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South China researchers from various universities and government institutions desire to cooperate with American and other Western scientists and technologists on ways to solve South China's degraded lands problems. Our topics currently under discussion with Chinese scientists related to improving South China's degraded lands, though seemingly quite different, in fact complement one. The first is a technology assessment of South China's innovative agroecological systems. The second relates to assisting China's government develop a science policy for South China's provinces that will foster long-term improvement in the environment and the economic conditions for the farmer. The third involves establishing international research and demonstration sites on two South China near-shore islands where techniques to improve South China's degraded lands can be tested, measured, improved, and demonstrated for farmers, Chinese and foreign researchers and leaders. The fourth is an agroecological research, demonstration, and teaching activity at the Zhuhai Agricultural Science and Research Center to introduce innovative agroecological systems to interested researchers, their students, and the general public.
Technology and systems of technology like agriculture, when put into practice sometimes produce unintended, harmful effects on society and the environment. Commonly, it may take many years for these harmful effects to become evident but when they are recognized, it may take years and a great deal of money to reverse the negative effects. So, what can we do to avoid such problems? How can we help decision makers who may have little technical training make wise decisions when dealing with complex technological questions? A technology assessment may help provide the answers.
Instead of just examining the technical aspects of a subject like agroecological systems, we need to examine the likely physical, biological, economic, social, and political effects that may arise when such agricultural systems are put into practice over a wide area. Decision makers must consider all of these factors before they are likely to provide the funds to implement a particular technology. So, a technology assessment must:
Technology assessment is an appropriate way to evaluate the potential of South China's innovative agroecological systems' that are intended to help South China return its degraded lands to productivity, improve its natural environment, and increase economic benefits to local farmers. The proposed technology assessment (see Note below) would be used as a background document to assist China's government leaders at a follow-up Strategy Conference. Technology assessment is a decision-making tool that draws widely upon society's knowledge base, provides for useful synthesis, and identifies important issues and reasoned pathways for decision makers who often must address complex technical issues. Today, governments of about ten nations routinely use technology assessment to assist wise decision-making; many more nations continue to study its potential use. It is likely that this would be one of the first technology assessments carried out in South China.
Note: The Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation in late September 2002, approved the FAS/SCAU proposed Technology Assessment idea and provided a small start-up fund in 2003 to FAS/SCAU to support exploratory work.
The loss of human life, destruction of homes, roads, bridges and other infrastructure from rapid storm runoff and associated devastating landslides plagues the damaged and stripped hillsides of South China. Hills once covered with dense vegetation trapped rainfall effectively. Today, much of the cover is gone and instead of rainfall replenishing groundwater, it runs off rapidly causing serious erosion. Farming and excessive tree cutting for lumber and firewood removed extensive forest cover. The economic losses for society and the environment are staggering. The government now recognizes that the overuse of China's land resources is the primary cause of these disasters. The loss of South China's forest cover today has made wood products alone China's leading import costing the country $2 to $5 billion annually. Superimposed on all of these serious problems is the concern for continued population growth and the associated loss of agricultural land through poor agricultural practices, urbanization, and industrialization.
Concern also exists in China that the reduction in availability of productive farm land from water erosion may jeopardize the country's food supply. Farm-land reduction adversely affects the potential for sustained and significant agricultural production in the south where the agricultural lands have the longest growing season. The government continues to seek solutions to these interrelated problems. They have attempted in some areas to reduce the pressure on the land by moving farmers to urban areas. In other cases, the government requires farmers living on some of the damaged and degraded hill lands to give up farming and to grow trees on the land instead. Reforestation of course removes additional land from use for food production. Further, the government offers some farmers subsidies to buy tree seedlings and provides those farmers with free grain as well.
An alternate approachToday, techniques to address these problems need to demonstrate clear environmental and economic benefits, not just one or the other. Designing singular approaches commonly leads to a host of unexpected problems. Fortunately, however, South China has a wide array of scientific institutions that deal creatively with innovative farming systems (and integrated farming systems) designed to provide environmental and economic benefits to farmers who normally must eke out a living on degraded lands.
Scientists from these South China institutions are familiar with agricultural systems practiced by certain Chinese minority groups that are a blend of sound agricultural and ecological principles. The researchers learned from them how to grow combinations of fruit trees, firewood trees, food crops, medicinal plants, and to incorporate animals into highly productive systems for use on degraded lands. The improved systems now provide the agricultural "know how" along with an ecological understanding. The study of how such systems function is called agroecology. The farming systems that require a mix of agriculture and forestry are referred to as agroforestry. Many such agroforestry systems exist that work effectively on hilly lands to keep soil in place and to provide a variety of new economic opportunities for the farmer.
Such systems once applied, can improve the degraded lands' natural environment. Rainfall runoff slows and, thus, so does soil erosion, fuelwood and wildlife resources increase as do ground-water resources, deep tree roots help to anchor the soil and help mitigate landslides, wind erosion decreases, and soil and near-ground air temperatures moderate thus benefiting crop growth. The agroforestry systems allow the farmer to choose from a wide range of crop and animal combinations to suit his or her particular needs. The farm family can develop new economic opportunities because of the variety of crops and animals they can raise. Thus, by carefully linking environment and economics right at the start, improved environment and economics will be the future products for the farmer and his community.
China has two resources that continue to grow: one is population and the other is degraded lands. By applying what is already known about agroecology and agroforestry to degraded hillsides, South China's scientists can offer new opportunities to farmers or ex-farmers who today lack adequate amounts of prime farmland. The Chinese government's demonstrated concern for improving the environment will have increased meaning to farmers in degraded hill sites because the farmers' general economic benefits, production, and environmental improvement go hand in hand.
Recommendations and needed actionsThe South China Agricultural University (SCAU) in Guangzhou, a strong institution in agroecology and agroforestry, could act as a focal point for leaders of Guangdong, Fujian, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Hainan provincial governments with input as well from leaders of China's central government for organizing and coordinating activities to design and carry out a technology assessment (TA) on agroecological farming systems. The TA would assess the potential beneficial and adverse effects that might arise from the wide application of agroecological farming systems to improve South China's degraded lands. The four broad steps would be:
The four activities above might serve as a model for carrying out similar TAs for other broad ecosystems in other parts of China. What is learned from the TA activities of this South China technology assessment could help to simplify future TAs conducted by others for other parts of China.
Note: The Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation in late September 2002, approved the FAS/SCAU proposal and provided FAS/SCAU with a small start-up fund.
Important but small research and demonstration activities exist across South China on how to improve extensively damaged degraded lands. Though the activities vary in size, style, and level of funding, they complement one another. Many of the activities are in sites not easily accessible to the general public, many university researchers and their students, nor to China's decision makers and foreign scientists.
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The proposed plan is to use two small, degraded, near-shore islands for agroecological research. The two islands belong to Zhuhai, the well known, environmentally conscious Special Economic Zone immediately north of Macau. One island, Damang, is uninhabited and the other, Hebao, has one small fishing village on it.
The proposed project aims would be to encourage the Zhuhai government to set aside Damang as a nature reserve and field research center, and to conduct agroecological demonstrations on the adjacent island, Hebao, where such demonstrations would show how to improve South China's degraded lands and to show how environment and development can complement one another.
The State Oceanic Administration in Beijing reported that the Chinese government introduced a new regulation on July 1, 2003 on the protection and use of uninhabited islands. Under the regulation uninhabited islands could be leased for various amounts depending on the island's size. The People's Liberation Army would have to approve the use of a proposed island activity. Already, such projects as real estate and tourism, animal breeding, port development, storing explosives, and setting up a free trade zone have been proposed. However, in early March 2004, the State Oceanic Administration said that the new regulation had been misunderstood and that the intent of the regulation was to improve protection of the islands' natural environments and only develop a few.
Before such development takes place on Zhuhai's uninhabited islands, we propose that the Government of Zhuhai set aside Damang Island as a Zhuhai nature reserve and ecological research center. Doing so would provide an important first step to demonstrate, develop, and publicize ways to conserve nature and to improve degraded environments. Zhuhai's strong concern for maintaining or improving a desirable environment while encouraging tourism and development increases Damang Island's importance. Land degradation in China is a pressing concern. In the coastal tropical/subtropical provinces of Guangdong and Fujian alone, degraded lands cover 30 to 40 percent of the area including the near-shore islands.
Damang Island, located about 50 km southwest of Macau, is 6.5 km long, rough and steep, and mostly covered with secondary vegetation. Research on Damang could determine the island's suitability for propagation of rare native-tree species and other plants for use in improving South China's degraded lands. It is possible that some patches of Damang Island's original forest vegetation may still exist. If so, these patches could provide clues for identifying native-plants needed to improve the vegetative cover of other damaged islands of Zhuhai and South China.
Damang Island also contains a variety of introduced South China wildlife including Ganges and black-leaf monkeys, sika deer, waterbucks, pangolins, turtles, birds, snakes, and rats. Damang would be used as a research site to assess the beneficial or adverse effects of introduced wildlife on the island's vegetation. Such data would provide guidance to the government on the selection of wildlife for inclusion on other South China degraded lands.
The proposed Damang Island field research site would be open to researchers from universities and research institutions. It would offer researchers, and decision makers from large population centers such as Zhuhai, Guangzhou, Macau, and Hong Kong, new ideas for improving degraded lands and protecting wildlife. Researchers would be encouraged to bring groups of students to conduct non-destructive research activities. Each lead researcher would supply his/her own funds to conduct scientific work on Damang Island. The Zhuhai Agricultural Science and Research Centre (ZAS&RC) would be a potential choice to coordinate and manage access to and use of the island by other educational and research institutions.
FAS' Project Director Walter Parham opened discussion of this proposal with the Vice-Director of ZAS&RC and with the Director of the Zhuhai Science and Technology Bureau in late November 2003. In addition, the Mayor of Zhuhai was sent copies of the proposed idea.
The agroecological demonstrations would take place on degraded hillsides on Hebao Island and would focus on such topics as biological systems that improve soil quality, improve the microclimate, trap plant nutrients effectively, reduce erosion significantly, withstand damaging effects of strong winds, and improve habitats for native fauna and flora. Research and demonstrations of various combinations of plants that produce food, firewood, chemicals, and medicines will exist side by side. Emphasis on reintroduction and use of native species of plants and animals to benefit the new agroecosystems is a key goal. Merely planting large expanses of degraded lands with exotic tree species may slow erosion but may not solve other associated problems.
To convince others like scientists, farmers, and decision makers that some newly designed agroecosystems may in fact benefit the environment, agriculture, and a farmer's economic income requires convincing data as well as accessible demonstrations. The island research and demonstration sites would be carefully monitored and measured by participating researchers with the assistance of their students.
The research and demonstration sites provide easy access to interested researchers and their university students from Zhuhai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macau, government decision makers who live in the nearby large population centers, and leaders of the surrounding area's farm population.
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South China researchers have developed a variety of farming systems that are suited to degraded land sites and that can improve the environmental conditions of the land as well as provide new economic opportunities for farmers. These systems blend special agricultural techniques with ecological principles, hence, the name agroecology. Though the techniques have been demonstrated on a range of physical sites, many of them have not been demonstrated on common hill slopes that make up much of the degraded lands of South China. Here is where erosion is the greatest and where land degradation commonly is severe. Small-scale demonstrations are needed to help teach farmers how the techniques work and to show specifically how the agroecological techniques can produce improved economic opportunities for the farmers cultivating damaged slope land. Such demonstrations could be conducted effectively at the ZAS&RC (see Note below). The ZAS&RC teaches about and demonstrates new agricultural ideas and conducts associated research to strengthen the effectiveness of their teaching and demonstrations.
Few of these innovative agroecological-farming systems have been assessed and associated data collected to show quantitatively how effectively a given system functions. Today, in addition to solving degraded lands problems, researchers are confronted with additional problems related to the build up of atmospheric carbon dioxide and its adverse effects on global climate change. What is needed further, therefore, are agroecological farming systems that can extract large amounts of carbon dioxide from the air effectively and fix significant amounts of carbon in the soil and plant material if such farming systems are to have beneficial effects on climate change too. Researchers/studentsmight, for example, measure how effectively carbon is fixed in various agroecological systems (net primary productivity). Such measurements today are few in number for systems suitable for South China's degraded lands. Replicated, small-scale agroecological demonstration sites could be established at the ZAS&RC. As part of the work, measurements also could be made of land equivalent ratios (LER).
Recently, Zhuhai has been fortunate to have new branches of well-known Chinese universities establish teaching campuses in their city. Because ecological teaching and research are conducted at these local universities, they serve as an important resource to be tapped for cooperative work with the ZAS&RC especially in research and demonstration of agroecological farming systems. The nearness of ZAS&RC to these educational institutions and the nature of the FAS/ZAS&RC proposed demonstrations and research make the match between all of the institutions ideal. Not only can students from the different universities become involved with the agroecological research, they also can assist in helping to extend their finding to the many local farmers and students who come to the ZAS&RC for training.
Note: The Vice-Director of ZAS&RC in January 2002 agreed to work with FAS to help develop partial funding to support this proposed project.
Short bio of Walter E. Parham, Ph.D., Project DirectorDr. Parham has conducted research on degraded lands in Hong Kong since 1967 and in South China since 1986. In addition to his affiliation with the Federation of American Scientists, Dr. Parham is an Honorary Professor of the South China Agricultural University in Guangzhou, an Honorary Professor of the Zhuhai Agricultural Science and Research Center, a Honorary Research Fellow of the Kadoorie Agricultural Research Centre of the University of Hong Kong, a Research Fellow of the Duke University's Center for Tropical Conservation, and a Research Associate with the Botanical Research Institute of Texas and with the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. He received his Ph.D. in geology/clay mineralogy from the University of Illinois, was an Associate Professor of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Minnesota, a Physical Science Officer with the Agency for International Development/U.S. Department of State where he worked on developing country environmental issues. He was the Program Manager for Food and Renewable Resources at the U. S. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment where he directed studies for the U.S. Congress.
