Managing rural areas in the Lake District
Rural areas are under threat, grappling with a number of social, economic and environmental issues that challenge their very survival.
Landscape, economies, communities and cultural traditions are undergoing change as new policies come into force. Problems in the upland regions have always been under discussion, but the need for new thinking on rural management was highlighted in the Lake District when it was devastated by the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in 2001.
Most of the land is given over to farming which has, in turn, moulded the landscape upon which tourism is based. Yet almost 10 times more people are directly employed in tourism than in farming. Include the numbers employed in the tourism supply chain and it becomes clear why not only farming was hard- hit, but also tourism. FMD emphasised that the interdependence of community, environment and economy is fundamental to planning a sustainable future.
Farming
But farming is in crisis and its role needs rethinking. Hill farming, based on sheep and beef cattle, has been the traditional way of life for hundreds of years. However, farming has never been easy, and hill farmers have received various subsidies to keep them on the land. This policy is now being challenged. High subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) have led to increases in flock size and over-stocking, resulting in over-grazing. In turn, this has impacted on wildlife.
Current thinking is now in favour of conservation and leisure in upland regions. Over ten years ago, a two-tier voluntary agri-environment(environmentally friendly farming) scheme was introduced in the Lake District, an environmentally sensitive area, to reduce over grazing on the fells to prevent loss of habitats and to increase biodiversity. These schemes are continuing.
Both employment in farming, and farm incomes, have fallen dramatically. Despite subsidies, farming is not always a viable enterprise. On-farm diversification, such as offering bed and breakfast, or providing a site for a wind turbine or mobile phone mast, are some of the ways that farmers can supplement their income. In other instances, farmers or their spouses resort to off-farm part-time employment, often in tourism-related activities. Few young people want to go into farming, which means the average age of farmers has risen.
Tourism
Although tourism is the mainstay of the rural economy, the landscape is still the main attraction. Today, mountaineering and walking are the fastest growing sectors of leisure and tourism. Water activities also have a high profile, focusing on the boats and water sports bring in big money, but a 10mph limit on Windermere, which was confirmed in December 2004, was protested against by boat owners due to the impact it would have on income.
Tourism brings in a lot of money as a front-line employer or part of the supply chain, but it also brings with it environmental and social costs. To promote conservation, many hotels and other tourism businesses have formed a partnership to raise money for a wide range of conservation projects. Profits from higher parking charges in 2003 are being used to benefit the landscape.
Second home ownership, as high as 60% in some villages, not only distorts the age structure of the community but also reduces the size of the permanent community, increasing the per capita costs of social service provision. For example, the cost of keeping the streets clean remains the same but it is paid for by fewer people.
Social deprivation in seven parishes in the remote Northern Fells resulted in the launch of a self-help Northern Fells Group. This highly successful group, which is owned by the community, provides a variety of services to help the elderly, youth, people with disabilities and those on low incomes. In 1999 the Northern Fells Rural Project, out of which the group grew, was one of the Prince of Wales's three 'Rural Revival projects' and in 2004 the group received the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. The group became a key supporter during the FMD crisis. Almost half the farm holdings in this area were affected and most of these were family businesses. But FMD also affected the whole community, causing chaos in villagers’ daily lives. The Steering Group of the Northern Fells Project commissioned a report on the economic and social effects of the epidemic from the Centre for Rural Economy at the University of Newcastle. This report was the basis of new thinking about skills, planning and financial support for new enterprises.
Managing rural areas in China
The majority of people in China still live inrural areas and agriculture is the major employer.
Although China ranks number one in the world in terms of agricultural output, the Government has purposely directed investment into industry, which is by far the more important sector of the economy. Urban wages are higher than rural wages, and the gap is widening. Poverty reduction in rural areas is a key issue. Nevertheless, the rural economy has improved since 1978.
Farming
The Chengdu Plain is one of the most important agricultural regions in China. The plain is really an alluvial fan– a fan-shaped deposit of alluvium formed where a river leaves the mountains and flows onto a plain. It is approximately 96–112km long and some 48–64km wide, and is the only extensive area of flat land in Sichuan. In the past, its productivity was very high due to the advantages of flat land, fertile soil and, more importantly, a reliable supply of water. Intensive farming was, and still is, achieved not only by double cropping (mild winters permit the growth of wheat and oilseed rape, while in the hot wet summer rice is the main crop), but also by intercropping (growing strips of grain between fruit trees).
The sustainable irrigation and flood-control system was extended in the 1950s to irrigate more land. Some 3.2 million ha in total are irrigated by canals. But, since 1978, radical changes have increased the rural economy. Not only were farmers made responsible for their own plots, but also market reform was introduced. Both factors encouraged diversification – notably fruit, vegetables and pigs for the local market. As diets become more health- orientated, these products increased in importance. Whilst the introduction of good seeds, improvements in technology and skills, and technical support to farmers have helped to raise yields, land is being lost to urban expansion and extension of the road network.
Today, some farmers are becoming more enterprising. One farmer, on the urban fringe of the small town of Dujiangyan, has a restaurant and pond for fishing, which brings in extra money. The boom in car ownership is helping such enterprises take off. The growth of tourism in Dujiangyan provides an expanding market for fruit and vegetables, which command higher prices than grain. Indeed, a new venture growing kiwi fruit, for the local market but as well as for export to Japan, is being explored. Much of the agricultural produce is exported to other provinces, but for many farmers income has to be supplemented by off-farm employment. Non-farming activities now contribute more to the rural economy than farming.
Tourism
Absorbing surplus farm labour is often problem and only the fortunate labourers find jobs in local enterprises in Dujiangyan or the villages. Tourism is being promoted nationally by the government to boost the economy. It is the main industry in Dujiangyan but jobs can also be found in light manufacturing, such as clothing and food processing. The main tourist attraction is the site of the irrigation scheme, which became a World Heritage site in 2003. A park, riverside walk, temples and a chain-link suspension bridge form part of the complex. A new motorway links the town with the city of Chengdu (urban population 3.7m), 50km away which can be reached by bus in 30 minutes.
Despite these developments, local enterprises cannot provide sufficient jobs so many unemployed labourers have to get the bus to Chengdu to find work in the daily labour market. This rapidly growing city offers work on construction sites and in services as well as some jobs in retail and commerce. Plans to construct another dam on the Min River, not far upstream from Dujiangyan, which threatened the future of the 2200-year-old irrigation scheme have now been abandoned by officials as a result of a mass media campaign. Not enough time had been given to assessing the effect on Dujiangyan, but the change of heart is regarded as a good omen for other, similar projects where the downstream community is threatened.
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