Course:CONS370/Projects/Ecological Migration Project and Sustainable Development in the Three-river-source region, Qinghai Province, China

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Owing to the recent damages of natural resources and future outlook in the Three-river-region (also known as Sanjiangyuan region), the provincial government of Qinghai province cooperates with local communities carried out ecological migration projects which aims at sustainable development in the natural reserve. Both the governmental ministry and local administration take efforts to the conservation issue under a “people-oriented, coordinate operation” principle for the maximum benefits. Qinghai Development and Reform Commission is responsible for the Ecological Migration Program. This program has been taken since 2005, which is aiming at protecting the Sanjiangyuan ecosystem by relocating Tibetans from the reserve core area. At the end of phase I in 2010, almost all local Tibetan race residents were relocated to protect the vulnerable environment. The ecological migration leads to profound changes in Tibetans’ life that the traditional culture and lifestyle of Tibetans was significantly impacted. The phase one project was relatively successful. However, the phase two project failed due to insufficient finance. The sustainable long-term project required a comprehensive ecological compensation mechanism. This sub-program of the Ecological Protection and Restoration Program has improved the living standards of Tibetans to some extent, but there are still some problems. The most serious of which is the conflict of different cultures and the loss of Tibetan folk culture. It is strongly recommended that there could be more researches focusing on the changes in the traditional culture of Tibetans during ecological migration.

Location

Geographical map of Qinghai Sanjiangyuan National Reserve

Sanjiangyuan (also known as three-river-region) located at Southern Qinghai province of China, the geographic location is between 89°24'-102°23' east longitude and 31°39'-36°16' north latitude. It traditionally regards as the headstreams for Yellow River, Yangtze River and Lancang River with an average elevation between 3500-4800m, a typical plateau climate zone. The whole region spans sixteen counties and one township covers a total area of 363,000 kin Qinghai Province, about ninety percent of the population is minority groups-Tibetan[1].

History

Sanjiangyuan natural reserve is one of the most concentrated areas of high altitude biodiversity, a large number of wildlife rely on the environment as their habitats [1]. The construction of Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve started to be considered as early as 1998 when the development plan for the “Ninth Five-Year Plan” of Qinghai Province came into view. Subsequently, in May 2000, with the strong support of the State Forestry Administration, the Qinghai Provincial Government approved the establishment of the Qinghai Sanjiangyuan Provincial Nature Reserve. At last, on January 24, 2003, the State Council approved the promotion of Sanjiangyuan Provincial Nature Reserve as a "National Nature Reserve. The conservation of natural resources, wildlife and indigenous community in Sanjiangyuan region started since then on[2].

These years, the ecological issues of Sanjiangyuan region become more and more urgent. Lake shrinkage, glacier retreat, and water conservation capacity continue to decline and water resource reduction, land desertification, grassland degradation and desertification, biodiversity loss, pests, extreme weather occurred in the natural reserve[3]. Moreover, the damages of human activities like hunting and grazing also contribute to the environmental problems[4]. In order to protect both the natural habitats and local community rights, the provincial government of Qinghai province carried out an ecological migration plan to fit the challenge. At present, ecological immigration has become an effective measure to protect and improve the ecological environment, eliminate regional poverty, and improve the production and living standards of farmers and herdsmen[4].Till 2013, the phase one projection had finished[5]. It has been found that there were bunches of factors that impact the project like: ethical religions, lifestyle changes, social relations reconstruction, Therefore, government takes measure to search innovations on policies, combining with the special situation of Sanjiangyuan ecological immigration, put forward "people-oriented" techniques and compensation technique for balance[5]. Recent inventory has shown that the ecological carrying capacity of Sanjiangyuan area is far more than the ecological footprint, and it is in the state of ecological surplus and ecological health[6]. To achieve the sustainable development, the government of Qinghai Province controls population for slowing the growth of ecological footprint,, increases the diversity of land use types and makes balanced use of them[6]. It is a kind of extent benefit of the ecological migration in Sanjiangyuan natural reserve and improvement on Phase II project is continuously made under the efforts.

Tenure arrangements

Local management group of Sanjiangyuan region with provincial government members

Three-river region is under the supervision of provincial government and assistant control of local communities. In order to ensure the effectiveness of business regulations, thorough law enforcement and simple day-to-day management of the reserves, the governing bodies would need to be able to act with fewer restrictions.  A national park authority was set up with the aim of strengthening ecological protection at provincial, state, county and local levels. The Authority consisted of the environmental protection, land, agriculture and animal departments of four counties, whose legislative capacities were bolstered through the cooperation of the counties’ law enforcement agencies[7]. To reduce the pressure of resource use in Sanjiangyuan natural reserve, principally by excluding people and removing their rights to tenure. Laws were drafted on the central assumption that human activity in sensitive areas was necessarily destructive[8].

The Sanjiangyuan national park regulations (Article 4) also indicates that The natural resources of the Sanjiangyuan National Park belong to the state, and are shared by all people and passed down from generation to generation. Besides, in Article 13, it remarks that The National Park Management Committee of the park is specifically responsible for the control of land and space use in the region, and assumes responsibilities for natural resource management, ecological protection, franchising, social participation, and publicity and promotion[9]

Administrative arrangements

According to Engineering Consulting Center of Qinghai Province[10], China has been taken the Ecological Protection and Restoration Program, which is regarded as a large project in the Sanjiangyuan region since 2005. Chinese government insists on limiting and reducing human activities as the principle of protecting the Sanjiangyuan ecosystem by implementing of the General plan for ecological protection and construction of Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve in Qinghai Province. The Ecological Migration Program as one sub-program costs 1,500 million yuan of the total 7,500 million yuan for Ecological Protection and Restoration Program. Qinghai Development and Reform Commission is mainly responsible for this sub-program[11], and the parts of rights are also delegated to local committees.

The ecological migration means that local Tibetans should move out from their original land, which is now as the reserve area, to restore and protect the ecosystem of Sanjingyuan Region[12][13]. The categories of ecological migration could be divided into independent & government-led relocation, overall & scattered relocation, Voluntary & involuntary relocation and agro-pastoral conversion relocation[14]. It contains three steps that are gradually completed according to core zone, buffer zone and extensional zone[3]. The local government chose the areas that have good ecological conditions and strong industrial potential to be the resettlement land[3]. The Ecological Migration program mainly implements relocation of Tibetans of the reserve area to cities with better economic conditions while providing them with better medical treatment and education[15]. By the end of this program in 2010, almost all local Tibetan race residents were relocated to protect the vulnerable environment[12]

Considering the principles of scientificity and operability while combining with regional characteristics and ecosystem, referring to the Technical Specification of Ecological Effects Assessment of Ecosystem Protection and Recovery Projects in Sanjiangyuan Region (2014)[16], the local government has constructed an indicator system for the Sanjiangyuan ecological protection and the ecological effectiveness evaluation of the construction project as the main reporting system, which includes four groups of major indicators[17].

Affected Stakeholders

Stakeholders are defined as “...persons or groups who are directly or indirectly affected by an intervention, as well as those who may have stakes in a project and/or the ability to influence its outcome, either positively or negatively”[18]. According to this definition, the Tibetan communities which involved in ecological migration could be considered as the main affected stakeholders in our case study. Another group of affected stakeholders are the citizens of destination city of ecological immigration.

Tibetans in Sanjiangyuan Region

The Ecological Migration Program provided Tibetan better medical treatment and education while changing their folk culture during the migration process. These changes have been made by the indigenous people to better adapt to their lives after migration but also led to the loss of some traditions[15].Tibetan traditional culture is partially lost in lifestyle, customs and religion beliefs. One of the most controversial is the loss of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is usually regarded as a spiritual guide by Tibetans, and the lack of religion leads to cultural imbalances[19]. Although these changes are the smallest, their impact is the most profound and lasting.

Citizens of destination city

Although the migration of a large number of Tibetans has provided more labor for the city, it has also created employment pressure for local citizens. The poverty of Tibetans will cause anxiety among citizens. Meanwhile, the differences of language and cultural between Tibetans and Han people also caused discrimination and unfair treatment[20].

Interested Outside Stakeholders

Central government

In the context of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, the implementation of Ecological Migration Program could help Chinese government to achieve the economic goals of current stage and enhance the happiness of Tibetans. It has been regarded as another large landmark project after the Development of the West Regions and the Qinghai–Tibet Railway as well[12]. Meanwhile, the implementation of ecological migration is also a feat of the "Chinese Dream" in the Sanjiangyuan Region[14]

Local government

Population redistribution and economic reproduction as the results of ecological migration could effectively balance the relationship between local ecology, resources, economy, population, and environment, which could make these aspects coordinated and sustainable development[14]. At the end of first phase of the program, the grassland production has increased by 30%, and coverage of vegetation in the core area has increased from less than 20% to more than 80%. The average annual per capita net income increased by 12.4%[21]

NGO & Researchers

Shanshui Conservation Center has been engaged in conservation programs throughout the Sanjiangyuan region since 2017. Understanding how traditional Tibetan culture motivates local communities to protect ecosystem has been one of the key objectives of Shanshui and it is also the foundation of its conservation program in the Sanjiangyuan region[22]. Some studies demonstrate that Tibetan traditional ecological knowledge has a profound effect in raising people’s conservation awareness and has led to a better outcome than the government conservation efforts[23][22]. Shanshui also organized the Rapid Biodiversity Assessment Program within Sanjiangyuan and other Tibetan regions[24], which aiming at exploring and saving the biodiversity in China[22].


Discussion

The case study aims to assess the effect of the ecological migration project and rethinking the impact that the project brought both on ecological and socio-economic perspectives. Ecological immigrants in the three-river-source region are an intricate issue not only about protecting the ecosystem but also about improving the living conditions of local herdsmen.

Achievements

The trend of ecological deterioration has been effectively controlled, and biodiversity has significantly increased. The water quality and capacity have increased after prohibiting grazing in protected areas[5]. The immigrants who have to leave would be provided "the land with at least equal quality and is suitable for their present needs and future development"[25]. The project improves the infrastructure of rural areas and living conditions of the herdsmen, which includes education, transportation, technology, and healthcare. The publicity and education about the environment enhanced the awareness of eco-environmental protection[5].

Conflicts and issues

However, there are still many conflicts that should be considered. Although the government has invested vast money in this project, the finance is still insufficient to support a long-term project[26]. The current ecological migration project is a short-term and stage-based construction, lacing a sustainable mechanism[5]. The first-stage ecological migration project in Sanjingyuan National Park was successful, while the second-stage project failed due to the high transaction costs[13]. In order to establish a long-term investment mechanism for the ecological protection of the three-river-source region, it is necessary to form a comprehensive and diversified ecological compensation mechanism[5].

Another critical issue is that the ecological migration leads to the enormous changes of Tibetans who have to leave the land they lived for generations. Arturo Escobar repeatedly emphasized that "ecology could be affected by historical, social, and cultural factors"[27]. The ecological environment provides the Tibetans with both physical and mental support, and people would bring the self-identity, individual values, and beliefs into their land. When they had to leave their land and move to a new place, it is inevitable to lose parts of the culture. The lifestyle, customs, language, and festivals all changed, and the religious beliefs of some Tibetans gradually faded, especially among those young people. The development of any culture cannot be independent, and the ecological migration accelerates the process of cultural development[19]. The new living style and new different places may lead to the loss of security and stability. The changes are irreversible, but there are various methods to prevent the loss of the traditional culture. In order to protect the traditional culture of Tibetans, the government encourages that "children belonging to this population shall learn to read and write in their mother tongue"[25].

Assessment

The national government is the policymakers that approved the project of the Sanjiangyuan General Plan and encouraged herders to leave their grassland for protecting the environment. It is essential to reach a balance between economy and ecology and provide a better education for herders. Ecological resettlement leads to the preservation of the grassland and the improvement of productivity[28]. Ecological resettlement was implemented by government intervention, and resettled herders were heavily dependent on the government[29].

The State Council approved the Sanjiangyuan General Plan in 2004, which included three main projects and twenty-two sub-project[28]. The local government organized various projects to encourage herders to move and resettle. It received around 4.9 billion funds that used for restoring grassland to natural conditions, protecting water and soil, and improve the infrastructure[29]. The primary function of the local government has changed from commercial construction to ecological, environmental protection[5]. The local government took the responsibility to publicize the importance of ecological protection and resettle the immigrants. The environmentalists that judge the projects do not have the power to make decisions but still have an influence on the public. Some researches and surveys from non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) could directly communicate with ecological immigrants and collect more reliable information which is useful to make decisions.

The ecological immigrants are forbidden to go back to the protected area to graze. They have considerable changes in livelihoods, funding sources, education, and medical care. Nevertheless, it failed to develop the service industry and factory in their new place[30]. The insufficient subsidies and different lifestyles lead to the insecurity and unsatisfied of ecological immigrants.

Recommendations

It is strongly recommended that there would be more researches focusing on the changes in the traditional culture of Tibetans during ecological migration. The central government should develop a long-term management plan to restore the ecosystem without too much human interference. The government should also realize that the land for Tibetans not only provide living conditions but also build the characteristics of Tibetans. The compensation to ecological migrators should not only focus on physical but also spirit aspect. The new settlement brought a considerable change of lifestyle, which may lead to the loss of security and stability[5]. For ecological immigrants, they need to build up cultural confidence and understand the changes. Learning how to integrate into mainstream culture does not mean the disappearance of their own culture. Ecological migrators should correctly deal with the relationship between tradition and modernity[19]. They also need more approaches to express their feelings and defend their rights.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dong S.C., Zhou C.J and Wang H.Y. (2002). Ecological crisis and countermeasures of the Three Rivers’ headstream Regions. Journal of Natural Resource, 17(6), 713-720
  2. ↑ Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve Administration (2019) Retrieved from http://www.sjynnr.cn/jj/lsbj/1021.html
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Li, Y. L (2019). Discussion on the Protection and Management of Sanjiangyuan National Park, Qinghai Forestry and Grass Bureau, Xining 810008, Forestry economic, DOI: 10.13843/j.cnki.lyjj.2019.06.007
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wu Y. L, Mu. L.L (2016). Innovation of Ideological and Political Education on. Sanjiangyuan Ecological Migrants, Journal of Qinghai Normal University (Philosophy and Social Science), Vol.3, DOI: 10.16229/j.cnki.issn1000-5102.2016.06.029
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Shan, J. (2015). Effectiveness, Problems and Countermeasures of Sanjiangyuan Ecological Protection. Research on Development, (5), 21-24. doi: 10. 13483 /j. cnki. kfyj. 2015. 05. 005
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Gao, Y. L, Lin, H. L, Zhou, Z. Y, Wei, Y.M (2019). Analysis on ecological footprint of. sustainable development in Sanjiangyuan Region, Pratacultural Science, 2019, 36(1): 11-19 DOI: 10.11829/j.issn.1001-0629.2018-0063
  7. ↑ International Union for Conservation of Nature (2017, October 12) “Three priorities for China's national park program” Retrieved from https://www.iucn.org/news/china/201710/three-priorities-chinas-national-park-programme
  8. ↑ Oglethorpe, J.A.E. (1999). Tenure and Sustainable Use. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK
  9. ↑ Sanjiangyuan National Park Regulations (2017, June 09) Retrieved from http://www.qhlingwang.com/
  10. ↑ Engineering Consulting Center of Qinghai Province. (2005). General Planning for Ecological Conservation and Construction in Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve, Qinghai Province. http://www.xibudata.com/article/view.asp?id=797.
  11. ↑ Chen, Y. (2018). Simple of Qinghai Sanjiangyuan ecological governance. Qinghai Daily. Retrieved from http://www.qh.gov.cn/ztzl/system/2018/11/27/010318192.shtml
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Wang, Z., Song, K., & Hu, L. (2010). China’s Largest Scale Ecological Migration in the Three-River Headwater Region. AMBIO, 39(5-6), 443-446. doi: 10.1007/s13280-010-0054-z
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Wu, J., Wu, G., Zheng, T., Zhang, X., & Zhou, K. (2020). Value capture mechanisms, transaction costs, and heritage conservation: A case study of Sanjiangyuan national park, china. Land use Policy, 90, 104246. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104246
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 feng, w. (2017). Study on the Problems of Ecological Migration in the Sanjiangyuan Region (PhD). Party School of the CPC Central Committee.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Chang, Y. (2016). The change of ecological migration folk culture -- Take Tanggula Tibetan migration as an example(Master). Northwest university for Nationalities.
  16. ↑ Local Standard of Qinghai Province. Technical Specification of Ecological Effects Assessment of Ecosystem Protection and Recovery Projects in Sanjiangyuan Region (DB63/T1342-2015). 2014.
  17. ↑ Shao, Q., Fan, J., Liu, J., Huang, L., Cao, W., & Xu, X. et al. (2016). Assessment on the effects of the first-stage ecological conservation and restoration project in Sanjiangyuan region. Acta Geographic Sinica, 71(1), 3-34. Retrieved from http://www.progressingeography.com/article/2016/0375-5444/0375-5444-71-1-3.shtml
  18. ↑ Guidance on Engaging All Affected Stakeholders. (2017). Engaging All Affected Stakeholders Guidance for investors, funders, and organizations [Ebook]. Retrieved from https://sptf.info/images/SIWG-WEF-AG3-Engaging-all-affected-stakeholders-December-2017.pdf
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Chang, Y. (2016). The change of ecological migration folk culture -- Take Tanggula Tibetan migration as an example (Master). Northwest university for Nationalities.
  20. ↑ Li, X. (2012). The Ecological Image and Disputes of the Source of the Yellow River in the View of Political Ecology (phD). Minzu University of China.
  21. ↑ Jiang, F. (2019). Sanjiangyuan strengthened ecological protection. People's Daily. Retrieved from http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2019-10/05/nw.D110000renmrb_20191005_2-06.htm
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Shen, X., & Tan, J. (2020). Ecological Conservation, Cultural Preservation, and a Bridge between: the Journey of Shanshui Conservation Center in the Sanjiangyuan Region, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China. Retrieved 12 April 2020, from
  23. ↑ Shen, X., Lu, Z., Li, S., & Chen, N. (2020). Tibetan Sacred Sites: Understanding the Traditional Management System and Its Role in Modern Conservation. Retrieved 12 April 2020, from
  24. ↑ Alonso, L. (2009). A rapid biological assessment of three sites in the mountains of Southwest China Hotspot, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China. Arlington, Va.: Conservation Internat.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 C107 - Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 (No. 107) Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C107
  26. ↑ Dayang. Current situation of the ecological environment of the Three Rivers in Qinghai and its protection strategies [J]. Modern Agricultural Science and Technology 2009 (13): 276 - 280.
  27. ↑ Escobar, A. After Nature: Steps to an Anti-essentialist Political Ecology [J]. Current Anthropology, 1999(1)
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Qinghai Engineering Consulting Company (QECC). 2003. 'Qinghai Sanjiangyuan Ziran Baohuqu Shengtai Boahua he Jianshe Zongti Guihua' [A General Plan for the Ecological Protection and Construction of Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve Area in Qinghai Province]. Qinghai Engineering Consulting Co., not for public release, May 2003.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Du, F. (2012). Ecological Resettlement of Tibetan Herders in the Sanjiangyuan: A case study in madoi, Qinghai. Nomadic Peoples, 16(1), 116-133. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3167/np.2012.160109
  30. ↑ Li, X. Y. On the Cultural Construction of the "Natural Space" in the Sanjiangyuan. Grassland. SOCIAL SCIENCES REVIEW, VOL. 34NO. 11. DOI: 10.16745/j.cnki.cn62-1110/c.2019.11.015


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