China’s Largest Scale Ecological Migration in the Three-River Headwater Region

Abstract

Over the past three decades, China’s economic growth has been the fastest among major nations. However, its environmental degradation has also accelerated (Liu and Diamond 2008). To mitigate the degraded environment, China has been implementing large-scale conservation programs, including the Key Shelterbelt Construction Program, Beijing-Tianjin Sandstorm Control Program, Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Development Program (Ouyang 2007), Forest Eco-Compensation Program (Ministry of Finance of China and State Forestry Administration of China 2007), the Natural Forest Conservation Program, and the Grain to Green Program (Zhang et al. 1999; Xu et al. 2006; Liu et al. 2008). The Three-River Headwater (TRH, Sanjiangyuan, Fig. 1) region is located in the core of the Tibet Plateau, China, and covers 363,000 km2 with the average altitude of 4,200 m. It is the world’s highest altitude region with the richest biodiversity, and contains China’s highest elevation and largest area wetlands (Committee 2009). The TRH region, known as China’s, and even Asia’s water tower, is the headstream of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang, the longest river in China and the third longest in the world), the Yellow River (Huang He, the second longest river in China, referred to as the cradle of the Chinese civilization), and the Lantsang River (Lancang Jiang, an international river called the Mekong River outside China). This region provides 25% of the water volume of the Yangtze River, 49% of the Yellow River, and 15% of the Lantsang River (Qin et al. 2008). In 2000, the Chinese government established the TRH reserve with an area of 152,300 km2—a land area larger than England and Wales combined, to protect this most unique and fragile ecosystem. Fig. 1 China’s water tower. Based on the MODIS product (MOD09AlV5), 12 August 2008 The TRH region suffers from global warming and the explosive increase in the intensity and extent of human activities (overgrazing, poaching of plants and wildlife, gold mining, etc.) (Zhao and Zhou 2005). Rangelands are severely overgrazed, and 58% of rangelands are moderately to severely degraded. Soil erosion has deteriorated about 26.5% of the region’s total land area. Rat infestation is widespread and the number of mouse-hole per hm2 is 1,335. Draught-up days of rivers are increasing (Lu 2007). The average annual runoff decreased more than 20% during the past 50 years (Qinghai Provincial Government 2005). Nearly one-fifth of its species are threatened (Cai 2008). The environmental degradation is also causing economic losses, and even brought about so-called “ecological refugees.” For example, Maduo County was one of the richest counties of the country in the early 1980s; however, it is now one of the 10 poorest counties, mainly due to ecological degradation caused by overgrazing (Gu et al. 2005). The deteriorating ecosystems prompted China to take an unprecedented conservation action—the Ecological Protection and Restoration Program (EPRP) in the TRH region in 2005 (Engineering Consulting Center of Qinghai Province 2005). The EPRP conserves and rehabilitates ecological functions through ecological migration, grazing bans, wetland protection, and harnessing degraded grassland. The EPRP is regarded as another large landmark project after the Development of the West Regions and the Qinghai–Tibet Railway. The Ecological Migration Program (EMP) among the EPRP in the TRH region, meaning local residents should move out from the reserve to restore the ecosystem and protect the environment, is deemed the country’s largest scale ecological migration for ecological compensation. A total of 7,500 million yuan (at present, $1 U.S. = 6.8 yuan) was budgeted for the EPRP, and 1,500 million yuan was allocated for the EMP. By the end of this program in 2010, almost all local Tibetan race residents are expected to be relocated to protect the vulnerable environment.