Synopsis Sustainably Managing Montane Forests in Arid Mountain Regions: The Oytag Valley of West Kunlun The Oytag valley, about 100 km west of Kashi (Kashgar), is one of the few valleys with forests in the Kunlun Mountains. It underwent severe forest destruction in the late 1950s, and about only one fourth of the natural forest remains. Since the early 1980s, forest conservation and artificial regeneration have been carried out in the valley.

In arid mountain regions, forests only de- such as stabilizing highland/lowland hy- velop on slopes with a relatively humid drological system, reducing natural disas- climate, and usually a limited area. To the ters, ensuring oases development down- local people, these forests are rare re- stream, etc. Consequently, sustainably sources and of special value. The ecology managing these mountain forests looms of these forests is often very fragile. It is especially large in northwestern arid very difficult or even impossible for these China. forests to recover if they are seriously de- The Kunlun Mountain range, lies be- stroyed. As a result, sustainably manag- tween the world famous Tibetan Plateau ing these forests is important for the lo- and the low-lying Tarim Basin, and is one cal and downstream people and environ- of the most extensive extremely high and ment. In the vast northwestern arid China, arid mountain ranges in the world. It is desert landscape dominates, and extensive characterized by an arid climate and desert arid mountain areas (e.g. the Kunlun, landscape (1). The annual rainfall is 61.3 Tianshan, Qilian, etc.) and deserts (e.g. the mm for Kashi (1289 m a.s.l.), 35.0 mm for Taklimakan Desert, the Gurbantung- Hotan (1375 m a.s.l.), 36.6 mm for gut Desert, etc.) alternate, with the very Kangxiwar (3986 m a.s.l.), 23.8 mm for sparsely scattered oases on the lower pied- Tianshuihai (4860 m a.s.l.). But the mid- mont plains of the mountains. Mountain dle mountains (2700–3600 m a.s.l.) of the forests only occur in the middle parts of northern flank are relatively humid, e.g. these mountain ranges, e.g. 2700–3600 m the annual rainfall amounts to 195 mm for a.s.l. in West Kunlun, 1600–2700 m in the Oytag (2030 m a.s.l.) and 210.9 mm for Tianshan, 2600–3300 m in the Qilian, and Heishan (2540 a.s.l.). Conversion between 1500–2500 in the Altai. In these regions, annual runoff depth and rainfall shows mountain forests have many functions that the rainfall can be expected to reach

Figure 1. Distribution of montane forest in the Oytag valley of West Kunlun.

Montane forest

Sparse woodlands/shrub

Alpine meadow

Artifical/dense grassland

Ambio Vol. 31 No. 6, Sept. 2002 © Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2002 491 http://www.ambio.kva.se about 300–400 mm at elevations of about ley. The lower parts of the valleys are downstream people and ecology. 3000 m in some valleys of West Kunlun mainly loose materials weathered from (2). As a result, in some areas of the mid- Quaternary basaltic moraines. Landslides dle mountain belt there are some patches easily occur on the steep slopes, and the THE OYTAG MODEL FOR of montane forest, and these only appear forest developing on these slopes is MANAGING MONTANE FORESTS intermittently to the west of the Shangzu pushed to the middle slopes or to the bot- AS RARE RESOURCES IN ARID River (East longitude 78°20') in the tom of the valley. MOUNTAIN REGIONS Kunlun Mountains. Their total area is Since 1986, animal husbandry has been The formation of the Oytag Model for about 20 000 ha (3). They do not consti- the main production source in the Oytag managing montane forests was closely re- tute an altitudinal belt; instead, they are valley. Income from animal husbandry lated to the development of tourism in the usually scattered in the upper part (2700– amounted to about 70% in 1995 of the to- Oytag valley. This valley is cool and com- 3600 m a.s.l.) of the montane steppe belt, tal income of farming, forestry and animal fortable in summer. The upper Oytag val- and only in some relatively humid valleys. husbandry. Development of animal hus- ley is covered with montane forests, al- These montane forest has only 2 species bandry in the valley is important for pro- pine meadow, snow-capped mountains, of needle-leaved trees, spruce (Picea duction and daily lives in the Oytag val- and large glaciers. This valley is relatively schrenkiana) mainly on shady slopes and ley. The forest and meadow areas are the close (about 100 km) to the city of juniper (Sabina centrasiatic) mostly on most important summer pasturelands; in Kashgar, an international tourist city fa- sunny slopes (4). Considering the ex- late spring, the local Kirgiz people drive mous for its Islamic culture and customs. tent of the Kunlun Range and the Tarim their livestock up to the pastureland, and The Oytag valley is the only potential Basin, montane forests are both rare and in late August return. In the early 1990s, mountain tourist site close to population precious in southern Xinjiang. Most of the when the shady and gentle slopes were centers (oases) in the extensive southern forests are situated far from population considered to close for forest regeneration, Xinjiang. In the early 1990s, the people centers and are difficult to reach. The only 20 ha were fenced in the south val- in the oases began to come to this valley Oytag valley is somewhat different. It is ley, and about 14 ha in the north valley for recreation and sightseeing. To coordi- only about 100 km west of Kashi (Atoynak valley). The reason for this is nate overall development of forestry, ani- (Kashgar) (Fig. 1) close to the Sino-Paki- simple; the development of local animal mal husbandry, and tourism, the Tourist stan International Highway; the central husbandry needs a considerable amount of and Forestry bureaus and Forest Police of forest area of the valley is only 37 km pastureland. It has been planned to extend the Kizilsu Prefecture, and the local gov- away from the highway, and can be eas- the fenced slopes for forest regeneration ernment of Oytag Town jointly organized ily reached by car. It is in this valley that to about 800 ha before 2010. There is a a management group; the members of the a mechanism for managing montane for- long way to go, as the dispute over land group work together in the valley. To ef- ests was formed; the “Oytag Model.” use constitutes a problem for both forestry fectively protect mountain ecosystems, and animal husbandry. Coordination of especially the rare montane forests, a toll- the relationship between animal hus- gate was installed near the old forest farm DYNAMICS OF MONTANE bandry and forestry development is a chal- office in 1992 (the Farm Office was later FORESTS lenge for the local government. moved to the side of the Sino-Pakistan In- The dynamics of montane forests are sub- The local people collect dry or semidry ternational Highway at the outlet of the ject to many factors. The first being hu- tree trunks and branches for firewood and Oytag valley). All visitors and cars are man activities. Our on-site investigation sell them to merchants who transport them charged for entering Oytag tourist areas, revealed that in the early 1950s, the area by car to the lowland market. This con- and the Oytag valley is now under rela- of montane forests in the Oytag valley stitutes part of the local income. To pre- tively strict management. was more than 3 times as large as it is at vent outright logging, the Forest Bureau The members of the group of the For- present; in 1954, the Oytag Forest Farm, of the Kizilsu Prefecture formulated a estry Bureau are workers of the Oytag of the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefec- penalty system and conducts strict inspec- Forest Farm, mainly Uygurs from the ture of Xinjiang, was organized to cut tions of the collected wood. downstream oases. They peform the main trees; in 1958–1959, almost all of the trees The Oytag valley is characterized by task of forest regeneration and conserva- that could be used as timber in this val- relatively rich natural resources, such as tion, including protection of the forest re- ley were logged by more than 2000 sol- alpine meadow, montane steppe and for- generation base and fostering the planted diers with tractors. In 1979, logging was ests, snow-capped mountains, 4 large gla- seedlings. They usually buy juniper seed- banned. From 1984–1985 on, measures ciers extending into the forest areas, and lings from the Tianshan Forest Farm and were taken to conserve forests. In 1990, a cool and comfortable summer climate. the Kunlun Forest Farm, and then plant a seedling nursery was established. Since All of this contrasts sharply with the ex- them in the forest nursery; after 2–3 years, 1992, with some mountain shady slopes tremely arid Tarim Basin, and can thus they transfer the seedlings to the fenced fenced, natural and artificial forest regen- serve as a valuable tourist attraction. Since forest base. One of their daily tasks is to eration and restoration have been greatly 1992, tourism has developed quickly in keep a close eye on the fenced reserves promoted. On the relatively gentle, shady the Oytag valley. In recent years, more and drive out livestock entering the base, slopes, more than 85% of the seedlings and more people in the oases of the west- (cows and sheep can destroy seedlings if planted in the early 1990s have survived. ern Tarim Basin come to this valley in allowed to enter the base). They also in- Investigations show that montane forests summer for sightseeing and recreation, spect trucks and donkeys carrying fire- can recover quite rapidly on shady slopes, even including the Uygurs. However, in- wood, and if they find fresh tree branches if the slopes are fenced. Sunny slopes are creasing tourism adds pressure to the lim- or trunks, the owners of the trucks and generally extremely degraded, and the lo- ited forest and the fragile environment of donkeys are heavily fined. cal forest workers believe it is impossible this valley. Some patches of meadow and The members of the managing group of to restore them. As a result, forest regen- woodland have seriously degraded or have the Tourist Bureau come from the capital eration has been abandoned on the sunny been demolished, and the increasing rub- of the Kizilsu Prefecture, namely, Artush, slopes. bish has not been properly disposed. Prop- which is 45 km north of Kashgar. Most Natural degradation of montane forests erly managing these valuable forest re- of them are Chinese (Han nationality), can be easily observed in the Oytag val- sources is significant both to the local and they are responsible for establishing and

492 © Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2002 Ambio Vol. 31 No. 6, Sept. 2002 http://www.ambio.kva.se improving tourist facilities. The members destroyed a large area of meadow and al- References and Notes of the local government represent the in- tered landscape. They were evidently not 1. Zhang Baiping 1995. Geoecology and sustainable de- velopment in the Kunlun Mountains, China. Mountain terests of the local Kirgiz (Khakhas) peo- the result of coordination of the manage- Res. Dev. 15, 283–292. ple, and are mainly responsible for coor- ment group. There is no doubt that the 2. Yang Lipu 1982. Water Resource and Rational Utili- zation in Xinjiang. Xinjiang People’s Press. (In Chi- dinating the relationship between the lo- group does not have absolute authority for nese). cal herdsmen and tourism. The forest po- the management of the Oytag valley. Ef- 3. Zheng Du and Zhang Baiping 1989. A study on the altitudinal belts and environmental problems of the lice take care of forest security. All the fective coordination of land use in the Karakorum and west Kunlun Mountains. J. Nat. Res. 4, members live and work together in the Oytag valley should be strengthened, oth- 254–266. (In Chinese). 4. Zheng Du, Zhang Qingsong and Wu Shaohong (eds). Oytag Hotel (actually tents and simple and erwise, this wonderful landscape could be 2000. Mountain Geoecology and Sustainable Develop- ment of the Tibetan Plateau. Kluwer Academic Publish- crude houses). When problems arise, they damaged, and tourism development would ers, Dordrecht/Boston/London. discuss and solve them. In the meantime, be negatively affected. Some officers of 5. The authors are grateful to the National Natural Science Foundation of China for funding the fieldwork and re- the members of the group provide serv- the Kizilsu Prefecture want to set up brick search (project #49871007) and the Institute of Geo- ings to the tourists. The four parties share and cement buildings in the Oytag tourist graphic Science and Natural Resources Research, Chi- nese Academy of Sciences for its knowledge innovation the income of tourism. By this, various area. However, the Oytag tourist area is project (No. CX10G-D00-09). German Max Planck As- contradictions can be mitigated to a large quite small. The tents of Mongolian style sociation (Gesellschaft) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly funded the fieldwork of the Sino-Ger- extent, and the development of forestry, are part of the landscape, and the tourists man Research Team on the Oytag Area (1998–1999). Prof. Dr. Georg Miehe, Mr. Ubbo Wuendisch (Univer- animal husbandry, and tourism is gradu- like them. It is strongly suggested that sity of Marburg), Prof. Dr. Hermann Kreutzmann, Dr. ally channelled into sustainable manage- tents should be kept and solid buildings Michael Friederich (University of Erlangen), and Mr. Marcus Stueben (University of Bonn) also participated ment. In the summer of 1999, the new avoided. in the fieldwork. Thanks are also due to Mr. Wang managment group was organized. The co- Traffic conditions need to be improved. Xinhuai, executive president of the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, and Mr. Xia Mingfang, Office ordinator is the vice-president of the Tour- It has become imperative to construct a 37 Head of the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture gov- ist Bureau, who comes from Jiangxi km long road from the outlet to the ernment, for their kind support.

Provice in East China to help the prefec- forested areas. Fortunately, the govern- ture to develop tourism. This is part of the ment of the Kizilsu Prefecture made a Zhang Baiping, Chen Xiaodong, governmental program of China: “East decision in 1999 to invest in improving Lu Zhou, Shao Xuemei and Zhang Yili China Helps West China to Develop.” traffic conditions in the Oytag valley. Institute of Geographic Science and Thanks to this development program, new The Oytag tourist area has no electric Natural Resources Research, Chinese ideas and techniques are being brought power and no communication facilities at Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, into the underdeveloped mountain areas of present. These inconveniences hamper the P. R. China. West China. development of tourism in the Oytag val- Email: [email protected] ley. The handling of rubbish brought in by Jiang Fengqing PROBLEMS AND FUTURE tourists must be given special attention. Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and DEVELOPMENT The Oytag tourist area is small and the Geography, Chinese Academy of Animal husbandry is the backbone of the ecology very fragile; environmental pol- Sciences local economy; maintaining considerably lution could easily damage this landscape large areas of pastureland is necessary for and ecology. Therefore, effective meas- Pai-Zila the local people. So, only about 34 ha ures must be taken for the proper disposal Oytag Forest Farm, Kizilsu Kirgiz forested area was fenced in the 1990s for of the waste. Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang forest regeneration. Fencing more wood- Montane forest management and tour- land is actually quite difficult, requiring a ism development are still at a very early Kong Liang permit from the local government and lo- stage in the Oytag valley. Tourist planning Oytag Town, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autono- cal people. Owing to this, fencing 800 ha and an overall development plan for the mous Prefecture, Xinjiang woodland for forest regeneration before valley are urgently needed. The following 2010 is a real challenge for the Forest Bu- points need to be taken into account i) reau of the Kizilsu Prefecture. montane forests are rare and precious re- The income of tourism in the Oytag sources in the arid southern Xinjiang. For- valley is still very low and unstable. It was est degradation must be avoided in the more than USD 6000 in 1998, but less process of tourist development; ii) the than USD 1200 in 1999. One factor lim- number of tourists should be controlled, iting tourist development is the condition simply because the forest area is small and of the road from the Sino-Pakistan Inter- the ecology is fragile; iii) gradually fenc- national Highway to the tourist sites. ing more degraded woodland for forest re- Tourists in the lowland oases usually generation is absolutely necessary, and come at the weekend, however if the new techniques must be developed to re- weather is bad only a few tourists come. store forests on the sunny slopes; and iv) This is mainly due to the fact that flood- the Oytag model for managing mountain ing can easily damage the road from the forests needs to be further improved. new Forest Farm Office to the tourist site, sometimes even for a whole month (e. g. in July 1999), making it impossible for the tourists to get to the tourist site. The present tents were set up with the Tourist Bureau of the Kizilsu Prefecture. But, in 1999 the members of the Oytag Forest Farm built several sheet-iron houses as their own “tent hotel” for the tourists. The establishment of these houses

Ambio Vol. 31 No. 6, Sept. 2002 © Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2002 493 http://www.ambio.kva.se