The Multiethnic Livelihood Economy and Regular Markets in the Subtropical Regions -Cases in Hainan Island and Yunnan Province, China-

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Indigenous farmers often integrate different types of subsistence such as agriculture, fishing, hunting and gathering; diversified environmental zones are used on the basis of farmers’ indigenous knowledge. It is contrasting to farmers in industrialized societies who mostly depend on mono-cropping and are less interested in utilizing surrounding environment. In the present study, we conducted fieldworks in Wuzhishan region in Hainan Province and in Honghe region in Yunnan Province, China, for investing the relationships among indigenous subsistence, government-led developmental project and natural environment. We tried to evaluate the relationship as a dynamic system; for example, we found that (1) the people could mitigate unfavorable impacts of government-led developmental project by using indigenous knowledge about natural environment; and (2) social organization of communities played a role in environmental conservation. Rapid economic development in China is usually regarded as a … More cause of environmental destruction. A national initiative launched in 2006 (the 11th five-year plan) aimed at achieving “moderately affluent” society. The important challenge is to implement sustainable society by ecosystem conservation, efficient resource use, environmentally sound economy and social system. Yet, as symbolized by recent reports of air pollution problems in urban areas, the goals have not been fully accomplished. One notable finding in our fieldworks is the fundamental role of “market” in maintenance of regional society. Market has enabled households to exchange their surplus production with deficient materials, which contributed to sustainable survival strategies in the region and to avoid over exploitation of natural environment. The problem is that market is nowadays regarded as old-fashioned and not-efficient places for economic activity and thus is underscored by the government people. They should notice invisible function of market in sustainability of regional economy as well as conservation of natural environment, and re-promote it in rural parts of China. Less