Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment ›› 2022, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (10): 1229-1238.doi: 10.19741/j.issn.1673-4831.2022.0244

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Experience and Optimisation of the Traditional Industrial Development and Transformation in Protected Areas: A Case Study of Tea Industries in Wuyishan National Park

WANG Bo-jie1,2, HE Si-yuan1, MIN Qing-wen1,2   

  1. 1. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, China Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Received:2022-03-23 Online:2022-10-25 Published:2022-10-22

Abstract: Many traditional agricultural production systems exist in protected areas. These traditional systems are not only influential to the local sustainable livelihood and cultural inheritance, but also influential to biodiversity and ecosystem conservation outcomes. However, current industry studies seldom focus on the relationship between nature conservation and rural community economic development, or they rarely consider protected area management and demand. This research takes Wuyishan National Park as a case to focus on the traditional tea industry. Using a qualitative research method, this paper analyses the leading ideology, paths, and outcomes of regional industry development over the past 20 years, and provides countermeasures to the development of the tea industry. Results show that the tea industry in Wuyishan has been the interface of community livelihood and protected area management, although the transformation and development process has not interacted well with conservation management demand in general. In specific, the ecologisation, standardisation, and scaling of the tea industry, the promotion of the tea branding effect, as well as integrated development of tea production and tourism, have been realised to some extent; However, there are still old problems and variances under the new national park management, namely the scientific evaluation and realisation of ecological values of products and services, the identification and inheritance of cultural values, and the communication and consensus of multi-stakeholders. The research further proposes developing an ecological tea industry and expanding agriculture to tourism as two major industrial development goals. To achieve these goals, it is necessary to use local ecological knowledge as a base, to form scientific management standards, unite producers and operators of different scales, and seek a variety of value-added opportunities. In this way of tea industry ecologisation and valorisation of ecological value from multi-functionality, it is promising to finally implement the "human-centered" conservation concept in nature conservation from the full play of the social, economic, and ecological values of the traditional community industries.

Key words: national park, traditional industry, industrial ecologisation, multi-functionality of industry, community of common interest, community participation

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