GIANT PANDAS SPUR ECOTOURISM

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http://www.peopleandplanet.net/doc.php?id=2529 ?Pandas spur eco-tourism Chinese

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Posted: 12 Sep 2005

 

by Claire Doole

 

Two and a half hours out of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in central

China, down a one-lane road - and over lots of potholes - lies the village of

Xiang Shujia. Not far from one of China's oldest panda reserves, at Wanglang,

Xiang Shujia is among a handful of former logging villages where ethnic Tibetan

Baima people are putting down their saws and embracing the panda's bamboo forest

habitat to practise ecotourism Chinese style.

 

The Baima people are a minority tribal group of some 1,400 people who for

centuries have lived in northern Sichuan and southern Gansu provinces and have

long depended on the forests as their main source of income. But since a logging

ban in the upper basin of the Yangtze River was introduced in the late 1990s to

fight yearly flooding, the villages have had to look for alternative

livelihoods.

 

Several are now in the process of developing a small tourism industry as their

lands are rich in forests and natural landscapes, and borders on the home of the

giant panda. Xiang Shujia, in particular, is becoming a popular bed and

breakfast centre for the droves of tourists heading to Wanglang to see China's

iconic wildlife species close up. Visitors are also starting to take notice of

the Baima themselves.

 

As our jeep stops in the courtyard of one of the brightly coloured wooden

houses, we are greeted by village leader Li Qin and young Baima girls dressed in

traditional costumes with white feathers in their hair. As we take our place on

low-wooden benches near an open fire, the girls break into traditional song as

they serve us spiced ribs with rice and washed down with honeyed alcohol.

 

Westerners are something of a rarity in these parts as most of the tourists who

stay in the homes of the Baima tend to be Chinese, spending their vacations

playing maj jong and going on horseback rides through the forest. The foreign

tourists are usually found up the road at a well-kept eco-lodge in the panda

reserve. But more and more are starting to opt for the rustic village

experience.

 

Logging ban

 

" We are not earning as much income as we did as loggers, but the number of

tourists is growing, " said Baima leader Li Qin. “W " We realize that to attract

foreigners we have to show our cultural side, offering more traditional singing

and dancing and ensuring our houses are built in the traditional way. "

 

Relations between the Baima and the reserve were tense following the 1998

logging ban as villagers had to make a new living, which included entering the

Wanglang reserve to collect wild mushroom and herbs, often at the expense of

disturbing the panda's habitat. But things dramatically improved as villagers

started receiving training on how to market their communities to tourists.

 

With start-up loans from WWF, the global conservation organization, women, like

Bo Lanzao who became the family's breadwinner after her husband was disabled in

an accident, are now making an income selling their handicrafts to tourists on

the way to the reserve.

 

" Our aim is to deter the villagers from disturbing the panda habitat by ensuring

they had a sustainable alternative livelihood, including the poorest of

families, " emphasized Chen Youping, Director of the Wanglang Reserve.

 

High-value tourism

 

The government-run, WWF-supported Wanglang Panda Reserve covering an area of

320km2 lies in the Minshan Mountains in northern Sichuan Province. Up to 20,000

visitors come each year to admire the 32 pandas living here, as well as other

endangered species such as black bear, red panda, musk deer, and golden monkey,

and to walk in one of China's few remaining virgin forests.

 

Wanglang is very much about low volume, high-value tourism. A small, 12-roomed

lodge ?certified by the Nature and Ecotourism Accreditation Programme, an

international accrediting organization that identifies genuine ecotourism and

nature-based tourism operators ?is built on the site of a former logging camp.

 

" All the money from the reserve goes back into community and conservation

projects, " said Youping. " However the pressure from the local authorities to

generate even more revenue by bringing in more tourists is never far away. "

 

" This is a very poor area and there is pressure to replace all the income lost

from logging with ecotourism. But our priority is first the animals and then

ecotourism. "

 

Youping estimates that 30,000 visitors a year is the maximum the reserve could

sustain without damaging the panda habitat. But this is a far cry from the

hoards of tourists visiting the nearby world-recognized Jiuzhaigou nature

reserve.

 

Negative impact

 

Jiuzhaigou, with its marble entranced hotels and exceptional scenic charms, is a

mecca for mass tourism. Listed as United Nations World Heritage site, the

reserve attracts a million people a year that come to see its fabled lakes,

waterfalls, and snow-capped mountains. But overdevelopment, including a newly

constructed ring road, has fragmented the region's panda habitat.

 

According to Wanglang’s Chen Youping, mass tourism in Jiuzhaigou no longer makes

it an ideal habitat for wild animals and is lobbying for a reduction in the

numbers of visitors. WWF is also trying to make tourism a shade greener in the

reserve's Zharugou Valley, which is soon to be opened to the public.

 

" A recent investigation found that mass tourism to Zharugou would not only

negatively impact the area, but also a neighbouring golden monkey reserve, " said

Ling Lin, Director of WWF China's programme office in Chendgu.

 

" I am hopeful that we can convince local authorities to develop responsible

tourism at one of China's most famous sites. If successful, it would serve as a

model for other nature reserves to follow, " he added.

 

Growing numbers

 

Tourism, let alone ecotourism, is still a relatively new phenomenon in China. As

a result of China’s economic boom in recent years, more and more ordinary

Chinese have the disposable income to take holidays. For most, a vacation is

still a novelty, and if they take one at all, don't plan a visit beyond the

Great Wall or Beijing's Forbidden City.

 

At the same time, foreign tourists are flocking to China in droves. Last year,

according to the World Tourism Organization, the number of visitors to China

soared 27 per cent to 41.8 million compared with 2003. China has now overtaken

Italy as the world’s fourth most popular tourism destination. Of course, the

Great Wall and the Forbidden City are high on the “places to visit?list, but

many are looking to go off the beaten track, keen not only to explore panda

country but also to go trekking in Tibet or biking in inner Mongolia.

 

Companies such as WildChina have seen the potential of tapping into this market.

Set up in 2000, it offers tourists the opportunity to experience another side of

China. Its marketing director, Adorn Murray, is well aware though of the danger

posed by exposing the countryside to hoards of hikers, trekkers, and cyclists.

 

“We believe that working to protect and preserve nature should be part of any

responsible business strategy,?Murray said. “It would be tragic if convening

with nature leads to its destruction rather than its conservation.?

 

The majority of the tour company’s clients are foreign but the Chinese are

increasingly putting on their hiking boots and beginning to explore their own

country.

 

“Most of my friends are young professionals and they are just not satisfied with

going to see the Great Wall, they want to go and explore other parts of the

country,?said Mathew Hu, a tour guide with WildChina.

 

Changing attitudes

 

During China’s Cultural Revolution, the environment was considered a resource

and not something that needed to be protected. Today, adventure travel and the

environment seem to be a way for young people to seek personal development,

something which was never an option in their parents?or grandparents?day.

 

It was only in 1994 that Chinese environmental organizations were allowed to set

up, albeit under the watchful eye of the government. However, while any

criticism of government policy is limited, they are having an impact in raising

environmental awareness, which in turn is raising interest in ecotourism. Green

Earth Volunteers, for example, has 50,000 members who increasingly spend their

weekends planting trees and organizing field trips

 

WWF, the first international conservation organization invited to work in China,

has also been active, supporting projects in Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces

including research, monitoring, patrolling against poaching, and illegal logging

as well as social development projects including ecotourism and training for

local communities.

 

“Our projects show that you don't have to kill the goose that lays the golden

eggs,?said Jim Harkness, outgoing head of WWF China. “From Wanglang to

Jiuzhaigou, we are working with local authorities to green popular tourism

sites. High-end small-scale green tourism is sustainable and can be as

profitable as mass tourism.?

 

Claire Doole is Head of Press at WWF International

 

NOTE: A recent survey by China’s Forestry Administration and WWF revealed there

are nearly 1,600 pandas in the wild, over 40 per cent more animals than

previously thought. With effective habitat protection within the Yangtze River

Basin, WWF believes that giant panda populations can recover in the wild to

secure levels.

 

People & the Planet 2000 - 2005