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ECOLOGICAL MIGRATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS

BY ENGHEBATU TOGOCHOG

The Chinese government’s “ecological migra- ditional nomadic life-style has been severely restricted; in their tion” policy (known in Chinese as shengtai zeal to display loyalty to the central government, local Party committees, as well as and municipality-level yimin) involves the forced eviction of hun- authorities, have extended the policy to include a “livestock dreds of thousands of Mongolian herder fami- grazing ban.” lies from their ancestral lands and relocation Other related initiatives include “ecological development,” “poverty relief relocation in Inner ” and “urbaniza- to agricultural and urban areas populated pre- tion,” and aspects of the “opening up” development project dominantly by . such as “highly productive intensive agricultural methods,” “west-to-east energy transfer” and corporate activities relating to mining and factories.

Origins of the policy Justifying “ecological migration” Considerable information on the origin and implementation The ecological migration policy has three main goals: of ’s “ecological migration” policy in Southern (Inner) Mongolia1 has been reported in the Chinese press, as well as 1) Allowing Han Chinese from all parts of China to settle on through communications that the Mongolian grasslands under the rubric of “opening up and Human Rights Information Center has relayed from on-the- building up the grasslands”; ground sources. 2) Displacing Mongolian herders from their lands under the Planning and sanctioning of this massive population dis- rubric of “concentrating nomadic populations toward placement started in November 1998, when the State Council townships and cities,” also known as “urbanization”; Document No.36 entitled “Notice Regarding Nationwide Envi- 3) Eliminating Mongolian traditional ways of life and promot- ronmental Development Plan” was issued to all levels of govern- ing the Han Chinese lifestyle in the name of “regulating the ment at the , autonomous and municipal levels. structure of agriculture and animal husbandry.” Regional level legislation started in 2001 as a series of gov- ernment orders urging lower level local governments to imple- These three goals are not mutually exclusive, but rather col- ment the “ecological migration” project without delay.Some lectively contribute to the assimilation and sinicization of examples include the following regulations: . Statistics show that the Han Chinese population of Southern Mongolia has increased from 200,000 in 1947, with 1) Autonomous Region Vice Chairman Hao Yidong’s a Han-Mongol ratio of 1:5, to the present 12 million and a “Announcement on Large-scale Relocation,” issued in July Han-Mongol ratio of 6:1; in short, complete absorption of the 2001; Mongol minority is within reach.2 2) The Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region’s “Approval of The government of China seeks to legitimize ecological the Development Planning Committee’s Bill on Implement- migration’s negative social and political consequences on the ing the Pilot Project of Ecological Migration and Poverty Mongols through various means that amount to little more Relief Relocation,” passed in August 2001. than sloganeering and propaganda.The main justification is that ecological migration is necessary because the grassland More recently,in June 2003, Inner Mongolian authorities ecosystem has been severely damaged by Mongols’ “primitive adopted a new land use policy granting every Chinese citizen and backward” nomadic lifestyle.The authorities claim in par- the right to “use the land first and complete the application ticular that “overgrazing” by local herders is the root cause of later,” encouraging individuals and groups to come to South- sandstorms and desertification in the grasslands. Ironically, ern Mongolia to “open up” the land.At the same time, the tra- there seems to be no Chinese term for “over-cultivation,” )The 2) 3) The most common form of forced eviction, carried outin carried offorced The mostcommonform eviction, 3) TheXinhuaNews Agency in2004reportedtheestablish- 1) been implemented: Mongolia’shibited on60percentofSouthern arable grassland. The samesourcereportedthat livestockherdinghasbeenpro- grassland designated undera “livestock herdingprohibition.” with20percentoftheregion’s total had already beenrelocated, some200,000herders andthat asofOctober2002, mented, News that theprojectAgency confirmed was beingimple- and 470,000willberelocated “elsewhere.”The Xinhua official 180,000willberelocated tosmalltowns, Ofthese, five years. 650,000herderswillberelocated from theirlandswithin 2001, from November starting ning Committeehasreportedthat, The InnerMongolian Autonomous RegionDevelopment Plan- Implementing the“ecologicalmigration”policy must beremoved from theirlandswithinafew years. andthat these people poverty inInnerMongolia’s areas, rural that at least800,000herdersandfarmers are livinginextreme ment ofherdersis “poverty relief.”The government hasstated the influxoffarmers. plete harmony withtheirenvironment to prior for centuries lived incom- now totaling2.5millionpeople, ing population, theMongolianherdingandsemi-herd- Incomparison, spring. nese peasantscultivating Mongoliaevery thesoilofSouthern despite theunsustainable farming practicesof12millionChi- enrich only theprivileged. enrich andhasservedto increased poverty amongthedisplaced, thispolicyhasactually below, aswillbedescribed ever, Southern Mongolia.A prime exampleisthe Shuluun- prime Mongolia.A Southern hastaken placethroughout the nameof “national projects,” ie nomadiclifestyle oftheMongols. tive” the government tothe assuperior andprimi- “backward that istoutedby productive intensive agricultural methods” initiative basedon “highly Itisthis “opening up” benefit.” brought “severe andnoeconomic ecologicaldestruction has which “cultivating grasslandandgrowing plants,” would be that themainactivitiesinthis “Opening UpZone” reportacknowledges quality wetland inInnerMongolia.The Ujumchin LeftBanner,Ujumchin opened upasspecifiedinthecontract.” local water resources ifthe2,860hectares oflandisentirely willpermanentlymethod deplete which irrigation,’ ‘flood says that thisproject “uses theage-old inefficientirrigation report creation ofanadditional141hectares ofdesert.The resulting inthe taking intoaccountlocalnatural conditions,” and “blindly openeduplarge ofvirgin portions land without project occupied2,680hectares ofland Mongolia.The ern opment project inthe Alshaa RightBannerofwestern South- hadinitiated amassive agricultural devel- named OasisL.L.C. 10 . 5,000 square kilometersofgrasslandsequivalent inarea to ment ofChina’s occupying largest “Opening UpZone,” Following are justthree examplesofhow thepolicyhas Another popularsloganaimedat legitimizingthedisplace- Evening News 5 The zoneislocated intheUlgaiarea of reported in August 2001that afirm 6 the lastpieceofwell-preserved top- 7 3 How- 4 1) Each displacedhouseholdwould Each receive apayment of 1) but imposedthree conditions: anger, to make way for thepower plant. was dugupandremoved the Mongols considersacred, which andeven thecemetery, wereother structures demolished, Housesand 380individuals. man householdscomprising avillage that was hometo84Mongolherds- Dui inChinese), relocated theentire(Huangqi population ofHuang-QiGachaa local government ofShandSom(ShangduSumu inChinese) number offorcibly displacedherdsmenhasincreased.The )Householdsdeclininglump-sumcompensation would 2) herders withlittleregard for appropriate compensation. requires theconfiscation ofthegrasslandsfrom Mongol ofthegovernment’sthe heart implementation ofapolicythat People aged 60orolderwhowere headsofhouseholds 3) is,there isno assurancethat thegovernment its willchange First, levels cityanddistrict county, Officials at thebanner, 3) that the determine The grasslandadministration authorities 2) They are able tomanage thegrassland “scientifically and 1) if thefollowing conditionsare met: be allowed to theirancestrallandafterfive toreturn years only gic Encirclementand states that relocated herderswill Transfer” Provisional Regulation on ImplementingthePolicies ofStrate- Autonomous RegionShiliin-GolLeague’s (XilinguoLemeng) bars themfrom ever 6of returning.Article “Inner Mongolian their ancestrallandsisthefact that the government effectively tooccupy herdersoftheirright thandepriving More serious The effectonMongols 10,000 tostiflelocal The government offered “compensation” andsincethenthe Groundbreaking inJuly started 2003, 500 hectares ofgrasslandwas permanently lost. and forcibly relocated from theirlandsby January 2002, were 14,691 individualsfrom Mongolherdingfamilies, comprising 3,430householdsinthisbanner, herders, toreportsfrom local Energy initiative.According Transfer” ofthecentralgovernment’s as part launched “West-to-East oneofthetwo largest projects Khuhe Power PlantProject, receive agovernment-built mud housevalued at 5,000 alternative livelihood elsewhere; the landandwere personally responsible for findingan the householdwere from to permanently returning barred house were required toborrow 5,000 However, householdstakingpossessionofamud ($550). These examplesshow how economicconsiderations are at were ineligible for government loans. tobuy animported ernment Australian cow; These are conditionstheMongols cannever hopeto meet. approve theapplication. and grassland isreusable; rationally”; yuan ($1,100) withtheagreement that membersof yuan from thegov- yuan

DEVELOPMENT FOR WHOM? 27 CHINA RIGHTS FORUM NO. 4, 2006

Whose fault? This sandstorm in is one result of environmental degradation in the IMAR. Photo: Associated Press view that nomadic herding is “unscientific, irrational, primi- indicator of human rights violations. tive and crude” production. Second, the government has not Complaints and letters of appeal from evictees reveal that defined “reusability of grassland.”Third, how could members during the displacement process many herders have been of a politically,economically,socially and culturally marginal- arbitrarily arrested, detained and beaten, and their private ized group ever gain the necessary approvals from so many lev- property has been destroyed, demolished and confiscated by els of a government that has been consistently unsympathetic the authorities.A complaint from eastern Southern Mongolia’s to their situation? Bairin Right Banner testified to the authorities’ brutal actions Who, then, are the people who can “scientifically and as follows: rationally” manage the grasslands and obtain approvals from those highly bureaucratic and corrupt governments? It is of On one occasion, the government used as many as 10 or so course the Han Chinese individuals and groups who have the police vehicles, 20-odd police motorcycles and nearly 100 necessary political, economic and social connections. Essen- policemen and security personnel to fight with unarmed tially,what is going on in Southern Mongolia is a population herders. Livestock have been driven away more than 30 transfer process that settles Han Chinese immigrants on land times, 41 livestock have been plundered, four people have confiscated from Mongols. been beaten up and seriously injured, and two elderly herders fell unconscious after police officers intruded onto Essentially,what is going on in Southern their property to plunder their livestock. Not only has the herders’ normal daily life been seriously interfered with, Mongolia is a population transfer process but they have also been arbitrarily fined 4,000 yuan.This that settles Han Chinese immigrants on has brought the herders serious economic and mental land confiscated from Mongols. stress.8 The authorities’ coercive actions are well documented in The displacement of Mongols from their ancestral lands has the news media. Xinhua has reported on not proceeded without resistance, but all protests have been police enforcing the livestock herding prohibition.9 Inner harshly dealt with by the authorities, who have mobilized Mongolian TV reported the arrest of four herders in eastern police, security personnel and “eviction workers” to carry out Southern Mongolia’s Zalaid Banner for organizing villagers to the relocation.This element of “force” or “coercion” is a clear resist the government’s action of leasing their grazing land to ences for displacedherders. andadequate housingare common experi- of socialservices inadequate compensation andalack Coercion, have increased. unemployment rates them inHanChinese-dominated society; have noChinese language andprofessional skillstosupport Sincemany herders regarding thefuturerity are common. andinsecu- Homesickness sense ofcommunity andlivelihood. environment andlifestyle causesevicted herderstolosetheir of suddenchange trauma.The emotional andpsychological and escalation ofculturalassimilation, tradition andeducation, lossofidentity, impoverishmentfurther andmarginalization, staggering.The immediate consequencestoherdersinclude decreased 19.4percentin2003from theprevious year. enrollment rate amongtheregion’s schools 7,763elementary the any to kindofschooling.According “China Labor Market,” of ortodeprivetheirchildren toHanChineseschools children Increasing numbers ofparents have beenforced tosendtheir eliminated orrelocated. abandoned, have beendemolished, many Mongolianschools andsecondary elementary areas,” strong resistance. localherdersthere were involuntarily relocated under region, Bairin luun-huh andHuboot-sharBannersintheeastern “imminent dangertotheevictees livingthere.” posed withfoam-filled walls andstraw roofs, of thehouses, andhow therest teamleft,” lapsed assoontheconstruction how thereportdescribes “many housescol- from thescene, Municipality.Accompanied by pictures takenBanner, to evictees intheHavchil ImmigrantNew Village inHeshigten of Shiliin-golLeague: thehousingconditionsofevicted2005 described herders Let’s considerthe first humanrightsstandards international Economic migrationand outsiders. Rights Fact Sheet, the involuntary removal ofpersonsfrom theirhomesorlands, The humanandsocialcostsofecologicalmigration are Under thesloganof scattered“gathering herderstourban According toappeals from theShiliin-golLeague’s Shu- South ChinaNetreportedontheinadequate housinggiven for theland.” alone willcostthree timeswhat they offer ascompensation Even ifImove this inanddecidetobuy onemilkingcow, . . . Ihave three children.We simply cannotfitin. cupboard. isthesizeofa kitchen justlike amatchbox.The too small, “Isaw thehomesthey build for are resettlers.They account. to do.” Idon’t know what oneisnotgiven any money at all. pasture, Ifonewantstothe toretain rights . . . land ownership rights. a tiny hutinatown suburb andaone-timepayment for the our landfor they three tofive is offer years.What inexchange condition ofanonymity, “[O]fficialsforce[d] ustoabandon onthe herderfrom theShiliinGolLeagueAn Uzemchin said, Another herderfrom theShiliinGolLeague his echoed 10 A RadioFree (RFA) reportfrom February 7, 11 13 which states that which “forced eviction involves United NationsForced EvictionandHuman 12 14 from theirlands. MongolialeadstotheforcibleSouthern removal ofherders the Chinesegovernment’s ecologicalmigration policyin tions andreportsfrom bothevictees andevictors that confirm to only 503 andby 2002ithaddecreased further 2001 (afterrelocation), the evictees. andhasbroughtimpoverishment further to tion ofthestate, this unilateral project isinclearviolation ofthisbasicobliga- any Lacking dialoguewiththoseaffected, or destroy them.” rather thandamage and improve housesandneighborhoods, andtoacceptafundamentalobligation toprotect ter needs, toexpect theirgovernments aboutright tobeconcerned shel- Prevention ofDiscriminationandProtection ofMinorities psychological trauma. psychological andemotional assimilation, escalation ofcultural and education, tradition lossofidentity, marginalization, migration includeimpoverishment and The humanandsocialcostsofecological from 2,872 Sunid RightBanner’s Chihiragt Immigration Village plunged theaverage incomeof111evicted herderhouseholds in tion, immediately following implementation ofecologicalmigra- than before relocation.” they [theevictees] shouldbenoworse off that “at minimum, state which compensation andresettlement offorced eviction, These statistics show afailure toadhere toUNguidelinesfor hold debt increased from nodebt at allto7,000-8,000 Social SciencesPastoral Area EconomicResearchDepartment, 2000, sub-commission resolution. water andelectricity.This isinclear violation oftheUN heat, in smallmud adequate hutsandabandoned houses lacking show Reports that many herdershave been resettled services. up plansfor adequate housingandothersocialmedical New Villages andsuburban agricultural areas without follow- duties toevacuees by simply tossingherdersintoImmigrant nese government claimsithasfulfilledits “resettlement” ofadditionalrights.”The andavariety Chi- . . oftenurerity . tosecu- theright ofthehome, to security the right to privacy, theright tofreedom ofmovement, theright toremain, right the toadequate housing, theright inparticular human rights, “The practiceofforced eviction constitutesagross violation of and PoliticalRights, right incommunity with theothermembersoftheir groups,right shallnotbedenied the minorities persons belongingtosuch exist, religious orlinguisticminorities ethnic, states inwhich directly orindirectly attributable tothestate.” According tothe Resolution 1995/29oftheUnitedNationsSub-Commissionon According tothe According to 16 ...alctzn falsae,po ste a e have a poorasthey may be, allcitizensofstates, . . “. yuan yuan uigtesm eid theaverage house- thesameperiod, During . in 2000(before relocation) to848 Article 27oftheInternationalCovenant onCivil Article 19 UN Global Strategy forUN GlobalStrategy Sheltertothe Year Report oftheInnerMongolian Report Academy of to which Chinaisasignatory,to which 18 15 Communica- 20 yuan “In those states, yuan in 17 .

DEVELOPMENT FOR WHOM? 29 CHINA RIGHTS FORUM NO. 4, 2006 to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own uation. It needs to resettle 200,000 people,” CIIC (no date), http:// religion or to use their own language.”These rights must not china.org.cn/english/features/45690.htm. be violated under any circumstance by any states, especially 4. “Guanyu xibu shengtai yimin: Shentai yimin ya ying ‘zhu shuicao er states such as China that have signed the convention. ju,” Xinhua News Agency,October 29, 2002, http://news.xinhuanet. The Chinese government, however, has employed the slo- com/newscenter/2002-10/29/content_611967.htm. gan of “altering the mode of production in grasslands” to 5. “Quanguo zui da kaifuqu’ de jiaoxun bu ke qingshi (The lessons of the “biggest development region” cannot be overlooked),” Xinhua News negate the value of the traditional nomadic lifestyle and pro- Agency,December 22, 2004, http://news.xinhuanet.com/comments/ mote assimilation. Numerous articles and reports blame the 2004-12/22/content_2362706.htm. lifestyle and culture of nomadic herders for destroying the 6. A banner is a county-level administrative division in the Inner Mongolia grassland and causing sandstorms, while praising “model Autonomous Region.There are 49 banners in Inner Mongolia. China’s herders” who have “modernized their thinking” and “finally rulers first organized the Mongols into banners, with said goodbye to the Mongol yurt.”21 This propaganda has each banner having subdivisions called “sumun,” or “arrows.” Several become the ideological mantra of an ecological migration pol- banners combined make up a “league.” icy aimed at achieving cultural assimilation in violation of the 7. “Yema kaifa tudi shafa, Beijing fengsha yuantou shengtai zao pohuai” International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. (Wilderness development brings desertification, Beijing environment spoiled by sandstorms), China Internet Information Center,August 19, Conclusion 2004, http://www.china.org.cn/chinese/huanjing/639909.htm.An English translation of the article is provided on the Web site of the The ecological migration policy in its various forms, including Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center, http://www. “ecological construction,”“poverty relief,”“encircling and smhric.org/news_45.htm. transforming,”“arranging the structure of animal husbandry 8. See “A Complaint By Bayan- Township’s Zuun Khar Mod Gachaa and agriculture” and “west-to-east energy transfer” is in fact a and Khoroochin Gachaa’s Herders in Bagarin Rights Banner,” http:// political tactic designed to assimilate Mongols into the greater www.smhric.org/Hada/Evict_21.htm. Han population. Involving large-scale forced evictions imple- 9. “Forest Police Ensure Encirclement and Sealing off of Grasslands and mented directly by the state, the policy has resulted in gross Prohibiting of Herding,” Xinhua News Agency,June 13, 2002. violations of the human rights of Mongols and has created a 10. “How Grassland Turn to Desert,” Inner Mongolian TV,July 24, 2004. social, economic, cultural, physical and psychological crisis 11. Gardi , “Inner Mongolian Environment Threatened, Nomads that threatens the very survival of Mongols as a people in the Forced to Move,” , February 7, 2005, http://www.rfa. region.This painful, disruptive and involuntary process not org/english/news/social/2005/02/07/nomads/. 12. “Project of Immigration or Project of Fooling People?,” South China only goes against the will of the local Mongols, but also, in its Net, July 1, 2004, http://news.xinhuanet.com/house/2004-06/21/ destruction of existing ecosystems and eradication of an envi- content_1537002.htm. ronmentally friendly way of life, goes against nature as well. 13. See “A Complaint By Bayan-Khan Township’s Zuun Khar Mod Gachaa and Khoroochin Gachaa’s Herders in Bagarin Rights Banner,” This article was edited from a paper presented in April 2005 at http://www.smhric.org/Hada/Evict_21.htm; and “Power Plant Project the annual meeting of the Association for Asian Studies Forces Local Mongols to Abandon Ancestral Lands,” http://www. (Chicago). smhric.org/news_30.htm. 14. Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Bureau of Statistics, “China Labor Market,” May 21, 2004, http://210.72.32.6/cgi-bin/bigate.cgi/b/g/ NOTES g/[email protected]/was40/reldetail.jsp?docid=402132755. 1. Mongolian residents of Inner Mongolia prefer the term Southern Mon- 15. United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, golia (Uvur Mongol), because they see “Inner Mongolia” as an ideologi- Fact Sheet No. 25, “Forced Eviction and Human Rights,” http://www. cal term that helps legitimize China’s political occupation and territorial unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs25.htm. inclusion of Southern Mongolia. 16. UN General Assembly, Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000, passed on 2. According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics’ data from the 2000 June 6, 1988, http://hq.unhabitat.org/programmes/housingpolicy/ census, 79.17 percent of Inner Mongolia’s population is made up of gss_monitoring.asp. Han Chinese, with 17.13 percent Mongol and the remainder a smatter- 17. Nei Mengu Shehui Kexuiyuan muqu jingji yanjiusuo baogao,August 2003. ing of other ethnic groups.The official China Internet Information Cen- 18. United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ter (CIIC) states that Inner Mongolia’s total population of 23.77 million Fact Sheet No. 25, op. cit. consists of 3.97 million Mongols, 18.75 million Han Chinese, and 19. United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 900,010 members of other ethnic groups. CIIC (no date), http://china. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, entered into force org.cn/english/features/45688.htm. March 23, 1976, http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_ccpr.htm. 3. See Development Reform Commission of Inner Mongolia Autonomous 20. Although it has yet to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Region, “Overview of Implementing Poverty Relief Relocation in Inner Political Rights, the PRC is, as a signatory,obligated to not defeat the Mongolia” (Nei Menggu shishi yidi kaifa fupin yimin qingkuang de object and purpose of the treaty. jianjie), November 30, 2001, http://www.nmgfgw.gov.cn/html/ 21. See, for example, “Caoyuan shang qiaoran ‘fugui’ Mengubao” (On the 2004-8-20/2004820150951.htm.The official CIIC states, “By the end grasslands, a quiet “reversion” to Mongols), China Internet Information of 2000, Inner Mongolia still had some 804,000 poverty-stricken Center, December 8, 2000, http://www.china.org.cn/chinese/2000/ people without necessary food and clothes and 3 million in unstable sit- Dec13318.htm.