-1- RP-27 VOL.2 China Guangxi Highway Project Ethnic Minority People's Development Plan Public Disclosure Authorized I. Introduction 1. The proposed Guangxi Third Highway Project is part of the provincial government's strategy for poverty alleviation in Guangxi. Many of the project areas are still without road access to the outside world and poor communication is a big obstacle in local development. Local people and government in the project areas have expressed realized the importance and significance of communications improvement in the project areas. There is a popular saying that "To become rich, build roads first." This well demonstrates their need and desire to build roads as a priority for poverty alleviation. This proposed project will significantly promote the poverty alleviation efforts and development in the project areas. Public Disclosure Authorized 2. The highway project would go through a largely ethnic minority area. About 29,302 people would be affected by land acquisition and house demolition under the project and over 95% of them belong to national ethnic minority groups. The World Bank OD 4.20 requires that a development plan be prepared to ensure that i) the development process fosters full respect for the dignity, human rights and cultural uniqueness of the minorities, and ii) the minority groups do not suffer adverse effects during the development process and iii) they receive culturally compatible social and economic benefits. 3. In line with the requirements of China laws, regulations and World Bank Operational Directive 4.30 on Involuntary Resettlement and 4.20 on Indigenous People, Guangxi Communications Department, with the assistance of Xi'an Highway University Public Disclosure Authorized and Guangxi Social Science Academy, has prepared a Resettlement Action Plan to cope with the adverse impacts, including those of land acquisition and house demolition. The relevant agencies have undertaken much work in the preparation of the project to meet the policy requirements on both involuntary resettlement and ethnic minority people. Extensive consultation were carried out during the project preparation. They provided a valuable feedback from project affected people (PAPs), particularly the minority PAPs, and served as a good base for the formulation of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP). 4. Since over 95% of the PAPs belong to nationality minority groups, the findings and rehabilitation measures designed for the affected ethnic minority groups are incorporated into the RAP to avoid duplication. In this sense, the RAP is actually a development action plan for all the PAPs, the majority of whom are the ethnic groups. The following is a summary of the ethnic minority aspects as contained in the RAP. Public Disclosure Authorized 2 - II Project Summary 5. The Third Guangxi Provincial Highway Project under preparation is 236 kilometers in length, 97 kilometers of which will be grade II in the undulating hilly areas, 140 kilometers will be expressway in the plain areas. There will be one tunnel, 25 bridges of various size, 62 overpasses, 250 underpasses and 1048 culverts. The project starts from Nanning City and ends in Shuiren Prefecture, traversing through five counties/cities in Nanning City, Wuming County, Mashan County, Duan County and Hechi City. The project would require the acquisition of 242,501 of land and demolition of 56,848 square meters of houses. III Local Ethnic Groups 6. Ethnic groups. Five ethnic groups reside in the project areas (administrative areas, not the immediate impact areas of the project). They are Zhuang, Yao, Miao, Maonan and Han, who is the mainstream population in China. The project offices have conducted detailed socioeconomic surveys and assessment, which conclude that over 95% of the affected people are ethnic minority people, the majority of whom belong to Zhuang (See Table 1 for details). Distribution of Affected Ethnic Minority Villages Table 1 County/City Township Villages Ethnic Group Hechi City Hechi Town 5 Zhuang, Han Wuyu Township 15 Zhuang, Han Baoping Township 5 Duan County Banling Township 6 Zhuang Xia'ao Township 35 Zhuang, Yao, Han, Miao Daxing Township 30 Zhuang, Yao Gaoling Town 24 Zhuang, Yao, Maonan Anyang Town 5 Zhuang Chenjiang Township 7 Zhuang Disu Township 16 Zhuang Mashan County Qiaoli Township 25 Zhuang, Han Lixu Township 22 Zhuang, Han Wuming County Fucheng Town 10 Zhuang, Han Chengdong Township 19 Zhuang, Han Chengxiang Township 19 Zhuang, Han Ningwu Township 3 Zhuang, Han Shuangqiao Town 15 Zhuang Ganxu Township 2 Zhuang Nanning Suburb Anji Township 11 Zhuang, Han Other Villages 12 Zhuang, Han -3 - 7. Zhuang minority. There are twelve ethnic minority groups in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. They account for 38.5% of its population, spreading over 60% of its land. With over 13 million in population, Zhuang is the largest ethnic minority group in China and Zhuang take up 33% of the population in Guangxi Autonomous Region. The Highway Project goes through some of the most concentrated Zhuang areas and over 85% of the affected people are Zhuang. 8. Zhuang people are the indigenous people of Guangxi. They can trace their recorded history to about 800 BC when the local tribes were called Yue. When Qing Dynasty united China in 221 BC for the first time, the central government started setting up administration in Guangxi. Since then over 2,000 year, Han, Yao , Miao and other groups started to move in, mostly due to wars, natural disasters and trade. This migration process was quickened during the Tang, Ming and Qin Dynasty. Zhuang people are from one of the Yue tribes. 9. Zhuang people are mostly living in the mountain valley areas where the other etlmic groups, particularly Yao, are mostly living up in the mountainous areas. There is local saying that "Yao live up high mountains, Miao small mountains, Han in flat areas and Zhuang in fertile valleys ". Unlike the Miao, Yao, Dong, Maonan, Mulao, Jing and Yi peoples who identify themselves to "outsiders" through use of distinctive, often colorful, dress, unusual foods, customs, habits, rituals and ceremonies, the Zhuang population do not attempt to identify themselves today through distinctive dress, foods, housing styles, songs, dancing, music or special customary ways or habits. The Zhuang people intermarry with the Han population and use the same complex lunar calendar and festival system as the Han population. Many of the villages visited, Zhuang and Han villagers together. In some villages, Zhuang and Yao villagers live together. 10. Zhuang is a non-written language, learned and used among the Zhuang population. Zhuang children become literate in Mandarin Chinese through schooling in primary and higher schools. Nearly all of the Zhuang people can communicate with their Han neighbors, conducting business, trade and going on to higher education and work. 11. Zhuang People, except for learning a language in infancy and childhood (Zhuang), share a lot in common with the Han groups. They are not likely to be affected differently in their customs, habits livelihood, life style, modes of food production and social behavior through involuntary resettlement, than if the Project were located in a province with a "Han" population. IV Socioeconomic Baseline Information of the Zhuang PAPs 12. Institutions. Guangxi is a Zhuang Autonomous Region. The position of the regional governor is always occupied by a Zhuang. It is the same with all the autonomous prefectures and counties where all the administrative head are from the main ethnic minority group in their administrative areas. Of the four affected counties and cities, Duah is a Yao Autonomous County where the county chief and many of the township chiefs are Yao. People from the ethnic minority groups can be found working -4 - at all levels of government. The recently issued "Villager Self-administration Law in Rural Areas" has further enhanced the political rights of the ethnic minority people in rural China. Like the rest of China, ethnic villagers now have the political rights to select and vote for village leaders for village governance. 13. Land tenure. The Land Law in China is the governing land policy in Guangxi Autonomous Region. There are two types of land ownership in China, i.e. state owned land and collectively owned land. All village land, both residential and agricultural land are collectively owned by all the villagers. China started the household land contract system in 1979. Under the system, the collective agricultural land are contracted out to individual households for farming. Currently the household land contracts have extended for another thirty years, starting from 1998. The project affected villages started their household responsibility system in 1983. The first contract was for fifteen years and, in 1998 when the old contracts expired, all the household contracts were extended for another thirty years. 14. Livelihood patterns. The project area lies in central and northwestern part of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The topography of the project area is mainly mountains and undulating hilly areas. Agriculture is the predominant industry in the project area. 15. The Zhuang PAPs are depending on agnrculture for their livelihood. The crops along the area include paddy, corn, bean and potato. Cash crops include sugar cane, tobacco, peanut, tea, fruit and herbs. The social assessment indicates that Zhuang people plant rice for their own consumption. They seldom eat corn. Plain areas have more paddy land while the mountainous regions depend completely on rain water for irrigation. There are a lot of vegetable plots along the project, particularly the areas around towns. Most Zhuang people grow vegetables for their own consumption except the suburban areas where farmers grow vegetables for commercial purpose, particularly in Nanning, Mashan and Duan Counties. 16. Sugar cane is a major source of their cash income. But it suffered from recent market fluctuations and this source of income has dropped in recent years. Fruit tree planting is an important source of their income.