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Indigenous ecological knowledge and natural resource management in the cultural landscape of China’s Hani Terraces

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Ecological Research

Abstract

Indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK) can contribute to the management of local ecosystems and landscapes. Cultural landscapes are produced by and reflect the long-term interactions between humans and nature in indigenous societies. Yunnan Province, located in southwestern China, is the homeland of many ethnic groups, and is also a refuge for numerous species of wild plants and animals. Indigenous people in Yunnan, who have rich ecological knowledge, play an important role in the conservation of local biodiversity and the region’s unique terraced agricultural landscapes. We used the Hani people and their outstanding cultural landscape of rice terraces in Yuanyang County of Yunnan Province as a case study to describe their worldview and discuss their formation of IEK; their roles in the preservation of rice landraces and in pest regulation; their management of water, forest, and soil resources; and the vertical landscape pattern and resource-circulation system that has evolved in the areas managed by the Hani. We also discuss the challenges and threats facing the Hani, their IEK, and their cultural landscape, as well as discuss the potential for integration of the Hani’s IEK with modern conservation efforts.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (E-0902) of Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, by the Asia–Pacific Network for Global Change Research (ARCP2011-13NMY-Herath), by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant numbers 40401022, 40861023, U0933604, and 40872118), by the Special Prophase Project on The State Key Development Program for Basic Research of China (No. 2009CB426312), by the Key Grant Project of the Chinese Ministry of Education (No. 207102), by the Grant for Candidates of Young and Middle Aged Academic Leaders of Yunnan Province (No. 2009CI066) and the Science and Technology Planning Project in 2009 of Yunnan, and by the Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan Province (No. 2004 D0016Q).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Tourism and Geography Science, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, 650092, People’s Republic of China

    Yuanmei Jiao, Dandan Zhang & Lifang Sun

  2. Laboratory of Landscape Ecology and Planning, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

    Yuanmei Jiao, Kazuhiko Takeuchi & Toshiya Okuro

  3. State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, People’s Republic of China

    Xiuzhen Li

  4. Institute for Sustainability and Peace, The United Nations University, Tokyo, 150-8925, Japan

    Luohui Liang & Kazuhiko Takeuchi

  5. Hemuju Residential Quarter, No. 136, Jianshe Road, Wuhua District, Kunming, 650031, People’s Republic of China

    Yuanmei Jiao

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Jiao, Y., Li, X., Liang, L. et al. Indigenous ecological knowledge and natural resource management in the cultural landscape of China’s Hani Terraces. Ecol Res 27, 247–263 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-011-0895-3

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