1. Area and geography

Lisu

2. Population and ethnic minorities

Nujiang is a Lisu minority autonomous prefecture. More than 90% of the 400,000 population is ethnic minority. Lisu account for about half of the total population of the prefecture. Gongshan is a Dulong and Nu autonomous county. About 15% of the population of Gongshan are Dulong, and almost 20% Nu, the remainder being Lisu and members of 12 other ethnic groups, including Bai, Naxi, Hui and Han who began migrating there at least 100 years ago. Lanping is predominantly Bai, with smaller proportions of Lisu, Pumi, Nu and Yi. In contrast to other areas of Yunnan where ethnic groups either live in discrete areas or inhabit distinct ecological zones within an area the ethnic groups of Gongshan are often intermixed, living in neighbouring villages, sharing the same village, and often intermarrying to form multi-ethnic families. Over 25% of the population of Nujiang are followers of either Protestant, Catholic or Tibetan Buddhist religions. The animist religions of some ethnic groups survive in some communities.

3. Biodiversity and conservationDulongjiang

4. Agriculture and livelihoods

Historically, most inhabitants of Nujiang have practiced various types of long- and short-fallow swidden cultivation. Key tree species include Alnus nepalensis, and important swidden crops include maize, buckwheat, upland rice, a range of beans, taro and potatoes. Paddy cultivation was introduced at least as early as 1912, when the Republican army under Li Genyuan entered the Nujiang valley. The area of irrigated fields increased somewhat after Liberation, but the majority of arable land in Nujiang is still dry arable land, about four fifths of which lie on slopes of more than 25". Maize is the main staple crop produced on such fields. Efforts to intensify cultivation and stabilize the area cultivated have had some beneficial effects. But in some areas it has led to severe environmental degradation. In the last few years, the government has begun to promote the conversion of sloped arable land to forest (mostly golden bamboo, chestnut and Yunnan pine). Finding suitable ways to link villagers'livelihood needs with the demands of this policy is a challenge which government and villagers are currently seeking to address.

Wild medicinal plants, wildlife products and fungi have for centuries been an important export product. Since at least the mid 18th century, taxation and tribute was paid in the form of beeswax, hemp cloth, and muntjac and deer skins. Today, medicinal plants that are important sources of income for villagers include huanglian (Coptis treeta), chongcao (Cordyceps sinsensis), chonglou (Parispolyphyll), and morel (Morchella esculenta). Timber is still the most important construction material as well as source of energy, and the ban on logging enforced in 2001 has severely affected villagers'access to larch for roofing material.

5. Dimaluo village

CBIK works in Dimaluo village, which covers the watershed of the on the west slopes of in Gongshan. The 400 or so households are grouped in 13 natural villages on either side of the river. Inhabitants are mostly Nu, with some Tibetans and one Lisu community, but many villages and households are in fact of mixed ethnicity. Catholicism, Protestantism and Tibetan Buddhism are all present in the village. While most households in Nujiang raise small livestock, Dimaluo is one of the few agro-pastoralist areas in the prefecture. Fodder production depends on sufficient supplies of manure and compost, which requires households to raise livestock. In addition to corn and corn stalks grown in their own fields, most households also purchase corn for fodder, for which they depend on sales of livestock, butter or on income from sales of medicinal plants. Unlike in other areas of Nujiang, Dimaluo villagers practice a form of seasonal transhumance, raising livestock on crop residues in the village in winter, and then moving to the alpine pastures during summer when grass and butter production are at their highest. Livelihoods are subject to a variety of risks, including unstable supplies of and demand for medicinal plants, high livestock mortality rates, insecure access to off-farm employment opportunities, and the insecurity arising from inadequate information about forthcoming policies, such as the sloped farmland conversion policy which is due to be implemented in Dimaluo from 2004.