Reserves (IUCN management category IV)

Size (km 2) Responsibility 1. Xishuangbanna 2,418 FD 2. Gaoligongshan 1,239 FD 3. Ailaoshan 504 FD 4. Baimaxueshan 1,901 FD 5. Nangunhe 71 FD 6. Cangshan 797 EN Total state nature reserves 6,133

Provincial Nature Reserves (IUCN management category IV)

Size (km 2) Responsibility Longshan 0.54 FD Tongbiguang 342 FD Fenshuilin 420 FD Daweishan 154 FD Laojunshan 45 FD Huanglishan 139 FD Laiyanghe 70 FD Daxueshan 158 FD Xiaoqiaogou 19 FD Weiyuanjiang 77 FD Wuliangshan 234 FD Diaolinshan 6 FD Shibalianshan 12 FD Puduhe 0.11 FD Jiache 83 FD Tianche 66 FD Sanjiangkou 7 FD Haizipin 28 FD Yaoshan 102 FD Yulongxueshan 260 FD Habaxueshan 219 FD Nujiang 2,807 FD Luguhu 81 FD Bitahai 142 FD Napahai 24 FD Dalongdong 1 FD Jinguangsi 96 FD Zixishan 160 FD Page 8 of 13

Linzangdaxue 179 FD Guangyinshan 164 FD Jiaozishan 167 FD Dashangbao 192 FD Nangjianwuliangshan 76 FD Amushan 148 FD Dazhongshan 112 FD Honghesutie 34 FD Xiaoheishan 63 FD Nuozhadu 217 FD Wenshanglaojunshan 94 FD Qinghua 10 FD Nabanhe 261 FD Chaotianma 63 FD Lashihai 65 FD Dianchi 2,290 Other Jizushan 108 Other Songhuaba 630 Other Hueizeheijinghe 68 EN Meishucuen 0.58 EN Shilin 84 CC Maotianshan 6 CC Total provincial nature reserves 10,784

Prefecture Nature Reserves (IUCN management category IV)

Size (km 2) Responsibility Tanhuashan 18 FD Huafoshan 7 FD Fangshan 8 FD Xiaxingqing 2 FD Huoshaoliangzi 8 FD Cizhuba 0.88 FD Gulinqing 36 FD Punongdaqing 0.87 FD Fongyang 0.67 FD Xueshanhe 10 FD Shueimushan 15 FD Taijishan 27 FD Fonghuangshan 25 FD Weibaoshan 20 FD Yongguosi 7 FD Cibihu 8 FD Luopinniaodiaoshan 9 FD Shibaoshan 28 FD Zhaoxia 8 FD Tongluoshan 28 FD Shuanghemuonangdi 317 FD Rueilijiang 90 EN Mangjioushueiku 32 EN Sixishan 65 CC Nangjiantulin 5 Other Hedieqang 3 CC Total prefecture nature reserves 778

County Nature Reserves (IUCN management category IV)

Size (km 2) Responsibility Page 9 of 13

1. Wutaishan 35 FD 2. Zhujiangyuan 21 FD 3. Zhangmuqing 35 FD 4. Laoheishan 14 FD 5. Baizhushan 30 FD 6. Gaolushan 53 FD 7. Shanghouchachang 18 FD 8. Hongshueiyan 7 FD 9. Muopanshan 72 FD 10. Xintianlaolin 12 FD 11. Ganchalaolin 5 FD 12. Zhangbalaolin 37 FD 13. Ailaoshan 97 FD 14. Xishan 161 FD 15. Nanxilaolin 10 FD 16. Jiezihe 33 FD 17. Wangxiangtai 47 FD 18. Bandongqudao 13 FD 19. Dedanghoushan 73 FD 20. Tulingqing 3 FD 21. Nioukehe 48 FD 22. Pongzuyulaijiou 50 FD 23. Songshanhe 27 FD 24. Heishan 147 FD 25. Fuheshan 133 FD 26. Wailangtan 7 FD 27. Daqueshan 2 EN 28. Xishan 2 CC 29. Banma Snow Mountain 255 FD Total county nature reserves 1,447 Total all nature reserves 19,142

Forest parks

Twenty-six forest parks were identified: 19 national and seven provincial. The distinction is uncertain and, in some cases, responsibilities extend to county and city councils.

National Forest Parks (IUCN management category V)

Size (km 2) 1. Tianxing 87 2. Dongshan 62 3. Qinghuadong 24 4. Weibaoshan 26 5. Huayudong 31 6. Longquau 64 7. Laifengshan 10 8. Caiyanhe 66 9. Jindian 19 10. Muopanshan 72 11. Zhangfeng 63 12. Wufengshan 25 13. Lubuge 57 14. Shibaliamshan 63 15. Zhonglingshan 23 16. Zhujiangyuan 25 17. Wanting 19 18. Lingbaoshan 24 19. Qipanshan 7 Total state forest parks 767 Page 10 of 13

Provincial Forest Parks (IUCN management category V)

Size (km 2) 1. Jiguangshan 20 2. Nan'an 3 3. Tongluoba 28 4. Luohanshan 19 5. Xiangbishan 10 6. Xiaodaohe 7 7. Dalanba 8 Total provincial forest parks 95 Total all forest parks 862

7. CONSERVATION COVER BY PROTECTED AREAS

The extant protected area system covers 5.0 per cent of the province. Nature reserves (IUCN management category IV) make up 96 per cent of the total system – 4.8 per cent of the province.

Nature reserves 19,142 km 2 4.8 per cent

Forest parks 862 km 2 0.2 per cent

Total 20,004 km 2 5.0 per cent

The protected areas are dispersed widely and include representative examples of all biounits and subunits. At least 37 nature reserves or forest parks occur within the Yunnan Mountains EBA.

Most areas are however relatively small. The average of 172 km 2 for IUCN management categories I to IV protected areas is the least of all GMS countries.

A Forest Department spokesman also reported that:

coverage of habitats in the Lanxang (Mekong) River Basin is poor and largely confined to the southern areas; and

black snub-nosed monkey ( Pygathrix bieti ), found in the extreme northwest is inadequately provided for, with only six out of 13 known small groups included in protected areas.

8. AREAS OF MAJOR BIODIVERSITY SIGNIFICANCE

Xishuangbanna NR

Xishuangbanna is the second largest (2,418 km 2) nature reserve in Yunnan Province. It is funded by the national government, and is located in the extreme south of the province between 21 008' and 22 036'N, and 99 056' and 101 050' E. It is divided into five divisions, two of which are adjacent to the border with Lao PDR.

Xishuangbanna has magnificent scenery and fine tracts of tropical rain forest. The known terrestrial vertebrate fauna numbers over 630 species, of which 102 are mammals and 427 are birds (301 residents). Among the mammals of special interest are Asian elephant, wild ox, tiger, leopard, red panda and many primates, including white-cheeked gibbon.

Nangunhe NR

Nangunhe is a relatively small nature reserve (71 km 2) funded by the provincial government, and with a staff of about 70. It consists of tropical forest with associated flora and fauna, situated on the border with Myanmar at about 23 030'N, 99 010'E.

The reserve harbours white-headed gibbon, an endangered species of which only about 20 are believed to survive in China. It is also one of the only two areas in China where Asian elephant occur, both in Yunnan Province. Being on the border, elephants cross between China and Myanmar, and the populations are contiguous. It is reported that there is no protected area adjacent on the Myanmar side.

The reserve is subject to pressures from shifting cultivation and hunting. The local minority people, the Wa who live on both sides of the international border, are traditional hunters.

Nangunhe needs enlarging if it is to fulfil a more effective biodiversity conservation role.

Lanxang (proposed NR)

This area is located along the Lanxang (Mekong) River at about 24 040'N, 100 020'E. The Forest Department has plans to create a nature reserve of about 2,000 km 2.

The area consists of sub-tropical forest on steeply sloping terrain rising to over 3,000 metres. It has high biodiversity values, and is an area of great scenic beauty. If protected the area would fulfill an important watershed protection role.

One dam has been completed in this area and two others are in the construction or planning stage. Page 11 of 13

Border with Viet Nam

Several relatively small protected areas occur in this region, which is one of high floral biodiversity and is the only place in China where the Malayan bear survives. There are also two species of gibbons ( Hylobates concolor and H leucogenys ). Elephants occur on the Vietnamese side but it is not known whether it survives in Yunnan although it was once recorded here.

North-east (Zhaotong Prefecture)

Several protected areas occur here, which conserve small areas of indigenous north sub-tropical forest, consisting of mixed deciduous and coniferous species. It lies within the Yangtse catchment. The area includes a wetland that provides wintering ground for an estimated one thousand black-necked crane.

This is a relatively developed area that once lay along a main trade route connecting Yunnan with northern China.

Baimaxueshan NR

This protected area lies in the northwest of the Province at about 28 030'N, 99 000'E. It is relatively large (1,901 km 2). The terrain is mountainous and highly scenic. There are broadleaf forests of oaks and rhododendrons, plus coniferous forest.

Two mammal species of high conservation significance occur: red panda and snub-nosed monkey ( B bieti ). The latter is known to occur in 13 discrete populations, only six of which lie within the nature reserve. The Forest Department plans to bring all within the protected system by creating more reserves linked with connecting corridors.

9. TOURISM IN PROTECTED AREAS

Forest parks are managed primarily for tourism or recreation. Nature reserves are reportedly open to the public although, as many lie in remote areas, few visitors reach them. The majority are neither well known nor publicised.

The most visited protected area in Yunnan Province (500,000 visitors a year) is a nature reserve—Xishan Nature Reserve, which lies a few kilometres west of Kunming. It was the only protected area visited by the consultant. Its area is 163 km 2, of which 161 are managed by the Forest Department and the remainder by the Kunming City Construction Bureau.

Other protected areas known to receive visitors are

Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve: 200,000 to 300,000 a year.

Nabanhe Provincial Nature Reserve: at one time 20,000 to 30,000 a year but deteriorating road condition have cut numbers drastically.

Tianche Provincial Nature Reserve is reported to be the only other protected area in Yunnan that has visitor attractions but data were not available.

Some nature reserves have 'core areas' to which visitors are only permitted under special permission from the managing authority.

Several localities have high potential for tourism although they are not in the protected area system described above. They include the four listed below.

The Stone Forest, a karst limestone area of dense rock outcrops in the shape of pinnacles and pillars.

The Li Jiang Yulong (Jade Dragon) Mountain Landscape, with snow-capped mountains above 5,500 metres, the 3,900 metre deep Tiger Leap Gorge and First Bend of the Chang Jiang, an area of strangely shaped rocks and caves formations.

The Parallel Three Rivers area, where the highest mountain Taizi reaches 6,740 metres.

Dali Scenic Spot, with Lake Erhai lying at almost 2,000 metres amsl.

10. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

Authority of the state is greater in China than in the other five countries of the GMS. Communities are accustomed to follow party political leadership in all spheres of life. The state and party are omnipresent. According to the Sino-Dutch Forest Conservation and Community Development Project, based in Kunming, community development is perceived as a means of ensuring forest or biodiversity conservation, rather than as a target in itself. Forest conservation may well benefit but circumstances do not favour participatory management.

What might be classed, as participatory management is limited to the employment of local people to police protected areas against illegal activities, and to keep watch for forest fires in the vicinity of their villages. This practice has benefits and disadvantages. The continued existence of a protected area ensures employment for at least a few people; but can a local villager be expected to play an effective police role when the most likely transgressors are members of his own community?

Villages themselves employ guards to safeguard 'private' forests. The latter are small tracts of forested land to which families have been given rights of use tenure for periods ranging from 30 to 50 years.

Reluctance to practice law enforcement more rigorously may be influenced by sensitivity to the issue of minority national groups, which largely inhabit remoter regions. Yunnan Province has 26 recognised nationalities, of which 25 are classed as minorities—a third of the province's population. Discrimination is practised in several spheres. For example:

Minority families are allowed up to three children in contrast to one for non-minorities.

Public examination pass scores are lower for minorities. Page 12 of 13

Minorities have automatic access to nationality universities.

Governors of prefectures are chosen from the predominant nationality.

No initiatives similar to those being developed in eastern and southern Africa, which offer rural inhabitants tangible benefits from managing wildlife, are yet in place. The provincial Forest Department reported that a village was once asked to support a proposal that a sport hunter be allowed to shoot a takin ( Bodorcas taxicolor ) in exchange for a fee of $20,000. However, as the revenue earned was to be paid either to the central or local government, or shared between them, the villagers saw little to commend the proposal.

11. GENDER

The Forest Department reports that personnel employed in its headquarters in Kunming, and in forest bureaux in prefectures and counties, are about 70 per cent male and 30 per cent female. Women tend to be employed on accounting and general office duties. Few have field assignments, which are judged to be too physically demanding. Employment rights including salaries are equal for women and men.

At community level, women participate in meetings dealing with broad aspects of rural development. But meetings that address conservation issues tend to be dominated by men, and are unlikely to be well attended by women unless the extension worker makes a point of requesting their attendance. Biodiversity and protected area management are equated with wildlife conservation, which is related to hunting—a traditionally male domain.

12. CROSS BOUNDARY ISSUES

12.1. Internal boundaries

Some protected areas, especially the larger ones, extend across prefecture and county boundaries. The most striking example is Ailaoshan Nature Reserve, which spans three prefectures and five counties. It is one of the reserves that exist in two forms: Ailaoshan State Nature Reserve (504 km 2) and Ailaoshan County Nature Reserve (97 km 2).

The Forest Department reports that differences in management between local government authorities do not lead to major problems.

12.2 International borders

Yunnan adjoins four other Chinese provinces and three sovereign countries (see above). Wild animals cross these boundaries in both directions. According to Chinese sources, the greatest volume of movement is along the province's southern border with Lao PDR and Viet Nam. Elephant populations on the western border with Myanmar are believed to be continuous, and individual herds cross back and forth. The Forest Department reports occasional irregular contacts with their Viet Namese and Myanmar equivalents but not with those in Lao PDR.

Four of Yunnan Province's protected areas are adjacent to international borders. There may be others but available maps do not illustrate all boundaries clearly. Certainly there are several small protected areas close to the border with Viet Nam.

Adjoining Myanmar

Nujiang Provincial Nature Reserve (subdivided into three discrete sectors, the most northerly sector lying adjacent to Tibet Province)

Tongbiguang Provincial Nature Reserve (subdivided into two discrete sectors)

Nangunhe State Nature Reserve

Adjoining Lao PDR

Xishuangbanna State Nature Reserve (divided into three discrete sectors, two of which adjoin the border)

None of these appears to be adjacent to a protected area in the neighbouring country although one National Biodiversity Conservation Area in Lao PDR comes close. Two protected areas in Viet Nam adjoin the northern border but it is not clear whether they are contiguous with others in Yunnan Province.

One other protected area, Baimaxueshan State Nature Reserve is adjacent to Tibet Province.

Rural inhabitants from Myanmar regularly cross the boundary into Yunnan Province and into Tongbiguang Nature Reserve. The Forest Department reports that any resultant damage is negligible.

12.3 Cross border trade

In spite of China's signing of CITES, and some draconian sentences prescribed by the national Wildlife Protection Law, the country receives massive consignments of illegally imported and traded wildlife and their by-products, including species that are covered by CITES. An IUCN report (Anon, 1998b) recorded major trade routes from Lao PDR and Cambodia into Viet Nam, from within Viet Nam itself, and then via Hanoi to China's Yunnan and Guangsi Provinces. There are 21 official crossing points between Viet Nam and China: the main ones are Lao Cai, Dong Dang and Mon Cai. The first two have good road and rail access to Kunming as well as to other parts of China.

Reptiles and small mammals make up the bulk of the trade. Birds are exported in lesser numbers. Larger mammals include macaques, gibbons and langurs, which are less commonly traded but fetch higher prices. The rarest species such as tiger, leopard and elephant are traded in the form of by- products.

A large volume of wildlife products also comes from Myanmar (U Tin Than, 1998). The commonest species whose by-products (in some cases live animals) are recorded include tiger, leopard and other wild cats; elephant, bear, otter, pangolin, deer and wild cattle; various birds, including parrots and raptors; turtles, snakes and monitor lizards; orchids and numerous medicinal plants. Although some are consumed in Myanmar, much more passes on to China. The main trade route is from Mandalay via the Musae Pass and on to the cities of Shweli and Wantain in the extreme southwest Page 13 of 13

of Yunnan, from where they reach Kunming and beyond.

The end uses of wild animal by-products are chiefly medicinal and culinary although some are used in handicrafts (e.g., tiger claw pendants) or as trophies (e.g., elephant tusks or tiger skins). Some primates and most birds are traded live as pets.

Attempts have been made to control this one-way flow of wildlife into China but to little apparent effect. A 1995 meeting between China's Ministry of Forestry and Viet Nam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development resolved to 'enhance their co-operation' in adopting active and effective approaches to prevent and crackdown on illegal wildlife trading along the border (Anon. 1998b). Although further meetings were proposed none was convened until Viet Nam's Forest Protection Department issued an invitation for a meeting in March 1998. There is no news of further movement.

The Forest Department’s ‘animal farms’ (see above in section 5.1), far from playing a conservation role, may serve to stimulate trade in wild animals.

13. MAJOR PROBLEMS AND ISSUES

13.1 Human population pressure

The principle concern voiced by the Yunnan Institute for Environmental Sciences and the Forest Department is the immense pressure placed upon natural resource management by the enormous, and still increasing, human population. Although the annual increment of 1.4 per cent is one of the lowest for the GMS, it still adds over half a million to the Province's population each year. Increases are highest in the remoter watersheds.

13.2 Impacts of local people

Many essential activities of local people as they go about their lives conflict with biodiversity and protected area management, and conflicts have heightened with increases in human populations. The chief conflicting activities are poaching, shifting agriculture, illegal cutting of trees for fuelwood, building materials and (by night) removal of commercial timber.

All protected areas larger than 50 km 2 have villages inside, located mostly in valleys. All protected areas irrespective of size have villages nearby. Where a village lies within a protected area, residents are allowed to harvest timber and non-timber forest products from a defined area around the village known as a 'collective forest'. According to a Forest Department spokesman, the declared sizes of protected areas given in the lists above do not include these collective forests, the latter in effect forming enclaves within.

Some human settlements are large. For example, in Baimaxueshan Nature Reserve (1,901 km 2) there is an estimated population of 8,000, spread over 24 administrative centres and about a hundred minor villages. The reserve does, however, contain a core area in which law does not permit consumptive uses although the effectiveness of enforcement is in doubt.

A second example is Ailaoshan Nature Reserve (504 km 2). Being elongated in shape, it has a relatively high boundary to area ratio. About 128,000 people live in fairly close proximity to the reserve, of which 67,000 live adjacent to its boundary, and even encroach upon it.

13.3 Ineffectual law enforcement

Throughout protected area law enforcement is practised there are too few forest staff to provide adequate cover. Legal penalties are prescribed by law but local government officials display negative attitudes towards forest or protected area regulations, give little support to conservation work and even condone law-breaking. They rightly understand that inhabitants of remote rural areas need forest resources for their survival. Sentences tend to be light, and provide little deterrence.

13.4 Lack of public understanding

The provincial Forest Department reports that continuous efforts are made to educate local government officials and the general public, with the aim of fostering understanding of the need to conserve forest biodiversity. This initiative is undertaken by local forest office personnel who organise public meetings, show films and give talks, but the personnel are few and poorly financed. There is no system in place to monitor impacts. Nor do there appear to be any initiatives to seek ways in which local people might reap tangible benefits from good protected area management.

Schools' curricula seem not to include conservation although the subject may be touched upon in the subject of Life and Nature, which focuses attention on health and marriage.

13.5 Low management capacity

Although numbers of personnel are relatively high for the GMS, the numbers of suitably qualified staff in the Forest Department and local forest bureaux are low. The concept of protected areas is relatively recent: there is a dearth of relevant knowledge, skills and equipment. Low salaries (but higher than in most other GMS countries) give little motivation to forest staff although this probably holds good across the public sector, and does not militate in particular against biodiversity conservation and protected area management.

There is virtually no capacity to conduct habitat management programmes for threatened species; nor are any systematic monitoring programmes in place to record habitat or population trends.

13.6 Trade in wildlife

The massive flow of wildlife and by-products into Yunnan Province (and other provinces) from Viet Nam help deplete biodiversity in Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam. This is elaborated in the reports for those countries. The trade occurs in spite of China’s accession to CITES, enforcement of which in Yunnan is entrusted to the Nature Conservation Office in the Forest Department.