Course:CONS370/Projects/The desert shelter forest that disappeared from Yangguan Forest Farm in Dunhuang City, Gansu Province, China

Country: China

Province/Prefecture: Gansu

This conservation resource was created by Course:CONS370.

Yangguan Desert Shelterbelt is located at the edge of the desert, which is an important barrier to prevent the sand from blowing and the expansion of the desert.

On January 20, 2021, the news that more than 666.67 hectares of shelter forest in Yangguan Forestry Farm in Dunhuang City, Gansu Province, China were felled and damaged aroused public attention. The desert shelter forest of Yangguan Forest Farm is the result of more than 50 years of hard planting by the residents of Yangguan Town who have been living here, and it is also an important ecological defense line for the organization of desertification. The Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the National Forestry and Grass Administration launched an investigation. The survey shows that from 1990 to the present, the number of desert shelterbelts in Yangguan Forest Farm has decreased by 256.7 hectares, shrubland has increased by 34.6 hectares, and vineyards and jujube orchards have increased by 236.5 hectares. It was mainly due to the local interception of water resources in the Xitugou River upstream of Yangguan Forest Farm in order to develop the fish farming industry and some companies felling shelter forests without permission to plant grapes and jujube trees. Our case study mainly discusses the conflicts between the protection of local shelterbelts and fish farming and the economic industry of grapes, and analyzes the reasons for the large-scale reduction of shelterbelts from a management perspective.

Keywords: Yangguan Forest Farm, Desert Shelterbelt, Fish Farming Industry, Grape Industry, Dunhuang City

Description

Background

Dunhuang Yangguan Forest Farm is a part of the Northwest Shelter Forest, which was started at 1963. Yangguan Town of Dunhuang City, located at the edge of Kumtag Desert, is a key location at the junction of desert and oasis. In northwest, north and northeast China, about 1,490, 000 square kilometers of land, accounting for about 85% of the country's land area, is windblown sand. This area is seriously buried by wind erosion and sandstorms are frequent. In the 20 years from the early 1960s to the late 1970s, 6.69 million hectares of land were added to the desert category, more than 13 million hectares of farmland were damaged by sandstorms, grain production was low and unstable, and more than 10 million hectares of grasslands were seriously degraded due to desertification and salinization. In order to prevent more serious problems of desertification, land degradation and soil erosion, while addressing the economic losses caused by environmental degradation and in order to improve local people's livelihoods, the Chinese government decided to carry out shelter forest projects in xxx.  

Location and natural environment

Yangguan Desert Shelter Forest (Yangguan Forest Farm) is located in Yangguan Town, Dunhuang City, Gansu Province, Northwest China.

Yangguan is a town under the jurisdiction of Dunhuang City and located in the southwest of Dunhuang City. Yangguan Forest Farm is located in the eastern margin of the Kumtag Desert to prevent sand erosion in the desert area. Dunhuang City is in northwest China, Gansu Province. It is between 92°13 '-95 °30' east longitude and 39°40 '-41 °40' north latitude, covering an area of 31,200 square kilometers. Oases cover an area of 1,400 square kilometers, only 4.5% of the total area. Dunhuang City is a typical warm temperate arid climate, with a dry climate, low rainfall, large evaporation, large temperature difference between day and night, and long sunshine time. The annual sunshine hours are 3246.7 hours, the annual average precipitation is 42.2 mm, evaporation is 2505 mm, the annual average temperature is 9.9℃. The annual average frost-free period is 152 days. Dunhuang City has four water areas, such as the Dang River, which provide annual runoff of 62 million cubic meters.

Dunhuang city has 133 hectares of shelterbelt, of which Yangguan Forest Farm occupies 76 hectares. The main tree species in Yangguan forest farm are Populus simonii, P.nigra var.thevestina✖simonii, P.euphratica, Robinia pseudoacacia, T.chinensis etc. In order to help local people increase their income and seek economic support while improving the ecological environment, Yangguan Forest Farm has introduced cash crops such as grapes and jujube trees in 1970s, developing vineyards within the forest belt.  

History

It is generally believed in the academic circles that the etymology of Dunhuang is a transliteration of the local minority languages before the Han dynasty. Yangguan town is an important military pass in ancient time. Three or four thousand years ago, there are steady water resources in Yangguan, and basin oases developed. After Tang Dynasty, water supplies began to dry up, and there were flash floods downstream. The gully bank collapsed after the flood peak, a large amount of sediment downstream, then deposited there. In addition to the role of the northwest wind, the ancient city of Yangguan was gradually destroyed by sand, and finally became a desert.

In 1960s, the ecological disasters caused by drought, sandstorm damage and soil erosion have seriously restricted the economic and social development in Dunhuang, making the local people in a long-term poverty and backwardness. The ecological and environmental problems need to be solved urgently. The construction of the three-north shelter forests project plays a decisive role not only in controlling desertification and improving the local ecological environment, but also in improving the national ecological environment. The shelterbelt in Yangguan Forest Farm has a very obvious role in preventing wind and fixing sand, providing ecological benefits in preventing sandstorms, preventing land desertification, and protecting cities and oases.

Development of Yangguan Forest Farm

The construction and change of desert shelter forest in Dunhuang Yangguan Forest Farm during 55 years.

In 1959, the central government prepared to build Yangguan Forest Farm, but the plan was delayed due to natural disasters.

In 1963, Yangguan Forest Farm was established under the ownership of the whole people.

In 1969, grapes were introduced from Xinjiang and began to plant fruit.

In 1982, the vineyard covered an area of 8.7 hectares, the forest farm completed artificial afforestation of 667 hectares, forest preservation over 467 hectares.

In 1987, Yangguan town built a local winery.

Compared with 1990, Yangguan Forest Farm has reduced its arbor land by 256 ha, increased its vineyard area by 236 ha, and increased its shrub area by 34.5 ha in the past 30 years.

From 2009 to 2020, 353 hectares of afforestation area will be increased in the northeast area of Yangguan Forest Farm.

From 2004 to 2012, the Dunhuang Forestry Administration illegally approved Dunhuang Wine Industry Co. Ltd. to develop Yangguan Forest Farm and plant jujube trees and grapes. By 2014, the Dunhuang Wine Company had cleared 37.8 hectares of forest.

In 2007 and 2011, the local government mistakenly leased 200 hectares of forest farms to two companies for development and operation. However, the enterprises did not strictly implement the agreement, and even if the government finally took back the right to use the forest, the quality of the forest farm was still affected by the lack of protection concept, unreasonable allocation of water resources, and chaotic management and supervision.

Community forestry

Yangguan Forest Farm belongs to common-property community forest enterprises (CFE). The CFE Manager (Yangguan Forest Farm Management Agency) is the agent of the township government and is obliged to perform various administrative and financial tasks. In order to fulfill community governance obligations and fund tasks assigned by the government, CFE managers must transfer income to non-forestry purposes instead of distributing income to villagers. The operators of protection forests have the right to receive compensation for forest ecological benefits. Units and individuals engaged in the construction of desert shelter forests in accordance with the law shall receive corresponding economic or physical compensation. Shelterbelts are dedicated to exerting ecological functions. This intangible product has no market value carrier, but the formation of this kind of forest requires a variety of cost inputs, whether it is the management and reconstruction of existing forests or the new planting on land suitable for forests. Adopting aerial seeding afforestation, closing mountains (closing beaches) for afforestation, or artificial afforestation all require a series of very purposeful production, operation, and management activities, especially in the stage of forest cultivation, forestry management needs to invest a lot of money and manpower. Only long-term effective labor such as nursery, afforestation, tending management and forest "three preventions" can cultivate forests. Under the conditions of market economy, the value of forest ecological function should be reflected, and users should be required to compensate forest owners for public welfare forests to better manage ecological public welfare forests. Compensation for forest ecological benefits is to meet the needs of forestry classification management reform, follow the principle of sustainable forest development, and ensure that forests can normally exert their ecological benefits under the conditions of the socialist market economy. Levels compensate the operating entities of ecological public welfare forests in various aspects such as funds and technology according to the law of value, so that the operating entities of ecological public welfare forests can carry out ecological public welfare forest production and reproduction activities, and provide the society with sustainable forest ecological benefits.

Tenure arrangements

In 1963, Yangguan forest farm was built in the early stage of the whole people's ownership of the forest farm. Namely, the forest resources and land resources are publicly owned, and the government is responsible for its maintenance and development.

From 1989 to 2006, In the forest farm, grape and other cash crops are introduced to construct agroforestry to improve the economic benefits of the forest farm, while manage the ecological environment. The forest farm and vineyard were operated by household contract, and the forest farm was transformed into a public institution with self-financing and enterprise-oriented management.

In 2006, the state-owned Dunhuang Yangguan Forest Farm was determined to be a public welfare institution with full financial funding, and its function was positioned as a typical ecological public welfare forest farm.

In 2019, the reform of state-owned forest farms was completed. All means of production and products such as woodland and trees in state-owned forest farms are state property. The main task is to expand forest resources, improve the quality of forests, give full play to the production potential of state-owned woodlands, and improve the ecological, social and economic benefits.

Year	System	Objective
1963-1988	Whole people's ownership	Prevent more serious problems of desertification, land degradation and soil erosion
1989-2006	Operated by household contract	Improve the economic benefits
2006-2019	Public welfare institution with full financial funding	Standardize the management and supervision of forest farms
2019	State-owned forest farms	Standardize the management and supervision of forest farms to improve ecological benefits

Administrative arrangements

Dunhuang Yangguan Desert Shelter Forests is jointly managed by Yangguan Forest Farm, Dunhuang Forestry Bureau and Gansu Forestry and Grassland Administration. In 1985, the State Council promulgated the National Forest Law, and in 1994, the Ministry of Forestry promulgated the Measures for the Administration of Forest Parks. These two rules and regulations serve as the basis for the protection and management of national forests. The National Forestry and Grassland Administration reformed state-owned forest farms in 2016 and 2020. Over the years, forestry authorities have issued a series of normative documents, such as administrative measures to approve the establishment, cancellation, merger, change of business scope or subordinate national forest parks (2005), supervision and inspection of national forest park measures (2009), etc.

State - owned forest farms

State - owned forest farms are productive forest farms which are cultivated and protected by the state. State-owned forestry farms are the basic organization of Chinese forestry, and they also undertake the task of education, health, public security and social management in forest areas. Local forestry bureau, forest management, sand control station may be state-owned forest farm. The characteristics of state-owned forest farms are related to the countryside. Generally, they cross townships and counties, and some large forest farms cross cities, so it is difficult to manage them. The state-owned forest farm is a forestry management and development system which is specialized in afforestation and forest management and protection by means of state investment. All means of production and products such as woodland and trees in state-owned forest farms are state property. In general, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration plans and decides the construction, which is entrusted to the forestry department of the provincial forestry administration, and then the relevant departments implement and sign the contract. The formulation of the contract must conform to the National Forestry Law and the planning objectives of state-owned forest farms.

National and Local department

National Forestry and Grassland Administration has a department dedicated to the administration of state-owned forestry farms, which is responsible for deciding on the construction plans of state-owned forestry farms and coordinating the work of local forestry bureaus. National Forestry and Grassland Administration has a supervisory role in the operation and management of forest farms. Local forestry department shall be responsible for organizing, coordinating and supervising the development of local forestry as required by state departments, and for the implementation and signing of contracts. Local governments are required to report the development and illegal activities of forest farms to the provincial forestry bureaus and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. The National Forestry and Grassland Administration is also open to public scrutiny, comments and reports.

National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the Gansu Provincial Forestry Bureau and the Dunhuang Forestry Administration are all responsible for Yangguan Forest Farm. In general, the Dunhuang Forestry Administration is responsible for the implementation of the plan, the monitoring and handling of violations, and the signing of contracts. All management activities and contracts are required to comply with the Forest Law.

Timber harvesting system

The Forest Law implemented in 1985 clearly stipulates that the timber cutting needs to obtain the cutting license, and the implementation of quota cutting. The purpose is to develop and utilize forest resources scientifically, rationally and sustainably, and to avoid large-scale and blind logging and destruction of forest. Voucher cutting is a specific management measure to implement the cutting quota. The implementation of the quota cutting system and the voucher cutting system fundamentally changes the adverse situation of the continuous reduction of forest resources, and plays an important role in promoting the growth of forest resources and maintaining ecological security. The non-forestry land shall not be included in the management of cutting quota, and the operators shall independently manage and cut the land. The specific management measures shall be formulated by the provincial competent forestry authorities.

Affected Stakeholders

Residents of Yangguan Town

The main rights holders in this area are residents of Yangguan Town who have lived here since the Han Dynasty. At the same time, they are also the main growers of the desert shelter forest in Yangguan Forest Farm. Since the establishment of Yangguan Forest Farm in 1963, more than 4 million trees of various types have been planted and approximately 140 hectares of forests have been planted. However, the rights of residents in Yangguan Town to use and protect forests have not been recognized by the state. The residents did not obtain the right to use the forest resources until the forest farm implemented household contract management, but the ownership of the forest and land resources still belonged to the state. Due to the extremely arid climate and poor soil in the area, before the Yangguan Forest Farm was initially established, the main crop was wheat, and the per capita income of residents was less than 300 yuan. In order to promote the local economic development and the construction of desert shelterbelts, Yangguan Forestry Farm has introduced trial planting grapes since 1970. In the 1980s, more than 50 new varieties such as Rizamat, Xana, Red Earth, Kyoho have been introduced. A series of advanced cultivation and management techniques such as flower thinning and fruit bagging have been promoted and applied in the industrial pattern of a reasonable combination of early, middle and late ripening.

In order to enhance the market competitiveness of the grape industry and improve the degree of organization of the base, Yangguan Town established a grape association based on farmers’ families and supported by professional associations in 2003. At present, the association has 1,153 members. The association has implemented a unified technical guidance for grape cultivation, grape picking and sales, which protects the relationship between farmers and merchants to the greatest extent, stabilizes the sales price of grapes, and restores at least more than 5 million yuan in economic losses for farmers every year. The healthy development of the industry provides a strong guarantee. After the association was established, it effectively reduced the phenomenon of defaulting on the payment of farmers. At the same time, the per capita net income of farmers from grapes has also increased from RMB 4,640 before the establishment of the association to RMB 7,263 today. In 2014, the total grape output of Yangguan Forest Farm reached 6.5 million kilograms, with a total income of 20 million yuan and a per capita income of 22,000 yuan. The association established the "Yangguan" brand of green pollution-free grapes, which have been sold to more than 10 provinces and cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangsu, etc. The fresh sales rate is over 95%, and they are well received by consumers and become Gansu The largest table grape base in the province.

Yangguan Forest Farm Management Agency

The main stakeholders in this area are the management agencies of Yangguan Forest Farm. The organization is mainly responsible for the establishment, management and protection of ecological forests, as well as the technical guidance of economic forests, water conservancy irrigation and seedling breeding. The land ownership of the forest farm belongs to the state. There are 7 working staff and 28 retirees. The organization volunteers to plant trees spontaneously every year, and arrange or renew the farmland forest belts year by year. In 2006, in order to improve the operating efficiency of the forest farm and solve the livelihood problem of the forest farm workers, the forest farm was restructured into a self-receiving and self-supporting institution, implemented corporate management, and contracted all the 219 hectares of vineyard land surveyed on the spot to the forest farm workers in the form of family contract management. During the restructuring process, 1.4 hectares of vineyards were newly reclaimed to accommodate 3 laid-off workers, and the area of vineyards increased to 220.26 hectares.

Stakeholders involved in Yangguan Forestry Farm

Stakeholder	Affected or Interested	Main Objectives	Power
Residents of Yangguan Town	Affected	- Main growers of shelterbelts - Planting grapes	Low
Yangguan Forest Farm Management Agency	Affected	- Manage the shelter forest	High
Aquaculture industry	Interested	- Develop fish farming and processing	Medium
Wine industry	Interested	- Develop vineyards - Wine processing and sales	Medium
Journalist and China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation	Interested	- Use public opinion to supervise forest farm management	Low

Interested Outside Stakeholders

Aquaculture industry

Yangguan Town is rich in water resources. There are 38 water areas in the region and a rainbow trout farming plant that mainly breeds cold-water fish species such as rainbow trout and golden trout. Yongdeng Bibo Industry Co., Ltd. and Dunhuang Feitian Ecological Industry Co., Ltd. are representatives of the local aquaculture industry. Dunhuang Feitian Ecological Industry Co., Ltd. was established in 2007. It is a company mainly engaged in aquaculture and processing, with operations of planting and sand plant cultivation, ecological garden planning and design and garden engineering consulting, desertification ecological management consulting, tourism project development and catering Service company. In order to develop the fish farming industry, the company implemented flood control dams, Moon Lake, Jiulian Lake and 13 flood control dams on the Xitugou River upstream of Yangguan Forest Farm. The Xitugou River was blocked and diverted, resulting in overflow springs in the lower part of the river. Blocked by wind and sand, it affects the agricultural production and ecological irrigation water of the forest farm.

Wine industry

Dunhuang Wine Industry Co., Ltd. is the representative of the wine industry in Yangguan Forest Farm. Its original name is Yangguan Winery. It was established in Yangguan Forest Farm in 1985, mainly engaged in the processing, production and sales of wine, grape juice and fruit wine. In 2007, with the approval of the Dunhuang Municipal Government and Forestry Bureau, the company signed a lease contract with the Dunhuang Forestry Bureau to strengthen forest management and maintenance to ensure the sustainable development of forestry. It contracted to obtain 133.3 hectares of protection forest land in the southwest area of ​​Yangguan Forestry Farm, and obtained management forest land. Temporary use rights. From 2004 to 2012, the Dunhuang Municipal Government and Forestry Bureau illegally approved Dunhuang Wine Industry Co., Ltd. to build a desert forest park, plant date trees, and grape variety gardens in Yangguan Forest Farm. From 2013 to 2014, the company arbitrarily converted nearly 37.8 hectares of protective forest land in Yangguan Forestry Farm into vineyards and jujube orchards without obtaining the logging permit and conditions approved by the Forestry Bureau. From 2009 to 2012, the company built two reservoirs with a total water storage capacity of 1.5 million cubic meters in the low-lying sand dunes. As a result, nearly 600 acres of poplar trees near the south of the forest farm were destroyed due to lack of water, of which about 133.3 hectares were due to lack of water.

Journalist and China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation

Although the reporter and the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation did not directly participate in the construction and management of Yangguan Forest Farm, they played a role of public opinion supervision in the development of Yangguan Forest Farm. According to the complaint letter received, the reporter and the China Green Development Association conducted in-depth investigations and interviews with local forestry staff and residents, and sued Yangguan Forest Farm and related companies for violations of regulations through news reports and prosecutions. In 2019, China Green Development Society sued Dunhuang Yangguan Forestry Farm and Dunhuang Wine Industry Company to the People's Court of Gansu Mining Area, requesting restoration of the ecological environment of the forestry farm.

Discussion

The initial construction of Dunhuang Shelterbelt was to better protect the local ecological environment and play a role in wind-proof and sand-fixing. In order to improve the economic income of forest farm employees and continue forest management funds, Dunhuang Yangguan Forestry Farm decided to adopt a mixed development method of agroforestry that cultivates forests with fruits and protects fruits with forests, and introduced grape production in the 1970s. It is also hoped that while protecting the ecological benefits of windbreak and sand-fixing forests, the economic benefits will be maintained. However, during the implementation of the plan, there are mainly conflicts and problems in the following aspects in the main presence of stakeholders in Yangguan Forest Farm:

The conflict between the protection needs of vineyard operators and shelterbelts.

Local contractors have changed shelterbelts into vineyards on a large scale for economic benefits, and only a few of them have the right to manage the vineyards belong to the local residents. Although the development of the grape industry has driven the local economic development to a certain extent, the large-scale choice of cutting down shelterbelts to plant grapes not only destroys the staggered mesh belts, trees, shrubs and grasses combined with wind-proof and sand-fixing systems caused by many years of camps, but also negatively affects the regional ecology. The function continues to decline, increasing the risk of desertification. In order to meet the demand for desert soil for grape growth, a large amount of sand from the desert is transported to the vineyard, which artificially increases the degree of desertification of the forest farm. Growing grapes requires constant weeding. Vineyards replace the staggered mesh belts, trees, shrubs and grasses combined with wind-proof and sand-fixing system created by years of camps, and the overall protection function of the forest belt of Yangguan Forest Farm is almost non-existent.

The rights and interests of the builders and protectors of shelterbelts among the local Ethnic Minorities are not respected.

Chinese laws and regulations stipulate that everyone has the basic obligation to protect the ecology and maintain ecological balance on an equal basis; everyone also has the basic right to equally obtain and enjoy the functions of ecological services. But in fact, the difference in the definition of environmental resource property rights (initial distribution) has caused the actual inequality of development rights. The builders and protectors of the local aboriginal people often have to abide by stricter laws and regulations or less distribution of rights than other people. This imposes certain restrictions and adjustments on their economic behavior. This restriction and The adjustment actually resulted in the partial or complete loss of the development rights of the indigenous people and early tree planting employees, and the purpose was to ensure the enjoyment or beneficiary of the ecological functions of the desert shelter forest. Therefore, a compensation is needed to make up for this imbalance of rights. Defining the property rights of forest resources is the initial allocation of the rights to occupy and use resources. Only when the initial rights are allocated can it be determined who should be liable for compensation and who should have the right to be compensated. The property rights of Dunhuang Shelterbelt include: forest land property rights, forest tree property rights, and forest resource environmental property rights. It is easy to determine the property rights of forest land and trees, but the environmental property rights of forest resources are often difficult to clarify, and most of them are applied free of charge. Therefore, the responsibility of the government is to clearly define the environmental property rights of forest resources, so that the property rights of forest resources can be protected by law. Then the main body of the property rights of forest resources will take the initiative to protect forest resources from damage, thereby promoting the sustainable use of forest resources.

Local companies intercepted upstream water sources in violation of regulations, resulting in the degradation of the ecological functions of the Dunhuang Shelter Forest and related watersheds due to lack of water.

Some trees were severely damaged due to lack of water, and the number of arbor forests decreased, resulting in the weakening of the wind protection function of the shelterbelt. Since 2008, Dunhuang Feitian Ecological Industry Co., Ltd. has illegally encircled the lake and repaired dams in the upper reaches of Xitugou, and controlled the amount of water discharged, which has caused the ecological water shortage in the downstream. From 2009 to 2012, Dunhuang City and Dunhuang Wine Company successively built ponds and dams in the low-lying sand dunes, which affected the water supply in the surrounding areas. In 2018, the Dunhuang Municipal Government determined that 26% of the water resources in the lower reaches of Xitugou were used for ecological flow, and 74% was used for production; after the end of agricultural irrigation every year, the shelter forest and nursery land of Yangguan Forest Farm were irrigated from November to December. At this time, nearly 40 hectares of poplar forests near the south of the forest farm were destroyed due to lack of water, of which about 13.3 hectares died due to lack of water.

The local authorities have violated the regulations and approved the enterprise's right to manage the protection forest, and the enterprise has violated the regulations in the process of reclamation.

Although many documents of the State Forestry Administration of China clearly require that the transformation of national public welfare forests into commercial forests is forbidden, shrubs must not be completely cut, or land preparations must not be made in the transformation, and all land preparation methods and production activities that cause land desertification are strictly prohibited. However, the local authorities still violated regulations and approved the occupation of shelterbelts to construct vineyards and jujube orchards. From 2004 to 2012, the Dunhuang Municipal Government and Forestry Bureau illegally approved Dunhuang Wine Industry Co., Ltd. to build a desert forest park, plant date trees, and grape variety gardens in Yangguan Forest Farm. From 2013 to 2014, Dunhuang Winery Company destroyed 37.8 hectares of forest and reclaimed 37.8 hectares for planting grapes and date trees, including 26.7 hectares of vineyards and 11.1 hectares of date orchards. Secondly, illegal occupation of woodland for construction projects also exists at the same time. Since 2013, newly built gravel roads and other facilities in Yangguan Forest Farm have illegally occupied 6.7 hectares of forest land.

The opinions and feedback of local residents and early tree planting staff were not respected and feedback.

According to the law, the compensation for the destroyed forest is owned by the actual planter. However, due to multiple changes in land ownership and contracting rights, local residents who plant shelter forests often cannot get the compensation they deserve. In 2006, nearly 1,333.34 hectares of shelter forests were contracted to Dunhuang Feitian Ecological Industry Co., Ltd. at a price of 5,000 yuan (approximately US$770). The signing of this contract agreement did not refer to the opinions of the aborigines. Despite the emergence of Dunhuang Desert Shelterbelts under the advocacy of modern policies, the afforestation area of ​​nearly 10,000 mu represents the expectation and long-term management of countless Dunhuang foresters and residents for a good ecological environment in their hometowns. Now, extremely low shelterbelt subsidies and occupancy compensation have eliminated the grand afforestation that year, and contracting the forest farms planted by the aborigines to companies without a sense of sustainable management has undoubtedly caused emotional trauma to the locals.

Assessment

Establish an appropriate ecological compensation mechanism to ensure fairness to the Ethnic Minorities and local grassroots forestry workers.

Yangguan Forest Farm is a forest farm owned by the whole people. It is a kind of public goods and has strong externalities. According to Pigou's theory, positive externalities should be subsidized. Such subsidies must at least maintain the normal expenses of the builders and protectors of the desert shelterbelt, and even allow them to get an income above the average social salary. Otherwise, it would be impossible to mobilize their enthusiasm and it would be unfair. If the aboriginal forestry builders are in a state of zero or even negative income for a long time, it is not conducive to social stability and harmony. The ecological benefit compensation of desert shelterbelts is the best way to solve the low income of forestry, and it is also the need to ensure social fairness and promote social harmony. According to the economic principle of equal labor exchange, all forms of labor should get their due remuneration from their products. The cost compensation standard for desert shelter forests is calculated by the cost input method. The theoretical basis of the cost input method calculation is to use the entire cost as the basis for the benefit evaluation of the public welfare forest, and the forestry costs and operating expenses consumed by the public welfare forest operators as the basis Compensation standards. It mainly considers the five elements of forest land, infrastructure construction, business management, disaster losses, and non-commercial business gains and losses.

The Problems of the management of Yangguan Forest Farm

1. The State Environmental Protection Supervision Department did not seriously review the complaints of damage to the protection forest.

From 2016 to 2017, the Seventh Central Environmental Protection Supervision Group received ten complaints about Yangguan Forest Farm. The complainant mainly complained about the destruction of desert shelterbelts, the illegal demolition of dams in Dunhuang Feitian Ecological Industrial Park, and the destruction of water sources. However, most of the findings of the investigation were that the reported issues were not true or only interviews with the relevant persons in charge, and there were no actual punitive measures. In addition, many official news media and magazines such as People's Daily Online, China Economic Times, Gansu Forestry, etc. also pointed out that the Yangguan Forest Farm shelter forest was damaged from 2001 to 2017. Neither Yangguan Forest Farm nor the environmental protection department gave an effective response.

2. There is a phenomenon of deforestation and land reclamation and unlicensed logging

1. Illegal approval of the occupation of shelterbelts to construct vineyards, jujube gardens, etc. From 2004 to 2012, the Dunhuang Municipal Government and Forestry Bureau illegally approved Dunhuang Winery Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Dunhuang Winery Company") to build a desert forest park, plant date trees, and grape variety gardens in Yangguan Forest Farm. From 2013 to 2014, Dunhuang Winery Company destroyed 37.8 hectares of forest and reclaimed 37.8 hectares for planting grapes and jujube trees, including 26.7 hectares of vineyards and 11.1 hectares of jujube orchards.

2. Illegal occupation of forest land to build engineering facilities. Since 2013, newly built gravel roads and other facilities in Yangguan Forest Farm have illegally occupied 6.7 hectares of forest land.

3. There is a phenomenon of deforestation. After on-site inspections, 7 roadside shelterbelts were harvested without a license, and the supplementation and renewal were not timely, the forests were sparse, and gaps appeared. Since 2010, villagers felled and destroyed 604 trees and were investigated and dealt with.

3. Irregular transfer of national public welfare forests

In 2004, the forestry department identified the national key public welfare forest area of ​​Yangguan Forest Farm as 366.7 hectares. In the national public welfare forest demarcation work carried out in 2013, the Dunhuang Forestry Bureau and other forestry authorities at all levels only judged that the 366.7 hectares of forest land in Yangguan Forest Farm was not in line with the state based on the standard that the trees were over 50 years old and were naturally aging and dead. The criteria for defining the high-level public welfare forests are listed as local public welfare forest management. This move ignores the role of shelter forests in preventing desertification and improving soil types.

4. The local ecological environment cannot support large-scale grape production

1. Grape groves consume more water than shelter forests.

The water consumption of grapes during the whole growth period was 11.9 times, 6.72 times, 4.05 times and 12.74 times that of the artificial Haloxylon, Tamarix, Saguaro jujube and Cymbidium spp. which were 4 years old. The irrigation cycle of shelterbelts is generally once every two months, and the vineyards are flooded with flooding once every half month. The main function of Yangguan Forest Farm is to prevent sand and fix sand. Planting grapes in a large area consumes water resources excessively, which not only fails to prevent sand and fixes sand, but also leads to the continuous decline of regional ecological functions and aggravates the risk of desertification.

2. The planting of grape groves intensifies soil sandiness

After the original tall trees and litters of the Yangguan Forest Farm hummed, organic matter accumulated for many years, which promoted the formation of fine sand into soil, changed the nature of the sandy land, and made the quicksand tend to be fixed. To plant grapes locally, the branches and trunks need to be buried in the soil to prevent cold, and the soil is burried in autumn and winter, and the unearthed in spring requires two large soil turnings. The human force makes the surface sand loose and forms mobile sand. From November of that year to April of the following year, the topsoil of the vineyard was exposed for half a year, and frequent windy weather in winter and spring not only created a large area of ​​sand and dust sources, but also aggravated the wind erosion of the woodland soil.

Recommendations

Fund management

1. Insist on project management, strict inspection and acceptance. Thoughts and countermeasures for strengthening the fund management of the desert shelterbelt project of Yangguan Forest Farm. In the construction of the shelterbelt restoration project, the procedures of self-inspection by the construction unit, county inspection, local re-inspection, and national forestry authority's verification are adopted, and the project construction is carried out from bottom to top every year. Round inspection and acceptance. The annual project construction funds shall be honored according to the results of the inspection and acceptance, and used as the main basis for arranging the production and investment plans for the next year.

2. Regulate the direction of fund investment and ensure the use of special funds. Specially formulated the "Fund Management Measures for the Construction Project of the Desert Shelterbelt System in Yangguan Forest Farm", formulated specific rules and regulations, and clarified the direction of the use of funds.

3. Hire local residents to restore shelter forests, and give local residents of Yangguan Forest Farm a subsidy of RMB 15,000 per hectare for shelter forest cultivation on a family basis.

Resource management

1. Re-study and formulate a water resource allocation plan, rationally allocate water resources, impose fines on the persons in charge and companies of illegally constructed ponds and dams and other facilities to effectively protect the ecological water use of the shelter forest.

2. Clarify that timber logging requires a logging permit and implement quota logging. The management agency of Yangguan Forest Farm has set up a special department to review and register the logging permits for individuals and organizations that need to harvest trees.

3. The person in charge of the Gansu Provincial Forestry Department who has contracted forest land to enterprises in violation of regulations shall be fined, demoted or revoked.

Shelterbelt Restoration Plan

The Dunhuang Forestry Department cooperated with the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Forest Management Institute, the Beijing Chinese Academy of Forestry and Beijing Forestry University and other authoritative institutions to study the natural resources of Yangguan Forest Farm with the help of satellite images. The depth of the groundwater table, the characteristics of the top soil and the texture of the top soil determine and map the potential types of vegetation restoration land. Develop a specific protection forest restoration plan (including the selection of understory vegetation and pioneer tree species, tree breeding and improvement, spacing and farming methods).