A Preliminary Study of Grain for Green Project at Zhangye Prefecture in the Heihe River Basin of the

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A Preliminary Study of Grain for Green Project
at Zhangye Prefecture in the Heihe River Basin of
the Arid Inland Area of Northwest China

• Peng Hao
• Cold and Arid Regions Environment and Engineering
  Research Institute

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Content

• Introduction
• Grain for Green Project
• Basic conditions of Grain for Green
• Project in Zhangye Prefecture
• Problems of Grain for Green Project
• in Zhangye Prefecture
• Investigation in Rural Area in Zhangye
  Prefecture
• Recommendations

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Introduction

• Figure1 Sketch of the Heihe River Basin (Map by
  Ran You-hua,
• from Http//heihe.westgis.ac.cn)

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Introduction
Figure2 Sketch of the Heihe River Basin (Map by
Ran You-hua, from Http//heihe.westgis.ac.cn)
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Grain for Green Project

• In 1998, after the devastating floods along the
• Yangtze River
• return cultivated land on the slopes of 25
• or more to forestland
• 1,500 kg grain , a fee of 300 Yuan for education
• and health care and 750 Yuan as a seedling fee
• per hectare

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Grain for Green Project

• Three data collection methods were used
• face-to-face interview and informal discussions
• with local leaders and officials
• (2) organized group discussions with some local
• resident
• (3) review of correlative official records.

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Basic conditions of Grain for GreenProject in
Zhangye Prefecture

• Table1 Brief information of Grain for Green
  Project of Zhangye Prefecture (104 ha)

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Basic conditions of Grain for GreenProject in
Zhangye Prefecture

• 45,300 ha forestry and grass has been increased
  in
• the year of 2002 and 2003 in Zhangye Prefecture
• Farmers can directly benefit from the Grain for
  
• Green Project
• A lot of farmers are freed from the hard work
• on farmland and begin to engage in the third
• industry

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Problems

• The irrational planting of forest and grass in
• the climate and natural conditions
• A large area of low-slope land
• The policy Tui Yi Huan Yi is unsuitable in
• Zhangye Prefecture
• Shortage of fund for management and protection
• of the ecosystems, hidden trouble of fire,
• plant diseases, pest and mouse

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The irrational planting of forest and grass in
the climate and natural conditions

• The area of grassland converted from farmland in
  Zhanye Prefecture is zero in 2002, and account
  for only 2.17 of total area in 2003, so the
  proportion is too small.

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A large area of low-slope land
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The policy Tui Yi Huan Yi (one-hectare
conversion land and one-hectare bare mountain
forestation additive) is unsuitable in
ZhangyePrefecture

• High cost
• New source of sand
• Huge water consuming

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Shortage of fund for management and protection

• Many kinds of weeds, 1.2-1.6m high and 1.0
• coverage, grow fast on the forest land returned
• from farmland and at the same time bring
• along many hidden troubles of fire .
• Mouse and rabbit damage popularly occurs in
• the six counties of Zhangye Prefecture and more
• severely in some conversion lands along the
• mountain.

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Investigation in Rural Area in Zhangye Prefecture

• Six village committees were randomly selected in
• Shandan county and Ganzhou District
• A socioeconomic questionnaire was used to
• investigate the impacts of the Grain for Green
• Project on farmers livelihoods
• A total of 35 men (71.4) and 14 women (28.6 )
• were successfully interviewed

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Changes of living and work after take part in the
Grain for Green Project

• Table 2 Changes of living and work after take
  part in the
• Grain for Green Project

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The reasons why they take part in the project and
their suggestions

• can get subsidy (12 persons) ,
• can not get profit from cultivating land (8
  persons),
• want to leave fields (3 persons),
• reserve eco-environment (3 persons),
• soil unsuitable for planting grain (2 persons),
• plant grass for sheep (2 persons).
• give cash if you dont need grain (4 persons),
• can intercrop forest and grain or forest and
  grass (3 persons),
• the time of subsidy is prolonged (15 persons) ,
• solve the problem of income after 8 years (7
  persons).

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Other resource of income besides agriculture

• Table 3 Other resources of family income

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What is your choice if you can choose freely?

• Thirty-seven persons answer this question. 17
  persons select ecological forest, 14 persons
  select economic forest, 11 persons select
  timber, and 9 persons select pasturage.
• In spite that a lot of farmers chose the
  ecological forest, but the area is still small
  compared with the requirement of government.

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Attitudes about some social and environmental
issues

• According to the answers, the order from
  important to unimportant is
• 1 income
• 2 ample headwater
• 3 forestry protection
• 4 control population in country
• 5 soil and water loss
• 6 sandstorm
• 7 women status
• 8 gap of poor and rich
• 9 global warming

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Recommendations

• Increase the farmers enthusiasm and help
• them to overcome the difficulties in the
• implementation of the project
• Increase the proportion of grassland
• covered area
• Develop the grass and stock breeding
• industry

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Recommendations

• Attach importance to the returning farmland to
• forest and grass on the steep slope
• Change the model of Tui Yi Huan Yi to that of
• Tui Yi Bao Yi
• Strengthen the measures for protection of the
• conversed lands

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Thank you!