First published on 05/14/2018
By: WANG Zhilu
Qunan is a village of Zhuang people in Guangxi, China, a southwest border province known for its delicate Karst feature. With the area of 412.5 hectares and the population of 450 people, it lies to the southeast of Chongzuo White-headed Langur National Nature Reserve. White-headed langur, an endangered and endemic species, which is ranked ‘critically endangered’ by IUCN, inhabits mostly in Guangxi and it is estimated that 12% of which (130 monkeys) live in Qunan. Other rare animals, such as macaque and approximately forty kinds of birds, are also observed in the warm and mountainous area, where Karst forest ecosystem is well conserved. So does the traditional Zhuang culture, such as the decision-making system by the community. Villagers believe in the three indigenous woods as their sacred “fengshui” treasure. Stories about how the destruction of “fengshui” woods would result in bad luck are told generations by generations thus everything within the woods is kept from interference. Forests in the village once underwent a massive destruction in 1958, but the “fengshui” woods kept intact. Unlike the other rural villages in China, where young people seek jobs in big cities, Qunan people stay in a relatively traditional economical shape. The major sources of income here are sugarcanes, watermelon, tangerine and corn. The inheritance of custom defines Qunan as one of the representative ICCA in China.
However, due to the barren characteristic of Karst, the ecosystem here is extremely vulnerable for its habitants thus deserved particular care and systematic management. GEF SGP has worked closely with Guangxi Biodiversity Research and Conservation Association (hereinafter referred to as BRC), a native NGO, and local government since 2014 in the empowerment of this community conserved area. Piloting Baohuxiaoqu, meaning “small reservation district” in Chinese in Qunan and three other nearby villages strengthen the local governance, better the villagers’ livelihood and conserve the ecosystem and its living creatures. Qunan White-headed Langur Baohuxiaoqu, being officially recognized by local governments in 2014, can be characterized in four short phrases: “self-fundraising”, “self-building”, “self-management” and “self-profit”, a mechanism that has gradually formed and performed within the community conserved area since the foundation.
Prior to the foundation of Baohuxiaoqu, the BRC and the community has carried out the preliminary baseline research in Qunan and its surrounding wildlands regarding geography, ethnic, culture, economy, history and ecology, which includes the thorough survey on langurs, birds and insects. The BRC also undertakes the role as the intermediate with external resources, providing outside experiences and necessary equipment to the community. Rather than merely giving, the project focus more on the promotion of internal governance, assisting the community to discover its own paths of management and protection. The local government, on the other hand, provided funds for pond renovation in the village, where White-headed Langurs usually visit to drink water. The funds ameliorated the quality of drinking water and reshaped the landscape of the village.
The core leadership team of four people of the Baohuxiaoqu introduced three fundamental rules as the response to environmental devastation due to human activities: firstly, no outsider is allowed in the Baohuxiaoqu unless permitted; Secondly, hunting, foresting cutting for land reclamation and other natural resources are strictly forbidden; Thirdly, fire lighting in the mountains is strictly forbidden. 17 voluntary villagers were teamed up to patrol on a regular base for the enforcement of the regulations, and especially for the monitor of white-headed langur habitats. Necessary assistance to the patrol team including trainings on knowledge of wildlife and monitoring methods and field work equipment such as telescopes and cameras were also provided. Any unauthorized outsiders or activities that forbade by the rules spotted would be reported to the patrol team. Since 2016, 18 collective patrols have been carried out, and at the same time, 13 violations were stopped. In 2017, the patrol team even came up with the annual goal of “zero damage”, indicating the effectiveness and strictness of the supervision that the major threats to white-headed langurs and their habitats including cultivations and wildlife huntings, were diminished dramatically. Moreover, patrol activities involving the whole village, in some way drive the willingness of villagers to protect, thus enhance the governance level in the community conserved area, through the consummation of “villagers – patrol team – core leadership” supervision system.
One of the unique measures for governance enhancement implemented by the BRC was the founding of Natural Education Center of White-headed Langur. Since 2015, when 16 families from big cities like Beijing and Shanghai attended the winter camp, 21 winter and summer camps have been held until June 2017, with more than 600 people been taking the courses on white-headed langur and Karst ecological system. Many villagers actively involved in it, including 14 local families as the host and the patrol team as the field trip guidance. The Baohuxiaoqu receives more than 190,000 Yuan through those camps, of which the major portion goes to the income of locals and the rest is reserved for community public affairs. Coming with the carry-out of educational camps is not only the benefits in economics but also the reinforcement of internal governance within the community: villagers come up with management protocols all by themselves and even children organize on their own to clean the public area and to manage donated books. The community is also united tightly together, along with the pride for its rare wildlings and traditional culture.
Since the foundation of the Baohuxiaoqu, the number of white-headed langurs has increased from around 85 to more than 130, due to the conservation of their habitats. Baohuxiaoqu puts an end to illegal land damages and steps a huge leap forward in economics and culture. Therefore, by taking advantages of its own environment and traditions, the community conserved area embraces an entirely new appearance with strengthened governance and more concentric village pride.
