Collaborative Protection and Development Project of Guanba Village, Pingwu County in Sichuan Province, China
Challenges and Objectives
As an entrance community to the Giant Panda National Park, Guanba Village has established a community-based, inclusive approach to conservation yet is facing challenges in sustainable financing for effective conservation through socio-economic growth. Guanba is part of rural China where prolonged coercive environmentalism and labor out-migration have depleted its vibrancy, resulting in a pervasive lack of capacity for villages and their cooperatives to compete in the market and reduce dependence on external support. Currently, the primary task for Guanba is to generate income for villages by transforming its ecological and socio-cultural resources into nature-based, eco-friendly products and services, ultimately realizing villagers’ equitable rights to socio-economic development and human-nature harmonious coexistence.
The objectives of the “Collaborative Protection and Development Project” in Guanba, led by one of China’s most active environment NGOs – Shanshui Conservation Center, are to, firstly, support a community-based model of conservation in which Guanba villagers take initiatives for forest patrolling and establish a sense of stewardship; secondly, support Guanba’s advantageous industries in apiculture and nature education; and lastly and most importantly, facilitate the establishment of multisectoral, collaborative decision-making mechanisms for conservation and development in Guanba.
Collaboration Partners and Roles
The main collaboration partners in this project are Shanshui Conservation Center, Guanba villagers (mostly through grassroots organizations such as the Guanba Village Committee, cooperatives, and interest groups), universities, and other research institutes (e.g., Peking University, Sichuan Academy of Eco-Environmental Sciences), local governments (township and county level, Giant Panda National Park Management Bureau, etc.), and corporate social responsibility (CSR) schemes and philanthropic organizations. Shanshui Conservation Center is the leading actor initiating the collaboration.
Shanshui takes the lead in establishing partnerships with local villagers and other external associations, connecting and introducing financial, technical, and support on other social fronts for Guanba Village, and providing long-term capacity building for the local Guanba community to have a sustainable future between conservation and development.
Local villagers endorse the co-development and co-management partnership with external partners, participate in cooperatives, and provide manpower, agricultural tools, etc. Capable and resourceful villagers, including return migrants, take up leadership roles in the village committee and in cooperatives. Many villagers work or volunteer as nature reserve patrols to conduct regular monitoring and dissuade/prevent fellow villagers’ and outsiders’ harmful behaviors (e.g., illegal hunting) to the environment. Villagers also share and promote traditional knowledge and culture with external partners. Guanba Village has the following cooperatives and interest groups: Guanba Village Beekeeping Professional Cooperative, Guanba Village Walnut Professional Cooperative, Guanba Watershed Nature Conservation Center, White Bear Valley Rural Tourism Development Professional Cooperative, Guanba Village Dancing Team, and Guanba Beekeeping Interest Group. Local governments at different levels support Guanba Village’s collaboration with Shanshui, help set up the “Pingwu County Biological Diversity and Water Resource Protection Fund” joint venture with Shanshui and Conservation International, and provide policy guidance for Guanba’s development. Research institutes and external researchers conduct research projects in Guanba and provide social sciences, ecological, and other disciplinary evidence for collaborative decision-making in Guanba. They also provide technical support for the Guanba project and capacity-building opportunities for local villagers. CSR schemes and philanthropic organizations (e.g., Marriott Group, Ant Financial, Kiehl’s, HSBC, See Conservation, Conservation International, etc.) provide funding, technical support, networking opportunities, support on publicity, etc.
Revitalisation Activities
There are three main aspects of revitalization activities – economic, environmental, and socio-cultural. Economic activities in Guanba include developing new green industries, such as apiculture, walnut plantation, ecotourism, and nature education, to replace unsustainable, traditional economic activities, especially excessive grazing, that are harmful to forest conservation. This project also creates and promotes new products and services, especially in offering nature education tours. Environmental activities include the conservation of animal and plant species. The population of Asian honey bees (Apis cerana cerana), which was in decline, has gradually recovered. With more ecological awareness raising and behavior change campaigns, Guanba villagers have come to understand that they should take the main responsibility for local ecological conservation. There are also many socio-cultural activities. Through community-based activities such as participating in professional cooperatives, joining interest groups, conducting routinized forest patrolling, etc., Guanba has strengthened community building, and its villagers have cultivated a strong collective sense of trust, unity, and belonging. Guanba’s young economic migrants are encouraged to return by incentives such as being assigned leadership roles. Some of them returned and stayed in Guanba for the local cooperative business and conservation work, enabling village repopulation. These young people are also the main recipients of capacity-building opportunities for youth empowerment. Elderly, “stayed-behind” women in Guanba are encouraged to take part in the village’s public management affairs and cultural and economic activities. Guanba Dancing Team is led by local women, enabling a public venue for women’s mobilization and empowerment. Last but not least, this project also supported revitalizing traditional cultural activities. Guanba’s unique White Horse Chieftain culture and the Queen Bee Festival on March 3rd have been preserved and developed through festivals and other promotional events.
Revitalisation Outcome
According to the collaborative evaluation led by the Sichuan Academy of Eco-Environmental Sciences and Shanshui Conservation Center, there are six main achievements of this project since its commencement in 2009. In Guanba’s surrounding environment, the freshwater ecosystem has been restored, and the giant panda habitat has been well protected. Disputes caused by complex forest land ownership have been shelved, and scattered resources have been integrated. Guanba’s patrol team has grown and regularized, and protection has been normalized in Guanba. Guanba’s rural collective economy has continuously been growing. Community cohesion, vitality, and capability have increased significantly in Guanba. And lastly, Guanba has gained more public visibility and social influence in China and abroad. In conclusion, Guanba exemplifies a model of community-based co-development and co-management for natural conservation, pioneering a new model in China’s national park system development.
This is the abridged version of a case prepared by AIRI Fellow Chunkai Cao. For further information, please email Tsinghua University’s China Institute for Rural Studies at cirs@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn.