Explore the balance between conservation and community development -- Take the easement project of Badagongshan Protection as an example

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by hueihong zhu, Hunan Badagongshan National Nature Reserve

Hunan Badagongshan National Nature Reserve logo

Hunan Badagongshan National Nature Reserve

Taking Badagongshan Conservation area as an example, this paper analyzes and summarizes the conservation easement project being implemented in the conservation area, so as to explore the way to balance the conservation of protected land and the development of community. This paper summarizes the positive role of project implementation, the problems encountered in the process of project implementation, the necessary conditions of project implementation, and the summary of project implementation experience.

Last update: 04 Feb 2021

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Context

Challenges addressed

Land and Forest degradation

Wildfires

Poaching

Lack of access to long-term funding

Lack of public and decision maker’s awareness

Impact on ecology: It increases the scope of protection, better realizes the protection target of the protected area, maintains the stability and integrity of the ecosystem, establishes a broad living space for the protected objects.

Impact on society: the conflict between reserve and community development is effectively alleviated.The living standard of the villagers in the surrounding communities of the reserve has been improved, and they have spontaneously realized the importance of the nature reserve, and taken an active part in the protection and management work, thus becoming the guardian of the reserve.

Economic impact: Through the protection of easement, villagers can get ecological compensation funds, which effectively alleviates residents' economic pressure.On this basis, villagers can the economy with an industrial structure less dependent on biological resources, so as to achieve long-term sustainable development of community economy while ensuring the ecological environment.

Scale of implementation

Local

Ecosystems

Temperate evergreen forest

Theme

Sustainable livelihoods

Indigenous people

Location

Sangzhi County, Zhangjiajie, Hunan, People's Republic of China

East Asia

Process

Summary of the process

The conservation easement first alleviates the tension between the community and the reserve, giving the reserve management agency and the community residents a common goal, namely, to protect the local ecological environment; Giving full play to the respective advantages of the community and the reserve, the reserve has various management skills to enable the community residents to better protect the local environment. As the people most familiar with the local environment, the community residents can provide convenience for the management of the reserve. Community construction is the key to the protection effect of the reserve, and good community is the foundation of the long-term and sustainable development of the reserve.

Building Blocks

Conservation easement

conservation easement for real estate involves keeping the nature, landscape, or the value of open space, and guarantee its agriculture, forestry, recreation and open space function, protect the natural resources, maintain and improve air and water environment quality, save the real estate's own nature, history, architecture, archaeology and cultural value, and limiting conditions of servitude holders of real estate or positive obligation of sexual rights.

The problem to be solved: to re-manage the fragmentation of ecologically continuous land resources caused by different ownership.In order to solve the complex problem of human-earth relationship, a refined compensation mechanism is established and the compensation standard is measured. Considering how to make the obligee of servient land (community residents) achieve the ecological benefits expected by the servient land (protected areas) while rationally utilizing the land to obtain economic benefits.

Solution: define the rights and obligations of the protected area and the community residents in the form of contract, and restrict the land rights of the protected area and surrounding areas at a low cost (ecological compensation), so as to achieve the protection goal without damaging the interests of the community residents.

Enabling factors

policy support (ecological compensation mechanism), good community management organization (village organization)

Lesson learned

Explain the conservation easement patiently, because it is a new concept, and needs to explain patiently to the community residents, project implementors, etc.;Work must be done carefully, every number represents the real interests of the community residents.

Community Participation

refers to the nature reserve or the surrounding communities and the nature reserve together participate in the management and protection of the natural resources of the nature reserve, so as to make the natural resources of the nature reserve can be reasonably developed and utilized, the biodiversity of the nature reserve can be protected, and promote the living standard of the community residents to improve.

Problems to be solved: giving full play to the subjective initiative of community residents;And solved the problem of insufficient management personnel; It is conducive to the establishment of trust and good relations between the management office of CPNR and village collective. It is beneficial to the long-term sustainable development of the protected area.

Solutions: The rights and obligations of community residents are stipulated in the form of contracts. Through clear responsibilities and annual assessment, residents are able to exert their subjective initiative and create an ecological environment to achieve long-term sustainable development.

Enabling factors

policy support, technical guidance, management agencies of protected areas, community organizations (village collectives)

Lesson learned

This is a long-term activity, which cannot be accomplished overnight, and the short-term results are the basis for evaluation.We should give priority to the community masses, give full play to the subjective initiative of the community residents, and the protected areas and the government as auxiliary roles; Attach importance to the evaluation work. The annual management evaluation work is a summary of the management work of this year, and also points out the direction for the management work of the next year.

Impacts

Impact on ecology: It increases the scope of protection, better realizes the protection target of the protected area, maintains the stability and integrity of the ecosystem, establishes a broad living space for the protected objects, and is conducive to the development of biological diversity.

Impact on society: the conflict between reserve and community development is effectively alleviated.The living standard of the villagers in the surrounding communities of the reserve has been improved, and they have spontaneously realized the importance of the nature reserve, and taken an active part in the protection and management work, thus becoming the guardian of the reserve.It is conducive to creating a social atmosphere of ecological protection.

Economic impact: Through the protection of easement, villagers can get ecological compensation funds, which effectively alleviates residents' economic pressure.On this basis, villagers can develop ecological tourism and other production and operation modes through ecological resources, adjust the industrial structure, and develop the economy with an industrial structure less dependent on biological resources, so as to achieve long-term sustainable development of community economy while ensuring the ecological environment.