Course:CONS370/Projects/Conservation of Traditional Ecological Biodiversity in agriculture, forestry and fishing by the Dong Ethnic Minority in Hunan Province, China.

This Wiki page discusses the case study of conservation of traditional ecological biodiversity in agriculture, forestry and fishing by the Dong Ethnic Minority in Hunan Province, China. After a long history of development, Dong people have evolved unique practices that are not only consistent with their traditional culture but also effective in reaching harmonious coexistence with the environment. This case study aims to assess Dong people’s traditional concepts, practices in agriculture, forestry and fishery, as well as their social organization mechanism, in order to evaluate the pros and cons of Dong’s traditional knowledge in the conservation of ecological biodiversity. We hope to provide some useful reference for the exploration and utilization of traditional modern agriculture.

Description

Description of the community forestry case study – Where located; history; national or regional context (if appropriate)

Location, Population and History of Dong Ethnic Minority in China

Map of Dong ethnic minority in Hunan province

Dong is an ethnic minority in the People's Republic of China. Their residential area is mainly at the border of Guizhou, Hunan and Guangxi on the southeastern edge of the Yunnan-guizhou Plateau. There are 2,879,974 Dong people in China (according to the 2010 census), making it the 12th largest ethnic group in China. The ancestors of the Dong ethnic minority can be traced back to one of branch of Baiyue people in the Qin and Han dynasties. Later many Han people came to their territory and mixed with the local people, finally became the current Dong ethnic minority, with a history of more than 2,000 years.

Environmental Characteristics of Dong Ethnic Minority in Hunan, China

The Dong autonomous region mainly consists of mountainous areas. The terrain is high to the southeast, southwest, and north, and low to the northeast, with a strip of uplift in the middle, sloping toward the valleys on either side. Its territory has Wu water and Qingshui river, three big basins, 294 streams, with total river length of 1468.3 km.

Dong Ethnic Minority in Hunan is located in the low hills so that there are few high quality rice fields. The slope with "cold rust" field is in the majority. The layout of villages, irrigation and water conservancy, field management, rice and fish breeding all take into account the harmonious coexistence of natural ecology and the symbiotic mode of rice and fish (Liao, 2017). It is a subtropical monsoon humid climate zone with a mild climate, four distinct seasons, concentrated rainfall and abundant sunshine. The annual average temperature is 15.8°C ~ 17.3°C, and the annual rainfall is 1156.4 ~ 1432.9 mm. The average sunshine time is 1527.7 hours [over what period of time?], and the annual frost-free period is 279 days.

Traditional activity hold by Dong people in Hunan province

Natural Resources of Dong Ethnic Minority in Hunan, China

Dong autonomous county has dense forests, mild climate, complex terrain and a wide variety of wildlife. In 1983, during the process of forestry zoning, the Chinese government conducted a survey of wild animals in the whole county. There were more than 100 species of animals and birds, 11 families and 100 species of butterflies. Among animals and birds, 41 species are protected at the national level and 21 species are protected at the provincial level. Among the butterflies, there are some rare species, such as the broad tail butterfly, the dead leaf butterfly, the Chinese tiger butterfly, the white stick striped nymphalon butterfly and the dark ochre butterfly.

Due to the long-term function of geographical location and unique climate, Dong county is located in the transitional zone of the flora of central China and south China. Their characteristics include ancient origin, solitary species, rare and precious species, available for development and utilization of more species, and wide distribution, large reserves. There are 109 families, 352 genera and 1202 species of woody plants in the territory, among which 52 species are first discovered in the province and 15 species are endemic to the province. There are more than 100 families and 500 species of herbaceous plants, some of which are found for the first time in China. There are 21 species of bamboo plants, among which sifang bamboo, sinew bamboo, white bamboo, purple bamboo, luohan bamboo, tortoise shell bamboo, large section bamboo and solid bamboo are rare species; there are 41 families of Ferns, with 95 genera and 324 species; There are 18 species of lianas and 8 species of fungi. In addition, there are some unique plant communities such as natural bamboo and cypress community, south China five-needle pine community, fragrant fruit tree community and Hainan five-needle pine community.

Cultural ecology of Dong Ethnic Minority in Hunan, China

Hunan is home to the second largest Dong population province, with three Dong autonomous counties (Tongdao, Xinhuang and Zhijiang), covering an area of about 6,000 square kilometres. Maintaining cultural ecology is the premise of sustainable development of national culture. The dong culture of tongdao retains the form of traditional farming culture in the mountain area completely, with rich cultural connotation, complete elements, clear structure and level, and uninterrupted inheritance. In addition to the explicit outward forms of culture (such as language, dress, dance, architecture, food, ethnic behaviour), other internal, implicit cultural factors (such as concept consciousness, religious beliefs, ethnic psychology, ethics, aesthetic interest), or social structure, social system, interpersonal relationships, as well as the way of living, have a distinctive character (Liao, 2017).

Worldviews and Religions of Dong Ethnic Minority in Hunan, China

Dong people believe in many gods. Mountain god, earth god, water god, well god, tree god, stone god, fire god are the main objects of worship.

Dong people believe that all creatures have spirits, that after death, the soul will leave the body to return to the place where the ancestors live, so they worship the ancestors.

In the south, a large number of female gods are worshiped. They are called Sa, which means grandmother. Among the feminine gods were the goddess who guarded the bridge, the goddess who spread smallpox, the goddess who sat in the cove, and so on. Among the many goddesses, there is a supreme god, "Sa-Sui", she is powerful, the Lord of all things. In the villages of the Dong ethnic group in various places, there are altars to "Sa", which are supervised and managed by special personnel. Incense and tea are burned on the first and 15th day of each month, and a grand festival is held every year. At ordinary times in the village men and women song teams travel, troupe performance, bullfighting activities, etc., in advance to the "Sa" altar sacrifice, in order to pray for peace and success. Legend has it that sa was a heroine of the ancient dong ethnic group.

Influenced by the Han Chinese, the dong also believe in Buddhism and Taoism, or gods in folklore such as Wuyue and Guan Yu.

Socio-Economic Characteristics of Dong Ethnic Minority in Hunan, China

The Dong people are mainly engaged in rice-oriented agriculture as well as in forestry and fishery with a long history, and their agricultural, forestry and fishery production have reached a fairly high level. Relying on limited land resources, Dong people in Hunan has the composite agriculture technology of (glutinous) rice, fish and duck symbiosis. Managing forestry, keeping water and soil ecology, and obtaining building wood and daily firewood, guaranteed the self-sufficiency of village life (Liao, 2017).

Diet Characteristics of Dong Ethnic Minority in Hunan, China

Dong people eat rice as the staple food, as well as eat millet, corn, wheat, sorghum, potato, but generally for the adjustment of taste and match. Their meat is mainly domesticated livestock, pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, especially like to eat fish. Vegetable variety is more, with green vegetables, cabbage, radish, eggplant, cowpea, cucumber, pumpkin, white melon, pepper is the most common. The women often go up the mountain to collect wild bamboo shoots, fungus, ferns and other food. The men hunted wild boar, bamboo rat, pheasant, bird and so on when they had a bit of spare time.

Wine plays an important role in the Dong diet. The wine is made from glutinous rice, and every family will brew and bake it. Dong family is hospitable, believing drinking wine can eliminate fatigue. Therefore they drink for pleasure and take wine as a gift.

Glutinous rice, oily tea, pickled acids and fish are the traditional foods favoured by Dong people. These foods are closely related to the ethnic customs and are recognized as unique Dong flavour.

A panoramic view of Pingtan village, Pingtan township, Tongtong Dong autonomous county, in Hunan province

Tenure arrangements

Tenure arrangements. Describe the nature of the tenure: freehold or forest management agreement/arrangements, duration, etc.

Rights and Ownership

In Dong autonomous region, with the background of village family ownership in the forest area, private ownership of forest rights dominates. The village family jointly owns the land in the forest area, and no individual or family is allowed to sell, pawn or lease the land. Historically, the patriarch exercised this right on behalf of the entire family. Therefore, the long-term sustainability and stability of land property rights in forest areas are fully guaranteed, and the local agriculture, forestry and fishery can be carried out normally.

Dong Forestland Sources

Its forestland sources can be divided into seven categories: The first is the inheritance of ancestral industry; The second is the share in the family or village hill; Third, the forest land bought from sellers in the past; Fourth, the shares of other people's mountain sites; Fifth, the part of the forest land that belongs to oneself which is bought together with others; Sixth, the industry obtained through the adjudication of government or civil authority organizations such as family and regional organizations; Seventh, the forest land obtained from those who had deserted or fled.

Laws related to Dong Ethnic Minority

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in accordance with article 6 of the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law of the People's Republic of China, the organs of self-government of the ethnic autonomous areas have the right to adopt special policies and flexible measures to accelerate the development of the economic and cultural undertakings in the ethnic autonomous areas in accordance with the conditions of their respective areas and on the principle of not violating the constitution and the law. Therefore, the local forest and water resources of Dong autonomous region are owned by the Dong people and protected by national laws.

Administrative arrangements

Administrative arrangements. Describe the management authority and the reporting system.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, under the unified leadership of the state, the Dong people established corresponding autonomous areas, established autonomous organs and exercised the right of autonomy on the basis of the Dong communities. The organs of self-government of the national autonomous areas practice the system of people's congresses. The people's congresses of the national autonomous areas have the power to enact regulations on the exercise of autonomy and separate regulations in accordance with the political, economic and cultural characteristics of the areas concerned.

In addition to the provisions of laws and regulations, there are also a large number of living practices and customary laws and myths and legends to protect the forest environment.

Dong society has a special kind of folk autonomy and self-defense organization, which is called Dong Terms. It was an organization of political and social life in which families united. Family based, but beyond family. Under the system of the Dong Terms, each of the participating families was presided over by the villagers, the patriarch or the chief of the clan to maintain social order and mediate various interpersonal disputes. In the Dong territories, according to the geographical scope and the size of the external environmental pressure, the scale of the Terms is large or small. The main contents of the Terms include the division of labor and cooperation in production, the allocation of natural resources, the distribution of products, fire prevention and theft between the family village and the forest, the marriage relationship between the family and the social obligations that family members should abide by. Each participating family has the obligation of immediate assistance and the right to jointly supervise the execution of the Terms.

Under the leadership of the leader, the Dong Terms ensure that the resources of the family are not infringed upon by others, and the resources of others are not infringed upon, so that the Dong community forms a long-term relationship and can live in peace.

Affected Stakeholders

Social actors (stakeholders, user groups) who are affected stakeholders, their main relevant objectives, and their relative power

Dong people

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the cross-cultural integration of the dong ethnic group has not only played a positive role in promoting the social progress of the ethnic group, but also increased the possibility of local imbalance in the cultural ecology of the ethnic group. The partial imbalance of cultural ecology of dong nationality in Hunan channel can be explained by some examples . The strong control and intervention of state power lead to the passive change of the traditional way of living in local society. The traditional compound production structure gradually turns to the unitary mode, the autonomy of production and consumption is lost, the overall harmonious relationship between traditional national culture and its natural environment and social environment is deviated due to the interference of external political forces, and the local imbalance of dong cultural ecology is not satisfied with the local conditions .

The cross-cultural integration of state power in the dong region prompts the traditional local social and political forces to withdraw from the village space, the self-management of village affairs is terminated by external power, and the traditional cultural resources of social governance are idle or disappear. The normal outward flow of the young and middle-aged population and the shortage of human resources in village production have caused a great impact on the stability of the dong cultural ecological structure .

However, the members of dong autonomous county government should be the majority of dong citizens, and the other nationalities shall have an appropriate participation. The head of the autonomous county should be a citizen of Dong nationality .

Natives

The dong nationality area in Hunan province has its unique development course in the traditional agricultural life. If Dong people is affected, their agriculture, forestry, and fishing industries will be influenced which would in turn affect the basic life of the native people in Hunan province. For thousands of years, it was also in the loose political environment of the central plains dynasty regime "the vulgar governance", and lived in a good neighbourly relationship with the surrounding Miao, Yao, Zhuang, Shui and other ethnic minorities. The cross-cultural integration of state power in the Dong region prompts the traditional local social and political forces to withdraw from the village space. The self-management of village affairs is terminated by external power, and the traditional cultural resources of social governance are idle or disappear .

Interested Outside Stakeholders

Social actors (stakeholders, user groups) who are interested stakeholders, outside the community, their main relevant objectives, and their relative power

NGOs (industries, business)

Because of the lack of technology, the Dong Ethnic Minority has to cooperate with modern industries such as the Xinjian Zhenyang smelter which has invested over 10 million yuan. Some of the companies improved roads, water supply, power supply and communications in order to make the industrial environment more convenient . Moreover, autonomous counties vigorously develop ethnic trade, strengthen the construction of commodity outlets and markets, actively develop border trade, and do a good job in the supply of ethnic goods. Commercial supply & marketing, and pharmaceutical enterprises in autonomous counties enjoy the care of the state. The organs of self-government of an autonomous county shall encourage economic organizations or individuals from outside the county to invest and set up enterprises or contract to operate enterprises in the county and shall provide preferential terms .

Chinese Government

The organ of self-government of Dong autonomous county guarantees the observance and implementation of the constitution and laws in the county, puts the overall interests of the state in the first place, and actively completes the tasks assigned by the state organs at higher levels .

The land reform of 1952 gave the mountainous land of landowners and rich peasants to peasants who had no or few mountains. So far, the forest is under the independent management of forest farmers. The state has implemented the policy of encouraging land clearing and cultivation, and provided grain subsidies to the farmers -- for every 666 square meters of forest burned, the state subsidized 100 grams of rice. Because of the land reform, which promoted the liberation of the productive forces, the agriculture showed a flourishing development trend. Therefore, the national economy got a certain recovery. However, A large number of towering ancient trees were cut down, large areas of virgin forest was burned. The burned hills were not planted with grain or replanted with saplings, so they were left barren, with only a few yellow millets planted. As a result, the damage to the ecological environment was incalculable, and this damage still leaves a legacy to this day. This is the first major destruction of the Dong forest in Yanglan village since liberation .

Discussion

A discussion of the aims and intentions of the community forestry project and your assessment of relative successes or failures. You should also include a discussion of critical issues or conflicts in this community and how they are being managed

Aims

Dong people have unique ecological adaptation methods and measures. As a result, the traditional culture of the Dong nationality has irreplaceable value in maintaining the biodiversity of the area where it is located. After a long period, the Dong traditional culture has effectively realized the harmonious coexistence with the ecological environment, which is what modern agricultural forestry and fishery lack. The purpose of this article is to explore the traditional concepts of the Dong nationality, traditional technologies in agriculture, forestry and fishery, and the social organization mechanism of the Dong nationality, hoping to provide some useful reference for the exploration and utilization of traditional modern agriculture.

Assessment

The characteristics of the various forestry, agriculture and fisheries management mentioned above are not products derived from a single culture, but a composite product of several cultures coexisting. Take forestry and grain as an example, in which we can see not only natural logical images that disturb the natural structure artificially, but also the balanced logical connections between organisms that need to be associated with each other, and we can also see that the technical operation of forest areas does not seek special and seek coordination and communication between departments that communicate with each other. Therefore, we believe that any observable cultural fact is valuable for exploring culture, but this value must be interdependent among many cultural facts. It is not possible to pursue a simple causal relationship but to realize a valuable culture only in the multiple compound causation. We have relatively explored the Dong's traditional concepts, traditional technologies, and social organization mechanisms. So, our case completed our main task.

Achievements

Ecological Value

The Dong people formed their unique concept of survival and unique ecological adaptation in the traditional culture that has been precipitated by history, thus effectively achieving harmonious coexistence with the ecological environment in which they live. As a result, the traditional culture of the Dong people has irreplaceable value in maintaining the biodiversity of the area.

Raising fish in the paddy field, as a unique agricultural and fishery management method of Dong nationality, has a full range of circulation, no waste pollution; stable biodiversity; less investment and large profits; efficient use of water and soil resources, no harm of soil erosion; no chemical fertilizers, no pesticide dis-advantages of pollution. It plays an important role in the sustainable development of agriculture, ecological value and efficient use of resources.

Bring Economic Profit

The Dong people have an excellent tradition of planting trees and planting forests. The artificial afforestation has a history of more than 300 years. During the cultivation and reforestation, the Dong residents have accumulated rich experience in seed selection and seedling cultivation and have summarized the production of inter-cropping forests and grains in young forests. The model uses the alpine terraces and the surrounding artificial forestry and the newly planted cedar seedlings for intercropping of cereals. Interplanting of forestry and agriculture not only plays a positive role in ecological and environmental protection, but also obtains better economic benefits.

Promote Understanding of Traditional Knowledge

While exploring the agriculture, forestry and fishery culture of the Dong nationality, we can understand the deeper culture (legal, customary and social) of this nation. When exploring the national culture, we can obtain the logical connection between the various constituents of the national culture.

Issues

Criticism from Agricultural Technician

For a long time, some agricultural science and technology workers have lowered or degraded the management paradigm of Dong agriculture, and some even thought it was backward or unscientific. We believe that this is by no means a technical issue, but a misjudgment due to cultural prejudice. However, in the field survey of Yanglan Village, it has been found that after the widespread promotion of hybrid rice, rice farming has been severely damaged. Therefore, when exploring and using the traditional ecological wisdom of the Dong nationality, it is necessary to handle the dialectical relationship between modern science and technology and traditional production methods.

To really help the Dong area, they should start from their ecological environment, make full use of the ecological wisdom they have formed, and help them develop an excellent rice variety suitable for cultivation in the Dong area and an excellent fish species suitable for rice field breeding.

The Dong Nationality's Traditional Ideas Diluted

In the process of modernization，the change of concepts brings great challenges to the protection and inheritance of the traditional culture of the Dong nationality, and to a certain extent, the ecological environment has been destroyed. For example, the elderly believe that they will be cursed and punished for disrespecting nature, so they protect the trees from being cut down. Young people who downplay traditional ideas no longer have this kind of belief, and they cut down trees in large numbers, driven by economic interests.

In recent years, Dong areas have also adopted a series of protective measures in response to the impact of traditional national culture, such as the practice of ethnic culture entering the classroom, incorporating traditional Dong culture into local classroom teaching, setting up multicultural courses, and allowing excellent Dong traditional cultural concepts to be held in Dong Pass on among young people.

The loosening of Dong's social organization mechanism

The "Dong Terms" and village regulations and folk treaties in the Dong's traditional culture are important social control mechanisms for the Dong and plays a key role in environmental protection. However, the social control mechanism of the Dong nationality is now also affected by the development of modern socio-economic development, many places no longer rely on the traditional social systems of the Dong nationality. In the past, those Dong social organization mechanisms that were of great significance to ecological protection appeared pale and weak in the face of modern legal provisions and could not be promoted because of the lack of policy support.

Faced with the loosening of Dong ’s traditional social organization mechanism and the failure of “Dong Terms” and village regulations and civil agreements, the local government has adopted certain policy measures to curb the continued development of this situation. "Dong Terms" or village rules and regulations are incorporated into local laws and regulations, and the strong backing of the legal system is used to protect the Dong's traditional culture.

Assessment

Your assessment of the relative power of each group of social actors, and how that power is being used

Traditional Social Governance

In the traditional social governance of the Dong nationality in the past, it was mainly managed by the feudal government administration and the Dong funds organization. At this stage, it reflected the dual governance characteristics.

The Dong's funds organization is generated by the internal needs of Dong's traditional society and has a broad mass foundation. The governance of the feudal government was from the perspective of the political rule and social management of the feudal dynasty. Since the Dong nationality failed to form its political center or power center to communicate with the Central Plains feudal dynasty, the Dong nationality was in a decentralized social state to survive.

The non-governmental self-governing organization of non-governmental organizations developed after that. To rule the Dong area, the feudal rulers divided the Dong area and set up counties or toasts to prevent the Dong from forming a unified political center against the feudal dynasty.

Modern Society

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Dong funds organization was replaced by the new people's government, but its long-term existence in the traditional Dong society has formed a Dong culture unique to the Dong, invading the subconsciousness of the Dong people and forming a unique sense of culture, which deeply affected the psychology and behavior of the ethnic tribes still affect the psychology and behavior of the Dong ethnics.

Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism

The Hunan government has the right to formulate policies to promote Dong ethnic culture and environmental protection. It can promote publicity and introduce some timber companies or environmental protection companies to invest.

Forest enterprise

Forestry companies have higher powers to make decision-making projects and are the main supporters of afforestation projects, and the company can hire local Dong people to work and can provide jobs for local Dong people who have difficulty in finding employment and promote economic development.

Dong people

They rarely have the power to influence decision-making and change policy implementation. However, they have the right to use collectively owned forests after applying for a forest harvesting permit from the government. They can also cooperate with the local government based on forest landscapes and historical buildings to develop tourism or engage in forest rangers or tourist guides to promote their culture and livelihoods.

Recommendations

Your recommendations about this community forestry project

Improve and supervise government department management

Clarify the government functions of various departments and improve the supervision responsibilities. For example, the assessment and registration management of forestry by the State Forestry Administration and agriculture.

Protect the ecological environment of Dong area

Increase funds to better realize afforestation projects. Develop ecological forest areas, establish nature reserves, and restore ecosystems in Dong areas.

Support the cultural development of ethnic minorities in Dong areas

Increase support for Dong ’s traditional forestry agriculture and fishery and protect Dong ’s traditional customs. To ensure that the original local ecological environment does not change, carry out targeted introduction of technology. Respect nature and achieve a dynamic balance between people and the environment.

Increase employment opportunities for local Dong people

Properly provide job opportunities for forest rangers, tourism, etc. to local Dong people who have difficulty in finding jobs.