WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNANCE PROGRAM

CONFERENCE ON DECENTRALIZATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT BELLAGIO, ITALY 18-22 FEBRUARY , 2002

Decentralization and Accountability in Forest Management: A trend and its policies on “Natural Forest Protection” and “Upland Conversion”

XU JIANCHU

Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge E-mail: [email protected]

WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE 10 G STREET, NE WASHINGTON, DC 20002 WWW.WRI.ORG www.wri.org Decentralization and Accountability in Forest Management: A trend and its policies on “Natural Forest Protection” and “Upland Conversion”

Xu Jianchu

Content 1. Introduction...... 2 1.1 Social Challenges ...... 2 1.2 Forestry in livelihood and environmental services...... 2 2. Research Site, Objectives and Methods...... 4 2.1 Research site: ...... 4 2.2 Research objectives ...... 8 2.3 Methods ...... 8 3. Actors in forestry policy and conservation...... 8 3.1 Governmental (Formal) Institutions ...... 8 3.2 Informal Institutions ...... 9 3.3 Distinct Local Institution Features ...... 9 3.4 Village Committees, Democratization and Decentralization...... 9 4. Policies in forestry and conservation: an overall decentralization...... 9 4.1 The state’s role in forest management: exclusion and inclusion ...... 10 4.2 Relevant polices in forestry and conservation ...... 10 5. Emerging forestry policies ...... 12 5.1 Logging ban or natural forest protection ...... 12 5.2 Upland Conversion ...... 13 5. Decentralization or centralization...... 14 5.1.1 Strengths ...... 14 5.1.2 Constraints...... 14 5.1.3 Potentials ...... 15 6. Field impacts ...... 15 7. Cross-cutting issues ...... 18 8. Summary of observations and recommendations...... 20 References Cited:...... 20

1 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Social Challenges has a population of 1.3 billion living in an area of 9.6 million km2; 16.55% of China is forestland (of which about 10% is natural forest). China’s changes have been rapid and dramatic in the past two decades, population growth and rapid development, which resulted in large-scale deforestation, conversion to agricultural land, and over-harvesting of forest products, therefore further impacted in environment. Those changes are also illustrated by a sustained high economic growth rate, millions of people lifted out of poverty, decentralization of decision making process, a nascent democratic process, especially in rural China, and the increasing awareness of and attention to environment and sustainability from all walks of life. The most fundamental change is the leaders’ vision and decision to transform the economy from command and control to market. Policies and legislation to promote such a change and sustainability have been developed and tested nationwide. Many of the experiments have achieved success, which in turn helps reshape the development path the country is going to embark on. One particular example is the rural economic reform. Initiated two decades ago, the reform started with handing the farmland from communes to individual households. The success of this policy has convinced the leaders that political reform is crucial to building up a society that is ecologically and socio-economically sustainable. Government now realizes that there is a necessity to re- strengthen the grassroots or village organizations for participatory decision-making and collective action on natural resource management and deeper rural reform. And this process shall be applied extensively in the country.

The rapid economic growth and dramatic social changes have also generated great impacts on the natural resources and livelihood of indigenous communities, particularly in upland watershed areas. Yunnan, the most diverse province in terms of ethnic minorities and biological resources, makes a good showcase to examine the policies, practices and the corresponding impacts. Over the last few decades, the province has witnessed nearly 50 percent decrease of its forest cover, a wide range of grassland degradation due to overgrazing, and higher frequency of natural disasters. Wide-spread soil and water erosion, high mountains and steep slopes, poor agricultural infrastructure, and inconvenient transport systems against a backdrop of population growth have all contributed to the poverty and deterioration of natural resources in the province. 1.2 Forestry in livelihood and environmental services

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Project (2001) defines Ecosystem Services to be the conditions and processes supported by biodiversity through which ecosystems sustain and fulfil human life, including through the provision of goods. Services fall into three basic categories: i. Provisioning (e.g. Food, Water, Fibre, Fuel, Other biological products) ii. Supporting (e.g., Biodiversity, Pollination, Waste treatment, Nutrient cycling) iii. Cultural (e.g., Cultural, Aesthetic, Social relations) Forests play an important role in the rural economy of Yunnan Province and have the potential based on best practices in policy making to enhance the environment, Yunnan’s rich biodiversity, and the livelihoods of Yunnan’s “peripheral peoples” (poor, women & minorities). Many indigenous people in Yunnan are benefiting from the new economic opportunities created by expanding markets and infrastructure development, but often at the

2 cost of depletion of forestland, forest products and other natural resources such as soil and water. Forest-based livelihood: 1. Shifting cultivation: In Yunnan, the shifting cultivation is commonly found in the southwest along the borders with , Laos and Vietnam, where belongs to humid tropical and sub-tropical areas with fast forest regeneration. A total of 2 million shifting cultivators still practice different types of swidden agriculture for their subsistence even income generation. 2. Rural energy and construction: fuelwood collection is considered a main cause of forest resource depletion, by estimate a total of 12m3 fuelwood per year needed for a highland family, 7 m3 fuelwood for midland family, 3m3for the lowland in Yunnan. With improvement of economic standard, the construction of new houses also contributes to forest depletion, a new traditional Tibetan house in Northwest Yunnan consumes 120 m3 of good timber.

Table: Pattern of Wood Consumption in Rural Yunnan (cubic metres/per capita/year)

Item High Mountains Middle Mountains Low Mountains Low Mountains with forest cover with forest cover with forest cover with low forest cover Agriculture 0.02241 0.03821 0.00621 0.03328 Construction 0.27531 0.18954 0.21132 0.12121 Furniture 0.02570 0.01257 0.00508 0.02900 Fuel 1.21740 1.075257 0.52263 0.48004 Utilities 0.16601 0.27504 0.04158 0.01864 TOTAL 1.70665 1.59133 0.78682 0.68217 Family size 5.06 5.5 5.7 5.3 Total wood/Family 8.864 8.74 4.48 3.62 Total fuel/family 6.21 5.91 2.98 2.54 Source Prof Han Yufeng (Li 1993)

3. Fodder and litter collection: many indigenous people largely rely on forest biomass for fodders of livestock and litters of organic fertilizers. For instance, a Tibetan family, mainly women, collects about 20 ton per year of oak leaves for livestock bedding. 4. NTFPs for marketing and subsistence: there are thousands of plant species traditionally collected by indigenous people for their own consumption as well as marketing. In 2001, a total of 1250 ton of one species, matsutakes (Tricholoma matsutake), has been exported for Japan, earning more than 6 million USD. Forest-based services: 1. Scenic and recreation: The nature reserves including forest parks covers more than 6% of total area in Yunnan. Most nature reserves service for tourism development. 2. Hydrological and meteorological function: With increasing forest destruction and degradation, there is a total area of 352,000km2 in upper Yangzi river basin area subjected to soil erosion, a total of 1560million tons top soil lost annually. The natural vegetation can contribute substantially to the soil erosion control. 3. Natural disaster prevention 4. Nutrient cycle : field research shows that one hectare forest land contributes 4 ton of nitrogen to soil. 5. Food chain for wildlife

Carbon sink: Forest plays crucial role in terrestrial ecosystems. One is carbon dioxide releasing from and fixing in the biomass. Fang (2001) study shows that Chinese forests released about 0.68 petagram of carbon between 1949 and 1980, for an annual emission rate of 0.022 petagram of carbon. Carbon storage increased significantly after the late 1970s from 4.38 to 4.75 petagram of carbon by 1998, for a mean accumulation rate of 0.021 petagram of carbon per year, mainly due to forest expansion and regrowth. Since the mid-1970s, planted

3 forests (afforestation and reforestation) have sequestered 0.45 petagram of carbon, and their average carbon density increased from 15.3 to 31.1 megagrams per hectare, while natural forests have lost an additional 0.14 petagram of carbon, suggesting that carbon sequestration through forest management practices addressed in the Kyoto Protocol could help offset industrial carbon dioxide emissions. The Kyoto protocol calling for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (Dec 1997) demonstrated a consensus among scientists that climate change is an important environmental challenge for our world. Vegetation cover in SW China has a major influence on both local and global climate patterns (Derbyshire & Gasse 1996 Longrigg & Rowe 1991). The Tibetan plateau and adjacent mountains are major players in global climate stability and have an especially important influence on the Indian monsoon. With the help of computer modelling up to 29 indicators have been identified which help predict the formation of monsoons. Two important indicators include the "jet streams" in the upper atmosphere and snow cover. The amount of snow cover is partially determined by the amount of vegetation, forest and grass cover (Reiter 1981 1993). Green forests absorb 95% of solar heat, deforested areas & grassland 80% , barren land and rock even less, and snow virtually nothing. Forested areas break up snow cover and help retain more solar heat, while deforestation leads to increased "albedo" (Wang Hongchang nd) resulting in snow disasters (Studley 1999) and delays in snow melt. As tree cover decreases, heating mechanisms diminish and pressure systems are altered posing a threat to the onset of the onset of the monsoon (Zheng & Wu 1995), potentially catastrophic for Asian agriculture (Reiter 1993) As the heating capabilities of Tibetan plateau and adjacent mountains are delayed jet stream patterns that affect the entire northern hemisphere are altered. Causal links are believed to exist between extended snow cover on the Tibetan plateau, sunny weather in Europe typhoons in the Pacific (Reiter 1981 1993) and possibly intensive rain in Eastern China (Brown & Halweil 1998).

2. RESEARCH SITE, OBJECTIVES AND METHODS

2.1 Research site: Yunnan 1. Biophysical setting: Yunnan is a mountainous, ethnic inhabited, poverty-stricken and border Province. The boundary line of China stretches 4,060 kilometers in Yunnan Province, where eight prefectures border on Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and where 13 ethnic groups reside both in China and in the neighboring countries. Because of this, exchanging visits and carrying out border trade as well as cross-border marriage between people on either side of the border has been going on since ancient times. The province has a total population of 41 million people of 26 minor nationalities, with 16 prefectures, autonomous prefectures and municipal cities within its jurisdiction. Yunnan borders on Guizhou Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to the east, Sichuan to the north and Tibet Autonomous Region to the northwest. To its west is Myanmar and to its south are Laos and Vietnam. The boundary line of China stretches 4,060 kms in Yunnan. About 94 per cent of the province are mountainous area.

4 As the extension of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Yunnan has an interesting geological structure. The Himalayan orogenic movement pushed up the "Roof of the World" from the ocean floor, forming several north-south mountain ranges and deep valleys. The Yunling, Nushan and Gaoligong Mountains are narrow and precipitous. The Jinsha (the Yangtse), Lancang (the Mekong) and Nujiang (the Salween) rivers flow through the province. Between the Lancang and Jinsha rivers, is the source of the Yuanjiang River (the Red). The Yunling-Ailao Mountain cuts the Yunnan topography into two sections: the eastern section is the Yunnan- Guizhou Plateau with an average elevation of 2,000 meters and many small lakes; the western section is filled with mountains, rivers and valleys. From peaks to river valleys is usually a sheer drop, which creates a rugged terrain. The important water systems in southeast Asia are concentrated here, including the Jinsha, Nanpan, Lancang-Mekong, Nujiang-Salween, Yuanjiang-Honghe, Dulong-Irrawaddy rivers. The whole province is environmentally sensitive. The ecological health of the "roof" of Southwest China and Southeast Asia is rapidly deteriorating. At the same time a planned increase in the socioeconomic development of this region will bring new and vast construction of communication and transportation infrastructure along the Great Mekong Sub-region. New dams, roadways, railways, waterways, and airways are being constructed. Insufficient attention seems to have been given to the direct connection between the exploitation and sustainability points of view. 2. Socio-cultural diversity The roof of Southeast Asia (Yunnan) provides shelter for 42 million people. The vast majority of this population dwell in the mountainous areas (94% of total area) and is comprised of more than 26 distinctly different ethnic minorities (accounting for 31% of total population); the Han Chinese mostly inhabit lowland valley and urban areas. The government of China has a strong interest in political security within this mountainous region and has expressed a concern for the region's environmental impact on the economies of Yunnan and the surrounding provinces affected by the Yangtze and Pearl Rivers.The distinctly different ethnic minorities inhabiting the upland ecosystems in Yunnan practice various forms of agriculture including the hillside terraces for rice and vegetables of the Hani and Yi peoples, the complex agroecosystems of the Dai and Bai, and the swidden practices of the Miao(Hmong), Lisu and Jingpo, pastoralists of Tibetan, etc.

Traditionally as an ethnically diverse region, the natural resources including territorial land governed by a range of customary institutions and rules that were monitored and enforced by the village chiefs and elders, and higher-level governors. These institutions structured villagers’ attitudes, social relationships and even technology in such as way as to ensure sustainable harvest natural resources from over-exploitation, and to secure collaboration in managing those

5 resources. The effectiveness of customary institutions depends on cultural identity and resilience to external influences. Although some cultural practices (such as religious rituals) were changed, especially during the Cultural Revolution, most of the rules and norms for forest resource management still function in some indigenous communities.

6 Case: Customary Forest Laws and Mountain Protection Monument in Ana Village, Qing Dynasty Men with beard is respected (men with beard is indicative of his seasoned age and rich experience) and those without are not. The same idea applies to mountains too. A person with beard and hair is like mountains covered by forest and grass. In the same token, mountain sheltered in forest and grass is like a person well clothed. A barren mountain is no different from a naked person, exposing its fresh and born. An unsheltered mountain with poor soil painfully bears great resemblance to a penniless and rugged man. Even a pine tree or single bamboo grows thousands of leaves and branches, how can a mountain tolerate a treeless state? Yes, indeed, no one does not enjoy being amongst clean streams and green mountains. Everyone understands only healthy green forest and fertile soil can nurture ever-flowing springs. No one doubts about the significance of those fundamental elements of the nature, such as soil, water and fire. Yet, do we know it is the root of trees and forest that bring us water? It is for our benefit and fortune, meanwhile upon the order of the officials, our village has established tradition of electing village forest guard since the time of Ch'ien-lung emperor (1711-1799, Qing Dynasty). Alas, there have been so many generations of the old who have conscientiously protected our village’s forest till today. Let us dare not to discontinue this tradition. Has not the benefit of maintaining good forest obvious to us all? Without good forest, where else can we obtain our firewood, which provides the source of fire and source of our livelihood ultimately? Who would be too stupid to ruin our source of livelihood? Is not as well, our source of pride to have beautiful forest that escort our hometown while helping us to read the wind and cloud. What other scenery in this world could be better than this? Who does not want to have sustainable supply of timber for our house and firewood for our livelihood? Who and who else, which generation of our forefathers or grandchildren have not and would not benefit from this generosity of our mountains? Let us be thankful yet responsible. Let us be concerned about potential disasters if our forest is to be befallen bed luck due to our irresponsibility. Hence, we have to re-affirm the teaching of our tradition and behold the wish of harmonious village rural life in which each and every one of us is observing our codes of morality and behaviors so that our forest is with us forever. With these said, we want to reiterate the following: Our forest guard elected should be fair, straight, honest and moral. We have no tolerance in case of violation, but elect another; Our villager rangers should patrol our mountains everyday, no slackness should be tolerated, otherwise their salary should be deducted; Falling of tree for timber use should be paid for. Specific trees are for specific uses. 200 Wen (Qing currency) should be paid for one Pine tree (??, donot know the latin name). Those who fall a tree for no purpose is to be fined for 300 Wen and those who fall a tree with no village pre-consent should be fined for 300 Wen too. Within the Daqin area east to Shangjie Rd., west to Doupo, north to the peak is to be enclosed for forest natural regeneration and no logging is allowed. Five years later, five trees can be harvested for building of one tile-roofed house, and three for grass-thatched house. Those who wants to risk for more should be fined for 5 Bi (Qing currency) in addition to community labor work at the following locations ….. A tomb to be build at collective forest, the trees nearby belong to the collective. No logging is allowed. The Pine and oak trees in the following mountains are also to be closed from logging: Xiao Ana Mountains, Lengshuiqing, Wuluoshan, Datongshan, Hongshan, Qingtongshan. All of them is worth of three Dou (Qing weight meas urement) and two Seng (Qing weight measurement). No one is allowed to harvest pine and oak leaves for fertilizer (pile it up in the field and burn it). The fine is 50 Wen. ( no idea what this item is about) Digging (as a means to show the ownership) is exclusively prohibited in the area from top of Wuzhang mountain to its waist and to the outside of the Hongding and to the Dapingtan. Hand-written by Sr. Yiyang, YANG Tai Made and signed by all villagers heads on the date of “JI”, the month of “Jiazhong”, the season of “Maoshen”, the third year of Jiaqing Empeor Regime, Qing Dynasty.

7 2.2 Research objectives The specific objectives of the policy review in forest management are the following: l To gain a clear understanding of how forestry policies are developed and designed to achieve the environmental goods and services; l To make a critical review of those policies in terms of decentralization and accountability; l To assess the impacts of those policies on local livelihood and forest resource management. 2.3 Methods 1. Policy document analysis and literature review Procure and review relevant government policies and secondary data on resource management, economic development, and environmental protection. This review will result in the identification of state development theory, invention approaches, key policies for environment conservation and economic development. Assessing policy implementation processes at provincial levels will also contribute to define field sites for further field assessment. Literature review for each site and topic will also enable preparation of appropriate field strategy, processes and methods.

2. Semi-structured interviews A check list will be prepared for semi-structured interviews of different government agencies as well as other relevant stakeholders, such as research professionals and local representatives. We prefer semi-structured interviews for the policy review, as they provide a better understanding of the different dimensions of the policies and its rationale. 3. Mini-workshop: Facilitated focus-group discussion with VIPP A well-selected focus-group for each sector or topic will be formulated for group mini- workshop discussion. And then an inter-sectoral group will be organized for discussion of cross-cutting issues related to inter-sectoral dialogue, collaboration and communication. During the mini-workshops the participants will be supported by means of facilitation tools to focus on the relevant topics, provide and exchange their knowledge and opinions and outline the limitations and potentials of government policies at different levels. 4. Questionnaire on institutional capacity We will prepare a short questionnaire for government agencies to be able to gather the quantitative data on institutional capacity and human resources. Especially in an intercultural context questionnaires have the difficulty to obtain the details and specific cultural meanings, therefore we only use them for the strict data.

3. ACTORS IN FORESTRY POLICY AND CONSERVATION

3.1 Governmental (Formal) Institutions There are six levels of government jurisdiction: (i) national; (ii) provincial; (iii) prefecture; (iv) county; (v) township; and (vi) administrative village (AV). The forest agencies at different levels have major responsibilities for forest management and biodiversity conservation incorporation with other government agencies such as environmental protection. The major Provincial Government departments maintain representative offices within the Prefecture Governments, and often, also within the county and township government structures. Townships are the lowest level of government in the official administration. Under townships are AVs, which in turn supervise a number of Natural Villages (NV). AV and NV leaders receive nominal compensation from the government for their services, whereas

8 employees at township and higher levels receive full salary. 3.2 Informal Institutions There is also a range of informal institutions working in areas relevant to forestry research and development. Table . Informal Institutions for research and development in forestry Quasi-governmental agencies and Independent non- Community-based and research institutions governmental religious organizations organizations (NGOs) Institute of Botany Center for Biodiversity and Village Committees Indigenous Knowledge (CBIK) Kunming Institute of Zoology The Nature Conservancy Kinship institutions State-owned Enterprises (such as Private agricultural Farmers groups Logging companies) production enterprises Township and Village Enterprises Private tourism enterprises Buddhist monasteries (TVEs) Southwest College of Forestry Center for Community Development Studies Institute for Forest Planning and Inventory 3.3 Distinct Local Institution Features High levels of cultural and ethnic diversity and physical isolation result in two important distinct local institution features of particular relevance to forest management: · a comparatively strong sense of community still exists in many rural villages, as evidenced by the functioning of farmers’ groups, parent meetings, churches, Buddhist monasteries, local language schools and various kinship institutions. In addition, in many villages, long-standing community rules governing resource access are still in effect (e.g., matsutake mushroom collection, yak grazing, fuel wood collection); and, · local government agencies tend to be more autonomous , and not as closely linked to their provincial government counterparts. 3.4 Village Committees, Democratization and Decentralization Recent fundamental reforms to support democratization and decentralization are dramatically changing the institutional landscape at the local level: · “Household responsibility system” seeks to shift the centrally-planned and commune-based decision-making process to a household-based process, and to shift from a subsistence- to a market-oriented economy in rural areas; · Village democratization process: Two landmark 1998 laws establish, for the first time, democratic elections of Village Committees (VC) and Village Leaders, placing new responsibilities/rights for managing local natural resources in the hands of VCs; · Collective forests : Villages have been provided access to and management responsibilities for collective forests. Typically, these are a few hundred hectares in size, covering low-elevation forest in proximity to the village.

4. POLICIES IN FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION: AN OVERALL DECENTRALIZATION

Since 1950 China has implemented numerous, and sometimes conflicting, policies affecting the ownership of land, both agricultural and forest, and access to those natural resources. During the

9 collective period, 1958 to 1978, people's communes collectively owned agricultural land, and forestlands were owned either by communes or by the state. During this period, local governments planned grain production. Lack of government authority during the Cultural Revolution (1966 to 1976) caused a large loss of forest. In addition, the state demanded local people to increase grain production in order to achieve food self-sufficiency. This also resulted in large expansions of swidden land and forest loss.

From 1978 to 1983, under the household responsibility system, agricultural lands, such as paddy fields, were contracted out to individual farmers but forests were still under state control. Boundaries between state forests and private agricultural lands were not clear and this often caused conflicts between government agencies and local collectives or individuals. In order to stake their claim to contested-forest lands, local collectives or individuals sometimes resorted to clearing the land for agricultural purposes causing further loss of forest cover. During 1982 and 1983, Yunnan Province has implemented a policy called ‘liangshanyidi’ (freehold and contracted forestlands and swidden fields) with the objective of stabilizing forestlands and swidden fields. The goal of this reform was to shift forest management from the state to individuals. Under this reform, both freehold plots and collectively held forests can be leased to individual households. 4.1 The state’s role in forest management: exclusion and inclusion In order to achieve long term sustainable forest management, the first “PRC Law of Forest” had been passed by the People’s Congress in Sep. 20, 1984, and further revised in 1998. The item1 states that the law is made to protect, cultivate and rationally utilize forest resources, to speed up pace of greening national territory, to play the roles of forest in soil and water conservation, climate adjustment, environment improvement and product supply, and to meet needs of socialist construction and people’s living. It emphasizes both ecological and economic functions of forest for different stakeholders.

The forest law applies both exclusion and inclusion for forest management by defining who has inclusive or exclusive rights to access, manage, control and harvest forest resources. Exclusion (logging): Item29: ... Limited quota for logging should be made annually (less than growth volume).. Item32: ... Permission is necessary for logging.... Item33: ... Permission should not exceed annual logging quota... Inclusion: Item 9: …more autonomy rights for forestry development, timber distribution and forestry fund in ethnic autonomy region. Item 27: …collective or individual plants trees based on contracts, the trees belong to collective or individual 4.2 Relevant polices in forestry and conservation Review of the relevant policies shows that forestry management is in transition, which includes a) a shift from subsistence to a market orientation: the forest provides not only the supplementary needs for food, vegetables and others, but also for cash income generation; b) a tenurial shift from state to collective even private, peaked in the implementing policy on, “wasteland auction”, 30% forest is state and 70% collective own; c) a shift from production function to ecological function and conservation of biological diversity, particularly after the worst floods of Yangtze River in 1998; d) a shift form central planning for reforestation to decentralized planning and multi-stakeholder participation; e) a shift from mono-culture for tree planning to more diversified multi-purpose trees intercropping, agro-forestry etc.; f) a shift from traditional cultural values and beliefs to a modern value system. The consequences of these transformations have had dramatic impacts on natural resource management in these areas.

Date Title of Legislation No. Major Actor

10 I. Land Use and Land Tenure/Access 1/1979 Establishing Agriculture Household Responsibility System State Council 11/1981 Establishment of 22 New Nature Reserves in Yunnan Yunnan forestry dept 12/1981 Collective Forest land Allocation to Individual Household in forms Ministry of Forestry of contracted hill-land and free-hold hill-land and Provincial Govt 1992 Establishment of Ten National Forest Parks for Tourism Purpose Yunnan Forestry Dept 6/1994 Auction of collective barren land to native and outside people Yunnan People’s Congress 12/1999 Upland Conversion (for forest/grassland) State Forestry Bureau, State Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance II. Forestry and Conservation 11/1981 Establishment of 22 New Nature Reserves in Yunnan Yunnan forestry dept 20/9/1984 Laws of Forestry of PR China National People’s revised in Congress 29/4/1998 1984 State List of Rare and Endangered Species State Council Environmental Protection Committee 4/1985 Timber Logging Quota System Establishment Ministry of Forestry, Yunnan forestry dept 6/7/1985 Management Methods of Forests and Wildlife Reserves State Council 6/10/1986 Detailed Management Regulation of Wildlife and Nature Reserves Provincial Government 8/11/1988 Laws of Wildlife Protection of PR China National People’s Congress 1/1989 List of Key State Protected Wildlife Species Ministry of Forestry, and Agriculture 1989 List of Rare and Endangered Wildlife Species of Yunnan Province Provincial Government 8/1/1991 Notice of Strengthening Wildlife Protection and Wildlife Crime Provincial Government Penalty 7/11/1991 Announcement on Wildlife Resources Protection Provincial Government 1995 Bio-Resource Development Program of Yunnan Province Provincial Government 1995 Classified (ecological and commercial) Forest Management Ministry of Forestry 1996 Strengthening Management of Rare and Endangered Wildlife and Yunnan Forestry Dept Plant Species 1/1997 Regulation for Protection of Terrestrial Wildlife Yunnan Forestry Dept 10/1998 (Commercial) Logging Ban or Natural Forest Protection National government III. Marketing 10/1982 Urgent Notice of Forbidding Illegal Logging (to close down timber Yunnan forestry dept market around forest areas) 3/1984 Rules on Decentralization of Collective Forestry Management Yunnan forestry dept Rights (30% products can be sold on market) 3/1985 A new policy on cancellation of government purchasing and selling Provincial system, and fully opening timber market 11/1986 New Taxation System of Timber Provincial Commerce 12/1990 Notice of the People’s Court, People’s Inspection, Forestry of Ministry of Forestry Ministry, Ministry of Public Security and State Industrial and and Ministry of Public Commercial Administration on Strictly Cracking down Illegal Security Wildlife Hunting, Poaching, Purchasing, Passing-on Selling, Smuggling Activities 4/1991 Management Methods of Permits of Key State-Protected Wildlife Ministry of Forestry Farming 5/1991 Notice of Further Enhancing Management of Selling and State Industry and Purchasing Wildlife and Wildlife Products Commerce Administration V. Policies Associated 1978- Opening up and Market-Oriented Economic Reform 1992 The Party’s 14th Congress established the socialism market system 1994 New taxation system is established by the State Council

11 1995 Tourism and bio-resources are selected as two of the four pillar industries of Yunnan Province 1996 The provincial government decides to alleviate poverty totally by the year 2000. ????: Who

5. EMERGING FORESTRY POLICIES

5.1 Logging ban or natural forest protection

Policy context: The natural forest protection (or logging ban) policy has been implemented by the Yunnan Provincial Government starting in October 1,1998. A total of 8’480,000 ha forestland, almost 1/3 of the total forested area in Yunnan, is affected covering 13 prefectures particularly in NW Yunnan. The logging ban has had very significant impacts on the state timber industry, loggers, local government revenue, as well as the livelihoods of indigenous communities. Dramatic declines in income from the logging and forest products industry have forced local farmers to look for alternative sources of livelihood, such as livestock production and grazing, and harvesting NTFPs in the forested area. Local governments in the affected communities now have much less revenue from the sale of timber for the improvement of local infrastructure and facilities. Limited government revenue in turn has a direct negative impact on local institutional capacity for resource governance.

Map of logging ban area in Yunnan

Notes: The logging ban operates in 54* counties (47.9%) comprising 164,343.4 km2, including 9 counties where reforestation experimental units operate. This does not include the following 3 counties: Zhanyi, Qilin, Guandu.

Accountability: It is estimated that in Prefecture, for example, local income was reduced by 35m RMB, in government income by 70% and that 1.2m people became poor (Anon US Embassy 2000 Prof Zhao pers comm 21/8/01). The logging bans greatly limited sources of income in many villages because farmers own stocks of timber could no longer be cut and the labour opportunities in logging or transportation had gone (Mallee 2000). This has driven many to find off-farm

12 income or back to subsistence lifestyles Although employment has been provided for some who were involved in the logging industry and some compensation has been paid to local governments, this has proved inadequate. Probably the largest impact has been at the county or community level, where capacity to develop infrustructure & maintain health & education services has been seriously impaired. In spite of the impact of the logging ban, there are signs of localised recovery. In Deqin, for example, where government income was reduced by 80% and 340,000 people became poor the economy changed from logging to tourism. Degree and form of decentralization l Large scale implementation with time constraint l Multi-sector leading group at different level l Centralized planning process l Finance incentive driven for forestry agency Degree and form of participation l Inadequate participation from relevant government agencies, such as environment, agriculture and poverty alleviation during planning process l Lack of technical support for reforestation, forest management l Contracted based for forest management from formal logging workers and foresters l No community participation at all 5.2 Upland Conversion

Policy Context: The logging ban on natural forestland immediately followed by the “Sloped Farmland Conversion” policy has put some indigenous communities in a serious dilemma. According to this policy, any sloping farmland of more than 25o has to be converted into forest or grassland; the intention is that this conversion is to be supported by government subsidies for grain, children’s education and healthcare fees, and seedlings. However, while the conversion policy is being fully implemented, the subsidy policy is still in the pilot phase, and most farmers have doubts about the sustainability of these subsidies and their alternative livelihood. From late 1999 a new policy (tuigeng huanlin huancao) was introduced for converting steep agricultural land, on slopes over 25 degrees into forest or grassland. Under the policy local farmers are given RMB 50, to buy tree seedlings, for every mu transferred and 150kg of unprocessed “rice” per mu/per year for 5 years for economic plantations and 8 years for ecological plantations. In Yunnan there are 9 pilot counties , comprising 11.21m mu of steep land, of which 2m mu have been transferred to terrace, 8m mu to forest, and 1m mu to grassland. Of the 128 counties in Yunnan, 126 include steep land suitable for conversion to forest.

Map of Upland Conversion

13 Notes: The upland conversion plan operates in 10* counties (11.5%) , comprising 39,592.9 km2. Accountability: l Financial controlled by national government through quota system for pilot demonstration l Limited power at provincial level l Attractive incentives for farmers for conversion l Mainly upward accountable for higher level government l Less accountable for local communities

5. DECENTRALIZATION OR CENTRALIZATION

5.1.1 Strengths Generally speaking the Chinese States policy making & implementation capacity is well developed in comparison with many other countries. It can mobilize considerable financial and manpower resources down to village level through a powerful system of quotas that are transmitted from higher to lower levels. This works well when the pressure from the centre is strong and when the focus is well defined and limited. This approach is more successful in construction than in follow-up and usually more effective when activities concern a single sector, rather than coordination among many departments. There are some drawbacks, however. When the stakes are high, it may result in coercion at the village level (Mallee 2000). Although central government declared that its function should shift from central planning to a guidance and assistance system, local government policy is still a controlling, central-based system. The YFB appears on the basis of interviews with key informers to have adequate capacity with top-down decision making, and in addressing each stage of the policy making & implementation process. 5.1.2 Constraints During interviews the following conclusions emerged : l Much policy making in YFB is top-down and decision making is done by leaders l Most participation takes place with experts (who speak with one voice) or sometimes with rich farmers or village leaders l There is very little input from “social science & economics” l Forest Policy tends to blindly follow agriculture l There is inadequate feed-back l Although some of the policy making staff have studied participatory methods they do not appear to be using them (for policy making & implementation)

14 l Lack of institutional mechanism for applying participatory approach in forestry management and particularly in policy making & implementation l The institution is not yet ready for participatory pro-poor approaches l The leaders lack of capacity to build on vernacular culture, “intercultural” reciprocity, and synergy l The lack of any iterative feed-back in the policy making & implementation process l The lack of flexibility at Provincial level to adapt state policy to the local context 5.1.3 Potentials The potentials in forest management and policy development are the following: l Public interests and awareness in forestry management l State pays attentions to environment protection and environmental services role of forest l Great indigenous knowledge, practices, technology and customary institutions for managing forest resources l Complete forestry management system from provincial level to township

6. FIELD IMPACTS

1. Impact on biodiversity and ecosystem Biodiversity is conventionally interpreted as diversity in genetics, population, species and the ecosystem. In Yunnan, the plant and animal kingdom are well represented. There are about 14,000 flowering plant species (half of those in China), about 767 bird species (66%), and 248 mammal species (56%). About half of the endangered species in China are protected in 76 separate natural reserves comprising 4% of the total land area of Yunnan Province. Vegetation types range from tropical rainforest, through broadleaf forests to alpine bushes and meadows. Biodiversity is a property of the natural ecosystem, but it is a product of an interaction between social and bio-physical and indigenous knowledge and cultural diversity. The Logging Ban or Natural Forest Protection Program implemented in late 1998 covers 8.5million ha forestland (accounting for 66% of forest land in the province) in main river basins of Yunnan, which including upstream of Yangtzi, Lancang-Mekong, Salween, a total of 74 counties of 13 prefectures. Those forest accounting for a total of 2.3% land will provide the most important ecological functions in terms of biodiversity conservation, climate regulation, nutrient cycle, water and erosion control and food chains in the ecosystem. Based on informal plan of The Upland Conversion Program of the Yunnan Province, a total of 8.8 million mu (0.59million ha) of farmland (slope more than 25o) and 4.14million mu (0.28miilion ha) wasteland will be converted into forestland or grassland by 2010, which contribute to increasing 2.2% forest cover, 660million m3 water-holding capacity, decreasing 70 million m3 soil erosion. 2. Impact on local livelihood of the poor Zhao et al (2001) reported that the logging ban has significantly decreased income for those who directly depend on logging as logging labour. Logging labour provides 1/3 to 1/2 of total household income in the logging areas of Nujiang, Lijiang and Diqing Prefectures of NW Yunnan. The Tibetan and other indigenous people traditionally burned their grazing land for weed control and increasing soil fertility. The NFPP reinforced the no burning allowed in the forestland and its conjunction areas, which has great impact on the quality of grazing land. The potential impact of upland conversion targeted the all sloped upland by 2010 on indigenous people is great, which covers about ten million mu and affects one fourth of total population in in the mountain region(see table). Compensation in terms of grains and cash is simply not enough for indigenous. Provision of alternative livelihood strategies and options are more important for local farmers for better well-being and environment.

15 Table: Farmlands with in major watersheds of Yunnan Major watershed Yield of >25o% Total Farmland % of Relevant Populatio farmland of total farmland > 25o farmland townships n >25o farmlan (10,000mu) (10,000m >25o in (10,000) (kg/ mu) d u) Yunnan Jinsha-Yangtze 196 9.4 3229.61 302.78 27 497 340.5 Nanpan-Pearl river 174 7.6 2101.73 158.81 14.2 2432 168.0 Honghe-Red river 159 19.3 1479.73 284.92 25.4 293 198.5 Lancang-Mekong 139 12.1 2055.56 249.64 22.3 231 184.7 Nujiang-Salween 116 22.4 448.45 100.36 8.9 106 52.6 Drong-Irrawaddy 168 7.6 327.92 24.82 2.2 78 61.4 Total 159 11.6 9643 1121.33 100 1448 1005.7 (Yunnan Upland Conversion Draft Plan, 2001) Both forest policies pose a threat to the poor, because they threaten the subsistence base, the "common land", grazing, and customary rights, including the Natural Forest Protection , Upland Conversion , River Reforestation, Nature Reserves & Forest Parks). This is exacerbated if no provision is made for the gathering of NTFP, fuelwood or the inclusion of agro-forestry in the upland conversion and reforestation schemes. Map of Poverty Counties in Yunnan

Notes: 127 counties (76%), comprising 262,133.1km2 are considered "poverty counties" 3. Impact on community institutions Local communities in logging operation areas used to use additional logging quotas for local infrastructure and facility maintenance and development, such as building road, access to electricity, telecommunication and water. The state funds for natural forest protection include state forestland but exclude collective forestland. The local communities do not have directly benefits from those protections. The increasing unemployment of young people and surplus of rural labour also cause social problems in some communities. Some poor families could not afford to support their children for school after logging ban.

Map of poverty, upland conversion & logging ban

16 Notes: By extrapolation from the poverty, logging ban & upland conversion map this includes 6 counties ( 9.04%), comprising 31,022.8 km2 4. Impact on minority peoples The interdependencies between minority people and forestry is being much more widely recognized as is the correlation between ethnic diversity & biodiversity, the importance of linguistic ecologies, and the place of indigenous knowledge in development practice (He Pikun et al 2000 Maffi 1998 & 2001, Muhlhausler 1996), but this realisation is taking place against a backdrop of ethnic & linguistic erosion (Blench 2001) Ethnicity develops as the signature of a distinct culture evolves and this is reflected as much in dress as in natural resources management or social structure. For a group to cohere it must have powerful internal mechanisms to maintain and develop ethnic boundary markers. However, these also enforce social rules and are usually the channel for collective action, such as agriculture and public works. Such mechanisms are at their weakest on the periphery of dominant cultures. It is therefore no surprise that poverty and social fragmentation are at their worst there. These provide powerful arguments for maintaining the high levels of social capital that minority culture implies. Ethnic minorities, particularly those, who have lived in the uplands of Yunnan for many generations characterised by a highly autonomous subsistence system, are being economically & ethnically marginalised in the transition to the socialist market economy and by globalization. This is due, in part to the incomparability of vernacular institutions and difficulties in adapting to external institutional change. Some factors, including government policy, market stimuli and development interventions, have already dramatically affected minority societies and the process of change The indigenous people of Yunnan have lived in harmony with their environment for many generations. They have developed a range of methods for managing natural resources based on their own distinctive perceptions and sophisticated local knowledge, for instance, many mountains, landscapes and sites are regarded as sacred by different ethnic groups in the religion and cultural beliefs, such as Meili Snow Mountain worshiped by the Tibetan in Deqing, Jizuo Mountain by Buddhism of Bai people, hundreds of “holly hills” nearby Dai villages in Xishuangbanna, Xilong Mountain worship by the Kucong (Black Lahu) people. A greater understanding of their systems could aid the formulation and implementation of

17 government policies and the establishment of new social arrangements for sustainable development (Xu 1995) Natural Forest Protection Program: Minority peoples in Yunnan were rather upset by the Natural Forest Protection plan, because throughout their lives they had largely protected the forest, they were not responsible for the felling (which caused the floods & logging ban), they received no compensation (which went to the PAO or state forest workers) and they are expected to "protect" it (which excludes them and their customary rights) Upland Conversion Policy: In Deqin, Lijiang & Nujiang many trees were cut on a state timber quota basis and the new emphasis is on planting (upland conversion) rather than logging. Some are planting “agro-forestry” species, but intercropping is not easy. 5. Impact on Gender Under conditions of social equilibrium, a community clearly defines roles separated by gender and roles which are shared (Studley et al 1995). The pattern of roles generally forms a sustainable livelihood strategy given the resource factors of the local area. Given the role of rural & minority women in Yunnan they have developed a close and direct relationship with the forest not only, for gathering forest products, but in terms of vernacular forest management and tree planting. Firewood , pine needles (for livestock bedding), mushrooms, herbs, grass (for weaving), and bamboo are all collected from the forest (He Chong Hua in He Pikun 2000) However with major external changes, the equilibrium in gender roles is broken and can be regarded as dysfunctional. Often this dysfuntionality reduces the ability of women to continue to play fully productive and safely reproductive roles in society. For instance, what is commonly observed in China is an increasing feminisation of agriculture (also old men and children). Also in fragile environments where water, fodder, fuel, and arable land are under threat, it is women who suffer more than men from this degradation. More hours are spent collecting water and firewood or attending to fields that produce less and less. When food is insufficient, it is usually the adult females who reduce their nutritional intake in favour of other family members. As a result of the extra work required to meet basic needs and reduced diet womens health tends to suffer (Voutas 2001) Gender & Forest Policy Rural women in Yunnan have developed a direct relationship with the forest, because of their requirements for firewood, water, animal bedding, fodder, herbs, medicinal plants, grass, mushrooms & bamboo. They are very concerned about environmental degradation, the lack of firewood, the lack of grazing, the lack of forest cover, the loss of water, they do provide the majority of the labour force for planting, and they are involved in vernacular forest management (He Chong Hua 2000) Upland Conversion Policy (Steep farmland to forestland) This policy appears to offer an “opportunity for awareness raising and economic activity” Poor women, especially in the NE (with high populations & limited land per capita) are less willing to convert that women in the west or northwest. Women cannot afford to buy even economic trees, and for the programme to succeed they must be provided free. Many women feel the compensation is too low, and there is concern among poor women (with limited land) about the termination of compensation. Women are allowed (under direction form YFB) to plant walnut and cherry (YWF)

7. CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES

In general, most policies originate from two sources, one directly from decision makers, and a

18 second as a result of exemplars (practised by local people), discovered by policy makers when they are in the field.. In the latter case if the practice has merit they will develop and expand policies based on it across the province or even country. Mostly, policies are made and developed by government agencies, particularly policy and regulation division (such as forestry policy and regulation division in Department of Forestry). Once the framework of one policy is developed, typically a series of workshops and discussions will take place and the attendees (usually experts) will be invited to make suggestions on policy improvement. After the policy content has been developed it will be sent to the provincial government for approval. Only after it has been tested, however, on one or more selected sites, if it appears to be successful , will it be implemented in the whole province. During the policy development stage, some information and “impact assessment” will be made by the Policy & Regulation Division & the Local Forestry Office, and some feedback may be collected by local government. 1. Policy incompatibility The logging ban is incompatible with other previous forestry policies such as the forestland allocation in early 1980s, categorized forest management in middle 1990s and even the Forest Law. The forest law does not have explicit explanation about timber marketing, which has been closed three years ago. It needs a sustainable logging indication system and transparency logging quota allocation. 2. Tenure issues The natural forest regeneration, plantation and aerial seeding are main approaches in afforestation in Yunnan. Natural regeneration accounts for large forest cover in Yunnan. The rigid logging control in all natural forestland will effect local farmers enthusiasm for planting trees. Community forestry or social forestry can be only achieved together with tenure security. Recently emphasising long-term tenure security is simply not enough. Tenure rights consist of a bundle of rights which include rights for management, harvesting, transfer and marketing. 3. Equity and benefit sharing The NFPP covers mainly state forestland, the collective forests are not included. The upland conversion policy treats land equally, which does not address the special needs of the poor farmers. The poor families often have less farmland and therefore receive less subsidy from conversion. 4. Planning and implementation What opportunities do local people have to influence forestry policy? Who are involved in decision-making in forestry policy? The decision-making on logging ban or NFPP is driven by downstream and outsider early, and planning followed later, which is lack of participation from local level. Farmers do not know for whom to protect forest. For the upland conversion, conversion one share and returning two and even three are not practicable. There are not enough areas of wasteland and financial support for returning into forestland. 5. Monitoring and evaluation The monitoring and evaluation are both implemented by forest agencies itself. There is no channel for farmers to complain. Different foresters have different understanding of policies, for instance, in Lanping county, foresters do not allow farmers to plant any annual crop even in the first year of conversion, therefore agroforestry practice is exclusive from the conversion.

19 8. SUMMARY OF OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Forest Law should be compatible with the Civil Law, which emphasises to protect property rights for citizens. Farmers should have awareness and access to information and justice, such as the Administrative Suit Law etc. 2. To address the diversity and complexity of NFPP and upland conversion, it is necessary to establish an independent monitoring and evaluation system for policy implementation. 3. A Geographic Information System, which include dynamic geo-database, bio-database, socio-economic database, can be established for more effective large scale environmental vulnerability assess, priority planning and decision-making. 4. Upland Conversion Program should be implemented together with sustainable or alternative livelihood development projects, such as NTFPs collection and processing or small-scale enterprise development. 5. The planning both NFPP and Upland Conversion Program calls for more participation from local communities and other governmental agencies. The public or community hearing system can be established for planning, decision-making, monitoring and evaluation. 6. Involving research institutions and NGOs for environment impact assessment, participatory planning, and monitoring and evaluation. 7. Low tax and zero fees for forest-based farmers particularly for NTFPs collection in the upland conversion and NFPP areas. 8. The capacity of forestry agencies at different level needs to be strengthened for assessment, planning, monitoring and evaluation. It is particularly urgent to establish a professional field implementation team for two policies.

REFERENCES CITED:

Fang, Jingyun, et al, 2001, Changes in Forest Biomass Carbon Storage in China Between 1949 and 1998, VOL 292 SCIENCE.

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