Villagers caught between development and environment

As it works to transform itself into a tourist destination, a village on Lake Lashi in southwest China's Yunnan Province is learning the importance of environmental protection.

Eight kilometers away from the tourist city of Lijiang, Xia Zhongyi and other residents of Haidong Village set their sights on tourism in 2004. Six years later a wetland conservation area was set up on the lake and the income of villagers is now more than ten times that of five years ago.

"A ban on winter fishing put the fishing industry on the wane, and an increasing number of migrating birds damaged our crops," Xia said.

Subsidies of up to 1.2 million yuan (about 190,000 U.S. dollars) each year are available to be shared between the 16,000 locals like Xia who have lost out in the name of the conservation cause, but it is not enough. They have to seek alternative ways out.

Xia joined others to start horse riding tours around the beautiful lake, and attracted plenty of tourists who brought with them and left behind plenty of trash. There is also the horse manure problem.

According the Green Education Center (GEC), an environmental NGO based in Lijiang, nearly 100 tonnes of dung is produced by over 4,000 horses around the lake each day.

"Heavy rain could flush large amounts of pollutants into the lake, threatening the local ecosystem," said Chen Yongsong, head of GEC. Chen feels that villagers often set up tourist schemes without considering the full environmental implications of their endeavors, even such basics as trash cans. What should have been an overnight success story, has become a source of considerable embarrassment to both residents and tourists alike.

"Those who lack the awareness to protect the environment throw their garbage anywhere. Those who really do care fail to find any trash cans," Chen added.

As an important international wetland, Lake Lashi is now home to 225 species of bird and 25 types of fish. It also supplies water to the 16,000 locals.

Polluting the water will compound the water shortage problem facing the villagers. Over the past five years, Yunnan Province has suffered from persistent drought.

"The temperature goes up to about 30 degrees Celsius in the daytime, but there is no water to take shower," said Xia Zhongyi. "We have to use well water to wash our faces and brush our teeth every morning."

The problems of Lake Lashi are an example of the price the rural Chinese are beginning pay for a previous lack of environmental awareness nationwide.

Luckily, the government, NGOs and volunteers already have all hands on deck to educate the public about the importance of caring for their surroundings.

The GEC and local government have distributed 90,000 flyers to tourists and residents of Lijiang, asking them not to litter. Meanwhile, volunteers have begun to collect horse manure and put it into a biogas digester.

As World Environment Day on June 5 approaches, Xia Zhongyi's worries are mounting. The effects of pollution can often go unnoticed for long periods, but the chickens come home to roost eventually.

"Tourists come to our home for its beauty, but they may destroy such beauty. It is important to take action and strike a balance," he said.