Commercial fungi, indigenous communities, and the bioeconomy transition in Southwest China

Abstract

Though China has experienced rapid economic growth and industrialisation over the last several decades, reliance on natural resources remains common in the country’s relatively remote and bioculturally rich western and southwestern parts. Alongside recent conservation interventions, such as logging bans and establishment of national parks limiting access to timber and areas that can be wild-harvested, commercial collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has increased rapidly in indigenous communities in response to market opportunities following rising urban middle-class incomes. The bioeconomic transition from subsistence to commercial use of NTFPs is not well understood. This chapter reviews the bioeconomy framework and the sustainability of using fungi for commercial purposes in southwest China. It documents the institutional and governance factors impacting collection, management, and marketing as well as estimates the sustainability of resource use and indigenous livelihoods. The research highlights the importance of indigenous institutions and knowledge in relation to sustainable use of commercial NTFPs in promoting bioeconomy development. The research also indicates the need to understand and consider cultural factors in shaping the fungi value chain as part of the bioeconomic transition.