China Protected Areas Leadership Alliance Project Strengthening Leadership Capacity for Effective Management of China’s Protected Areas YEAR II A partnership of the China State Forestry Administration The Nature Conservancy China Program East-West Center 4-31 May 2009 Table of Contents Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………………….…..…1 Map of China Model National Nature Reserves ………………………………………………………...…5 Descriptions of China’s 51 Model National Nature Reserves…………………………………..….………6 Training Needs for Protected Area Managers……………………………………………………….…….19 Year II Participants……………….……………………………………………………………….……….21 Participant Contact Information………………………………………………..…………….…….……...29 Classroom Training Schedule, Beijing Forestry University ….……………………………………...……31 Overview of Field Study and Collaborative Learning Component………......……………….…….…..…33 U.S. Field Study Agenda………………………………………………………………………...….……..36 U.S. Field Study Organizations…………………………………………………………….………..…….52 U.S. Field Study Speakers…………………………...……………………………………………….……60 U.S. Field Study Speaker Contact Information……………………………………………………………74 Project Staff ……………………………………….……………………………………………………....80 Project Staff Contact Information………………………………………………………………………....83 China Protected Areas Leadership Alliance Project Strengthening Leadership Capacity for Effective Management of China’s Protected Areas Executive Summary Protection of the natural and cultural heritage of China depends on the effective management of the nation’s protected areas. The Government of China has set aside fifteen percent of its land as “protected areas,” including nature reserves and national parks. These protected areas are China’s treasures and the basis for future prosperity of people throughout China, and beyond. Properly designed and managed, these protected areas are critical to the protection of China’s vital watersheds and other natural resources, such as animals, forests, plants and medicinal herbs; cultural resources, including those of China’s indigenous minorities; and some of the world’s most beautiful and historic landscapes. These areas are not only vital to the protection of China’s natural resources but are also a source of national pride, of employment and income for rural populations, and a major draw for tourism. Recognizing that legal designation is only the first step toward effective preservation, the government of China acknowledges that they face the challenges in developing the human capital needed to ensure the effective protection of these areas. Approximately eighty percent of China’s nature reserves are managed by the China State Forestry Administration and contain the majority of the nation’s wealth of biological diversity. The State Forestry Administration has recently established a system of fifty-one model nature reserves. The Nature Conservancy China Program and the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. have joined together in partnership with the China State Forestry Administration to strengthen leadership capacity for effective management of China’s protected areas by exposing selected nature reserve managers and government officials throughout China to innovative conservation management strategies taking place in the U.S. and Asia, as well as other countries around the world. The China Protected Areas Leadership Alliance Project is a five year initiative that focuses on informing leaders and training trainers. The program was launched in 2008 and is already having a considerable impact in China, connecting nature reserve managers with their peers and with the governmental officials responsible for their legal and financial support. The field study portion of the program has provided them with new perspectives, issues, tools, and strategies addressing ways to resolve key conversation management challenges. First year project alumni are moving forward with management plans drafted at the end of the month-long program. These plans include concrete actions such as conducting management audits and building visitor centers informed by their U.S. experience. Below is an overview of the China Protected Areas Leadership Alliance Project: Objectives A core of one-hundred and fifty senior officials and nature reserves managers with improved professional knowledge and skills to lead a nationwide movement for more effective management of China’s protected areas. Strengthened leadership of protected areas systems through continuing dialogue and mutual learning. Shared understanding at both the central government and field levels of best practices for dealing with the legal, social and political challenges of effective protected areas management. Improved relations between The Nature Conservancy and Chinese government agencies and protected areas managers. Improved domestic and international understanding of and cooperation with China’s conservation efforts. 1 A partnership of the China State Forestry Administration, The Nature Conservancy China Program, and the East-West Center Target Audience Officials with key responsibility for the planning and management of protected areas in China at both the provincial and central government levels. Protected areas managers and senior technical staff in the field from fifty-one model nature reserves and other priority protected areas throughout China. Identified Training Needs The China State Forestry Administration has identified the following areas as priorities for shared learning: Laws, regulation and enforcement, including issues of land ownership and zoning systems. Management systems, including conservation area planning, management, business and financial planning, and human resource issues such as staff training, performance evaluation and volunteer participation. Scientific research and monitoring, including technical guidelines on biodiversity baseline surveys and long-term biodiversity monitoring and management systems. Public outreach and awareness building, including educational programs, visitor center and website design, broadcast and written materials and other outreach strategies. Strategies for engaging local communities in resource management, including social mobilization and livelihood improvement activities designed to contribute to improved community participation in land management. Sustainable use strategies, such as determining the capacity for land and water resource use, user fees, and innovative eco-tourism management. Methodology The first three years of the project consists of one month of intensive classroom training and field study. The fourth and fifth years will include in-country follow-up workshops and long-term networking activities. Phase I A group of approximately thirty people are selected each year to participate in classroom training and field study. A certificate from the China State Forestry Administration, The Nature Conservancy, and the East-West Center is awarded to each participant upon successful completion of the training. One week of classroom lectures and discussion at leading universities in Beijing presenting a global conservation overview and specific case studies, including advanced conservation methodologies and critical issues such as protected area design and management, the impacts of climate change and other key threats to biodiversity, ecotourism, and related legal issues and legislation. Public policy management is also a key component of this training. Speakers include faculty from top universities in Beijing high-level government officials and experts in conservation planning, leadership, governance, environmental law and finance. Two weeks of field study in the United States or other appropriate countries, including visits to national parks, public and private forest and wetland reserves, and discussions with government officials, conservation organizations, and community associations. 2 China Protected Areas Leadership Alliance Project Strengthening Leadership Capacity for Effective Management of China’s Protected Areas One week of follow-up activities at the East-West Center concluding with a process of collaborative learning in the form of group discussions and break-out sessions to consolidate knowledge gained from presentations and field visits, discuss lessons learned, and integrate the information from a cultural context between the countries visited and China. The participants review the core competencies for protected area managers and develop a work plan for conservation management for each of their nature reserves or protected areas. Phase II In years four and five, the project will focus on long-term networking among participants and follow-up workshops conducted in-country at a variety of protected area sites to continue the learning and sharing of best practices. Workshops will focus on high priority shared issues and include case studies from protected areas in China, elsewhere in the Asia region, and around the globe. Project Partners China State Forestry Administration The China State Forestry Administration is the central governmental agency in the country responsible for managing all of China’s forestry and other natural conservation initiatives. Administrative departments include Reforestation, Forest Resource Management, Wildlife Conservation, Forest Police, Legislation and Policies, Development Planning and Fund Management, Science and Technology, and International Cooperation. The Administration’s primary functions include: (1) drafting legislation, and enforcing laws and regulations related to reforestation, forest resource