Governance of Biodiversity Conservation in China And Taiwan

In the competition between hungry humans and threatened non-human
species, the former have won out consistently. As one official opined: ‘If
people don’t have enough to eat, you can’t expect them to protect the environ-
ment’.^60 A case study of threats to Guizhou’s nature reserves expresses this
conflict starkly:

‘The majority of reserves are situated in remote and poor regions whose economic

development is fairly backward. On the one hand, local governments and residents

have a strong desire to develop the economy and alleviate poverty. On the other

hand, because of poor living conditions, backward transportation and lack of access

to information, the development of the local economy depends largely on natural

resources. As the life of the local people is tightly connected with natural resources,

Guizhou’s situation is more serious than in other places.’^61

Since the late 1990s, this facet of conflict has received increased attention. The
PATF report recommends ways that can both alleviate poverty and promote
the conservation of biological resources, for example by direct payments to
individuals or communities which engage in conservation activities instead of
logging or converting habitats to agriculture.^62 A number of pilot projects in
nature reserves, many assisted by international ENGOs, have demonstrated
the efficacy of this approach.^63
A second conflict is between the authoritarian direction of biodiversity
conservation policy (including the management philosophies of most nature
reserves) and local initiatives and participation. Biodiversity conservation
efforts in China have emphasized national top-down strategies, and have
not involved local communities. Said one knowledgeable SEPA official:
‘Generally what happens is that the central or provincial government
establishes a protected area without local participation, and then expects the
local people to deal with it’.^64 Large numbers of people have been displaced
from their homes and communities to serve conservation values; those
remaining constantly face threats to their livelihoods. There is little consensus
in local areas of China that biological diversity should take precedence over a
variety of other uses of natural resources. The PATF report emphasizes the
contradiction between this condition and principles of the Convention on
Biodiversity (CBD), which ask for involvement of communities and fair
sharing of benefits from the use of biodiversity:

‘[L]ocal people are largely excluded in practice and even regarded as a problem

rather than an opportunity for collaboration. Local people are rarely involved

during the establishment and in management of PAs, and are not encouraged (are

sometimes deliberately excluded, indeed) from participation in eco-tourism

opportunities.’^65

A final area of conflict reveals the difference in culture and lifestyle of Han

116 Governance of biodiversity conservation in China and Taiwan