The National People's Congress (NPC) and the National People's Congress (CPPCC) are annual national events, focusing on the hot subjects in various fields of society, which is an important opportunity for average Chinese people to make suggestions for national development and put forward reform and development proposals. The NPC and CPPCC in 2021 will be held in Beijing from March 4 to 5, and the meeting topics of the two sessions will once again become the focus of attention at home and abroad in the near future.
For the upcoming NPC and CPPCC sessions, the Research Office of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) suggested that the Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) should be incorporated in the national nature reserve system, so as to improve the protection effectiveness of the nature reserve system. The details are as follows:
Nature reserves are the core carrier of ecological construction, which play a leading role in maintaining national ecological security and an important role in protecting biodiversity, preserving natural heritage and improving the quality of ecological environment.
1. Basic Situation of National Nature Reserve System in China
Since the establishment of the first nature reserve (spot) in 1956, which is Dinghushan Nature Reserve of Guangdong Province, by the end of 2019, more than 11,800 reserves of all levels and types have been established in China. The reserves account for 18% of China's land area, and 4.1% of the sea areas under the jurisdiction of China, which is higher than the world average. It has basically formed a system of nature reserves with quite complete types, basically reasonable layout and relatively perfect functions. However, as the number of reserves increased gradually, problems such as space area overlapping, multi managements, unclear boundaries, unclear rights and responsibilities, contradictions between protection and development in the reserves are becoming more and more prominent. In 2018, a new round of institutional reform of the State Council ended the situation of multi managements of natural resources and conservations. Ministry of Natural Resources, a ministry with comprehensive resources, is in charge of the job now, whose overall plan and guidance is based on the nature reserve system with national parks as the main body.
According to Guidelines for Establishing a Nature Reserve System with National Parks as Main Body (hereinafter referred to as Guidelines) issued by the State Council in 2019, the existing nature reserves, scenic spots, geoparks, forest parks, ocean parks, wetland parks, glacier parks, grassland scenic spots, aquatic germplasm resources reserves, wild plant original habitat reserves (spots), nature small reserves, important wildlife habitats and other kinds of nature reserves will be evaluated comprehensively. According to ecological values and protection intensities, the reserves are divided into three categories: national parks, nature reserves and nature parks. It is planned to gradually form a classification system of nature reserves with national parks as the main body, nature reserves as the basis and nature parks as the supplement.
2. Making up for Deficiency of National Nature Reserve System
Guidelines note that a nature reserve system with national parks as the main body is a management system implementing differentiated management and control according to functional orientations of various nature reserves. Although the number and area of reserves built in China is higher than the world average, there are still some less representative and less typical distribution areas of natural ecosystems and rare and endangered species are not protected. Taking Yunnan Snub-Nosed Monkey (first-grade state level protection, endangered category EN) as an example, the survey in 2004 shows that 3 groups of about 280 monkeys among 15 groups of Yunnan Snub-Nosed Monkeys in the wild still live outside the reserve. It is not a single case. According to the survey performed by Xiaoou Ping on Przewalski’s Gazelle (first-grade state protection, endangered category CR) in 2015, in the 12 distribution areas around Qinghai Lake, 2 distribution areas are not in any reserves and 4 distribution areas are around the reserve. There are numerous similar examples. From the national level, the funding and staffing for protection are limited after all, so it is really hard to include every protected species and its habitat into reserves.
Instead, the indigenous and community conserved areas (ICCAs) can make up for the deficiency of national nature reserves.
3. Types and Practice of ICCAs
ICCAs is also known internationally as Indigenous People's and Community Conserved Territories and Areas, which is one of the types of nature reserves. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines ICCAs as "natural and/or modified ecosystems containing significant biodiversity values, ecological services, and cultural values, voluntarily conserved by indigenous, mobile and local communities through customary laws and other effective means." The proposal of ICCAs originates from the fact that many indigenous people and communities are closely linked to the natural resources and biodiversity around them. They were born and raised here. Their production, life, traditional knowledge, spiritual needs and cultural customs are intertwined with these natural resources and biodiversity. Their relationship with the nature is far more complicated than marking out a piece of land for protection. For example, Tibetan "Holy Mountain and Lake", Yunnan Dai people’s "Long mountain" and Yi people’s "Holy Forest" and so on, these unique natural conservation traditions have formed many de facto ICCAs.
China has tried to build ICCAs in Qinghai, Tibet, Yunnan and other places, such as Cuochi ICCA in Qinghai province, which covers an area of about 2440 square kilometers. The ICCA’s management right belongs to local villagers and it is managed by the village committee on behalf of the villagers. In this ICCA, the villagers set up a "Village Patrol Team" spontaneously in the community reserve to conduct regular anti-poaching inspection of Wild Yaks in 17 designated areas every year. In addition, CBCGDF proposed “ICCAs System”. The core of this system is community-based, people-oriented and extensively absorbing the participation of social forces. Local governments, social organizations, non-governmental conservation groups and individuals can file applications for the establishment of ICCAs in China. In this way, biodiversity protection and human genetic protection are prioritized. CBCGDF supports the construction of ICCAs by protection policies, technical methods, legal assistance, raising funds, media publicity and other forms. Taking the protection of Great Bustard (endangered category EN) as an example, 7 Great Bustard conservation areas have been built successively, from point to line, and then to form a network, across five administrative divisions, for the purpose of comprehensive protection of the wintering place, breeding place and migration resting place for Great Bustards. It can be said the conservation areas are built wherever the Great Bustards fly. Through science and knowledge popularization, CGDF extensively develops and supports local volunteers of wildlife protection to patrol, rescue, remove bird nets, pick up poison baits, etc. so as to escort the Great Bustards’ migration year after year.
4. ICCAs Should Be Included in National Nature Reserve System
At present, these ICCAs in China have been neither recognized by the law nor officially recognized by the local governments. The protection activities are mainly carried out with the support of international and domestic NGOs, and are often regarded by the local governments as "annoying". However, these reserves are the most extensive mass base for the protection of the natural ecological environment and biodiversity. Some of them may not have the same deep traditional culture and beliefs as the Tibetan, Dai and Yi people, but they have the same love for their native land, the same desire to protect the ecological environment and improve the living environment. Moreover, ICCAs may not be bound by boundary evaluation and approval of reserves, but can be changed according to the migration routes and habitat changes of species. Without these constraints, ICCAs will be the best supplement to the national nature reserve system. By protecting the habitat of species not listed in the nature reserves, we can effectively connect the existing fragmented habitats in China and improve the protection effectiveness of the current national nature reserve system. What’s more, ICCAs are generally set up independently with strong subjective initiative, which can maximize the enthusiasm and participation of local people, improve the awareness of national protection, and help establish a long-term mechanism of public participation in nature conservation.
Therefore, it is suggested that the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Ecological Environment should include ICCAs in the top-level design of the national nature reserve system, and make clear the contribution of ICCAs to nature protection, so as to obtain the official recognition from the law and the governments. And further, we should carry out pilot projects of ICCAs or summarize experience from the construction and operation of existing ICCAs (such as holy mountains and trees of ethnic minorities, reserves of CBCGDF, etc.), formulate corresponding laws and regulations or rules and regulations, and standardize the behavior of ICCAs.
Translator/Lei Wang
Original Chinese article
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/W6VEcWtdHFmUioe6eRLoGw
Contribution
https://www.paypal.me/CBCGDFChina
http://www.cbcgdf.org/English/ConfirmDonaTion/0.html