Degradation in China

INTRODUCTION

The Peoples Republic of China is rich in cultural and natural diversity. and is listed by biologists as a Ð''megadiversity

country'. Since 1950, when China embraced modernity, the forests have been indiscriminately felled reducing forest cover.

This has threatened biodiversity, causing drastic declines of mammal and bird counts, recurrent flooding and erosion, and

recurrent snow disasters. These not only threaten global climate, but undermine the livelihood of the local people and great

loss of life and damage downstream. In South West China the government has promoted ambitious plans for forest

conservation and reforestation, culminating in a felling ban and the closure of grazing lands. This Comment draws attention to

the new environmental activism emerging in the country and discusses prospects for successful implementation of the new

policies

SW CHINA: GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND

"South West" China encompasses an area known by Westerners as "East Tibet", by the indigenous Tibetan people as

Kham, and by the Republic of China as "Xikang". It is deeply dissected by four of Asias largest rivers (Bramaputra,

Salween, Mekong and Yangtze), which flow in a SE course through deep limestone and sandstone gorges. Elevation

ranges from 2000m to more than 7000 m and the area is dominated in the east by Minyak Gangkar (7590m) (Ch. Gongga

Shan). The steep slopes are mostly covered by coniferous forest, and the region contains China's largest forest resource.

Nowadays this vast region, is divided for political and historical reasons between four Chinese provinces and comprises 47

counties . The region was characterised by its very rich biodiversity and in a few locations the untouched ecosystems are

among the most diverse living assemblies in Asia (Ogilvie 1996 Smil 1984). There are still believed to be over 1500 species

of higher plant, more than 90 mammal species, more than 350 bird species, and more than 25 reptile and amphibian species.

CULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT

China is the nation with the longest continuous culture on earth, and from the earliest times (The Shang Dynasty 1766

BC-1122 BC) there is evidence of both a conservation ethic and an understanding of environmental processes.

Environmental consciousness used to be reinforced not only by rulers but through Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism but

it appears to have been retained mostly as an ideal which was gradually subsumed by modernity (Edmonds 1994, Needham

1956, 1986, Schafer 1962, Smil 1984)). Although the recorded history of SW China is not as old as Han China there is

evidence that the people have lived sustainably with their fragile world for 2,000 years, and still today exhibit a conservation

ethic deeply embedded both in historic government Tsatsig (Tib. Decree) and in their animistic (mi chos), Bon (bon

chos), and Buddhist (lha chos) traditions (Bjork 1993, Tenzin P. Atisha 1996, Studley 1999, Samuel 1993 Stein 1972,

Powers 1995). Modernity, rather than enhancing the well-being of the peoples of SW China, is seemingly destroying their

environment and indigenous culture and robbing them of their means of life.

In 1997 China announced very ambitious plans for forest conservation and the provision of funding to re-deploy loggers as

tree planters It has however, taken the very serious floods that occurred in China in 1998, for both the State and local

government to introduce desperate measures, in an attempt to ameliorate the problem. It was not until 17th August (in a news

analysis by Xinhua news agency) that the authorities recognised that some of the flooding was due to deforestation in the

upper reaches of the Yangtze river. As from 1st September 1998, a complete felling ban was introduced in Western Sichuan

(Eastern Kham), plans for log channels at Ertan hydroelectric power station were suspended, and $US 52 million per year

was released to re-deploy loggers in reforestation. To facilitate reforestation, it was announced that 9 m ha of grazing land

would be closed. Similar measures were instituted along the upper reaches of the Yellow River and in Yunnan Province and

Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) (Winkler 1998b). Although these measures are generally welcome there are already signs

that the logging bans are being flouted, and officials who question if funding for conservation is a sustainable income stream.

Concerns have been expressed about the impact of the ban and pasture closure on the 1 million Tibetans who are dependent

on the logging industry and there is concern that most of the funds for replanting will go to Han Chinese forestry workers,

which may heighten ethnic tension.

DEFORESTATION

The forests of SW China, were among the most extensive areas of forest cover in the whole country, and included the forests

of SE Tibet AR, Western Sichuan,