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(cont.)
Address threats to biodiversity
Threat-related targets include: reducing rates of habitat loss
and habitat degradation; controlling major alien invasive
species; maintaining and enhancing resilience in response
to climate change; and reducing pollution and its impact.
Forest loss was greatly curtailed by the national logging
ban and by the policy of discontinuing agriculture on steep
slopes. Natural regeneration has occurred in a number of
areas, aided in some by appropriate afforestation, but an
emphasis on ill-defined "forest land" targets sheds little light
on ecological trends in the forest landscape; meanwhile
demand has meant forests continue to be frayed at the
edges, and logging continues in various places. The various
aspects of habitat degradation have not been adequately
defined in South China - this requires, conversely, defining
and measuring integrity of ecosystems, both protected
and managed, including functional components such
as seed dispersal.29 In some cases exotic species have
been introduced even to nature reserves, either due to
misidentification of confiscated animals, inattention to
potential negative impacts or a misguided effort to increase
local "diversity." Recognition of aliens is not always easy -
native ranges of many "weed" species are poorly known -
and for many taxa there is uncertainty over "invasiveness"
as opposed to spread into disturbed habitats. But some
proven invasives are now established here30,31,32,33,34
including, now, the infamous South American Solenopsis
invicta fire ant,35,36 whose ecological impact is yet to be
revealed, and control plans are inadequate for most species.3
The potential of Environmental Impact Assessment
to limit habitat degradation has been slow to be realised,
but the requirement to involve public scrutiny37 and
stronger enforcement measures38 offer new opportunity
to improve compliance. Resilience of ecosystems
in response to climate change is poorly known but is
generally related to ecological integrity and diversity; a
biodiversity-hostile agricultural matrix around natural
ecosystems prevents range adjustments for most species.
Pollution control efforts are driven by human health
concerns, and have made some progress tackling inefficient
and polluting industries but remain an immense challenge
especially for agricultural and household sources.3 The
unprecedented air pollution and deposition in South
China must have many different ecological impacts even
in "protected" areas, yet few studies in the region address
these. Most threats, then, need far greater understanding
and attention. Score: 18/50
Maintain goods and services from biodiversity to support human well-being
Snail-eating Turtles (Malayemys
subtrijuga) from Malaysia meet a sorry end at Guangzhou's Qing Ping Market |
The capacity of ecosystems to deliver goods and services,
and particularly to support sustainable livelihoods, food
security and health of the poor, has become recognised
mainly through negative experiences, such as flooding,
drought, weather extremes and climate trends. Climate
change and extreme-weather events provide a reminder
that an "engineering" approach to ecosystems is highly
dangerous; replacing diverse and resilient natural systems
with simple uniform ones exposes the poor, and the
economy as a whole, to immense risk.39,40 Fortunately
there is growing awareness in senior Government of the
need for balanced development, often expressed in
policy.41 But as ever the motive for fast economic gain
needs to be countered with a longer-term vision, learning
from past experiences in China42,43,44,45 and from the many
cultures that have expanded beyond, and hence reduced,
the long-term carrying capacity of their environment.46
The "goods and services" goal may not exactly coincide
with that of biodiversity conservation, raising possible
conflicts with leaving natural forests intact, but interest is
growing in supporting conservation through payment
for ecosystem services.47 Projects in Guangxi48 and
Yunnan49 have been at the forefront of using the carbon
market to support afforestation, and the market could
be beneficial for existing forests if Reduced Emissions
from Deforestation and Degradation mechanisms can be
properly formulated. More immediate are the conflicts
over allocating land for inefficient uses such as fodder
crops (e.g. corn) and biofuels, such that forest biodiversity
and ecosystem services are needlessly lost, and grain
reserves for human consumption remain low despite
record yields. Existing projections are not reassuring for the
poor, especially when climate change is factored in. Score:
9/20
Protect traditional knowledge, innovations and practices
There are targets to protect traditional knowledge,
innovations and practices, along with the rights to this
intellectual property and benefits. Ethnobiology has
received less study in South China than in Yunnan
(but see pages 63-66). The genetic base for major crops
has been dramatically reduced in recent years, even in
Guangxi which has 2,700 of China's 16,000 maize
germplasm varieties.50 There are initiatives to curtail this
trend, including pioneering work in Guangxi toward a
cooperative and complementary relationship between
the formal and informal crop systems which has
been channelled into national policy by the Centre for
Chinese Agricultural Policy. China has adopted a Law
on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage,
and Traditional Chinese Medicine is being protected
through intellectual property protection51 and extensive
specialist publications;3 unfortunately there are few
professionals in this field within South China. A legal
hurdle is that property rights have been recognised for the
state and the individual, with historically little allowance
for indigenous and local communities.52 Despite increased
legal support and autonomy, and market benefits from
tourism, indigenous people remain susceptible to land-use
decisions from centrally planned policy, and their
institutions and knowledge have been eroded.53,54,55,56 On
the other hand mainstream culture has brought some
benefits in terms of knowledge, innovations and practices.
Score: 8/20
Ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of genetic resources
Deforestation in Hainan is not a
thing of the past |
All transfers of genetic resources should be in line with
CBD, and with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic
Resources for Food and Agriculture; benefits of use should
accrue to the providing countries. China has not been a
strong critic of biopiracy,52 and has been slow to develop
a regulatory framework on benefit-sharing,3 but such
a legal system is promised in the new Master Plan for the
Conservation and Exploitation of Biological Resources.
A challenge will be to protect national property rights
without stifling international research cooperation; greater
investment in taxonomic capacity and exchange
seems essential to safeguarding national interests. In
the spirit of benefit-sharing, some nature reserves have
made efforts to ensure local people benefit from their
ecosystems, while forest tenure reforms returning access
and management rights to counties and villages are
underway in most provinces. Score: 10/20
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