Sichuan township swaps out coal for ecotourism

Longcanggou township, located at the southern gateway of China's Giant Panda National Park in Sichuan province, has emerged as a premier national model for balancing wildlife conservation with community development.

Once reliant on coal mining and logging, the Sichuan province community has successfully transitioned to a thriving green economy. By transforming local villagers into homestay hosts, nature guides, and conservation rangers, the township has proved that protecting the environment can be highly profitable for local residents.

About 80 percent of Longcanggou's terrain is covered in forests, and nearly 60 percent of the township lies within the boundaries of the Giant Panda National Park. It was among the first pilot regions to begin exploring community management approaches at the park's entrance area in 2017.

Zhou Yang, a local official administering the community, said a key approach has been to divide the area into three concentric zones. The core protection zone prohibits all but essential human activities, mainly scientific research and conservation work.

"The general control zone allows for nature education and ecological experience programs," he said. "And the functional support zone focuses on developing ecology-related industries, so that local people can also gain benefits and better participate in the management of the national park."

The establishment of the national park, he said, catalyzed a series of changes in their livelihoods.

"For instance, we have trained and supported local residents to open guesthouses, work as forest rangers, or become tour guides for museums, hiking and birding," he said.

"They have gradually come to understand the importance of environmental protection and are now actively participating in it, because they have witnessed the benefits brought by conservation efforts and are able to earn income from running eco-friendly businesses," he added.

Hu Tailun, a local villager, was among the first to explore building a rural homestay in 2018. Noting the rising interest from bird-watchers and wildlife enthusiasts in a region that boasts more than 400 bird species, Hu also began learning about birds on his own and was later recruited by local authorities as one of the area's first bird guides.

Hu now receives a subsidy for maintaining safety facilities along the viewing trails and earns extra income by leading visitors on forest explorations, bird-watching excursions and flower-viewing trips.

"The change for us is like night and day," he said. "Before, I earned just enough to get by. After starting the new business, I bought a house and a car. More than that, the whole village has changed."